Interview with a sports lawyer. Blaž Tomažin Bolcar

I continue to introduce you to sports lawyers from different parts of the world, and today I present you a conversation with a sports lawyer from Slovenia, a co-founder of a law firm Bolcar Law Office – Blaž Tomažin Bolcar (LinkedIn).

– Dear Blaž, I am extremely happy to do this interview, to ask you about your sports law background and to find out your advice to the sports lawyers. Let’s get started. Could you tell me please a little bit about your education?

– Thank you for having me, the pleasure is all mine. First, I graduated from the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana and continued my postgraduate studies at the DeMontfort University in Leicester, England.

– You are a Co-founder of the Law firm dedicated to Sports Law. How have you decided on this step, especially when we talk about this specific branch of law? In your opinion, what is the better: to found local law firms or go abroad and work in famous sports law firms, for example in Spain, England or Switzerland?

– I followed in the footsteps of my mother, who was a well-recognized lawyer in civil and criminal law. She was a deeply respected expert, a member of the Slovenian parliament and a signatory to the constitutional charter at the time of Slovenia's independence. I must admit that it took me several years to completely accept and admit to myself and others that my true passion is sports, and the same goes for the field of law. Therefore, I decided to specialize in this area and move aside mother’s rich heritage. The path of specialization in sports law in Slovenia has been challenging at times, for sure. Undoubtedly, specialization abroad while working for a foreign sports law firm would be in some ways easier than paving my own, independent path in the field of sports law. But each path has its own advantages and challenges, so it is important that as a professional you trust the process and try to gain as much as possible in every situation and circumstance. Whenever I attend an education abroad, I am thrilled to find that we have a lot of knowledge in Slovenia. To that end, I noticed that in Slovenia we are proverbially modest, but our knowledge is not only comparable but, in many ways, we are in front of foreign experts. Finally, I would like to mention the Sports Law Arbitration Moot (SLAM) competition, an international competition for law students, which is attended by many international teams and has been won by the students from Slovenian law faculty in its first two years.

– How do you assess the sports law development in Slovenia? Do you have a master’s program dedicated to sports law at Slovenian universities?

– In recent years, great progress has been made in Slovenia in the field of sports business and, consequently, sports law. Much credit goes to our top athletes, who are changing outdated patterns in the sports industry. Unfortunately, we do not yet have a study program dedicated completely to sports law. But there are many activities that offer knowledge of sports law. The Faculty of Law in Ljubljana regularly organizes clinics and lectures in this field. To gather talent, offer opportunities to students and raise awareness to the importance of sports law field in Slovenia, we also established the Sport Lex Institute for Sports Law. With different activities – before mentioned yearly SLAM competition, regular webinars and experts’ roundtables, the Institute aims to present topics in the field of sports law to the widest possible public and maybe pave the way for a possible master’s program dedicated to sports law in the future. However, we do have a master’s program in the field of sports business in Slovenia. International sports and marketing conference Sporto also plays an important role in the latter.

– What are your favorite books and/or movies related to sports law?

– It is very difficult to choose individual books. But if there was a must, a book “Sports and Law” by Adam Lewis should be an obligatory read, and of course the publications of the Asser Institute in The Hague. At the same time, LawinSport articles are an indispensable source of quality content.

– What advice would you give to our readers and young sports lawyers?

– There is no magic formula. It is important to be prepared when things happen when opportunities present themselves. Because they always do, sooner or later. However, this is only possible if you are constantly educating yourself and cultivating a network of acquaintances that allow you to think critically. You are the average of the five people around you, so it is important to choose who you are close with. In the sense of education, I mainly mean reading articles, making the right decisions in individual matters, attending seminars, writing articles etc. If you do your best every day, then I am sure sports law and business will accept and appreciate it.

– I would like to thank you for your interesting responses, advice, and motivation to learn and work in international sports law!

– Thank you and all the best.