Interview with a sports lawyer. Part 7. Valérie Horyna

I am so happy to present our new interview with the lawyer, who has built an amazing career in international sports law and this month founded her own legal consulting company for the sports industry “Sports Lex” – Valérie Horyna (Linkedin).

– Good evening, dear Valérie! I would like to thank you for this opportunity to talk with you and find out more about your career. Could you tell me please, how did your career in sports law begin? Why did you choose especially this branch of law?

– Hello, and first, I would like to thank you for inviting me to this great interview opportunity with International Sports Law and congratulations on all your work! 

Looking back to where my sports law career started, I would think that it is linked to my upcoming in a “sports crazy” family by either practicing sports, watching it on television or discussing it at the dinner table. With my brother pursuing a professional tennis career and by moving for some time to Florida, sports and especially tennis surrounded us all the time. I was never a professional athlete, but I did play as many sports I could possibly sign up for in high school and university, and those experiences helped make me the person who I am today. When I later chose to study law in Fribourg and Brussels with a focus on European Law, I always knew that I wanted to work within my fascination for sports and that I would like to combine the two. Just after graduating with my master´s degree in 2008, I was lucky to start an internship at one of the biggest sports marketing companies – IMG in Zürich. Although the training was sports-event related, I was happy to put my first footstep into the sports industry. After my six months at IMG, I was offered a Legal Counsel position at FIFA within its Players´ Status & Governance department. I could finally combine my passion for sports that accompanied me since my childhood with my legal knowledge, which was very exciting.

– You started to work at FIFA in 2009. Could you tell me please, how did you get the opportunity to work for FIFA and what qualities should a person have to work for FIFA?

– After my law degree in Fribourg, it was clear to me that I would want to pursue my legal career within the sports industry. I therefore focused my Master thesis on the Bosman case and the particular issue of the freedom of movement for athletes within the European Union. I developed a particular interest in transfer related issues within sports during my studies, which is especially the case within football and ice hockey. When I got the job opportunity within FIFA´s Players´ Status & Governance department, which in particular deals with international employment litigations at the relevant FIFA deciding bodies, I was beyond excited to start working on such cases within football and along a wonderful team. 

Besides the general qualities and skills an employer is looking for in a candidate, it was important for this particular department at FIFA that a lawyer would be multilingual in as many of the official FIFA languages (English, Spanish, French and German) on a high level both written and spoken. I assume being a lawyer, speaking the official FIFA languages at a high-level and being interested in sports, it helped to get the job I was pursuing. Also, in general, I highly believe that work ethics, confidence and integrity also play an important role in any sports lawyer. Further and in such a fast-paced and changing environment like sports, flexibility and persistence are also key to success as well as being able to handle a big workload in small period of time by prioritizing. A personal interest or connection to sports of course also helps, since the motivation to work for a cause that you care so much about will be present on a daily basis and give you the necessary drive. Finally, and probably one of the most important assets that one should have when pursuing a career in sports is to be a team player. In my career, whether I found myself working as the setup person or the scorer, I have never forgotten the value of the entire team. In the end, it is the contribution of all team members who aren’t superstars but who are key to the overall success. I think that those personal attributes helped me to succeed and work within three different legal departments at FIFA over 8 years and by then being appointed as the Deputy Head of Ethics & Governance department in a particularly troublesome period for the organization.

– You are the FEI Tribunal Member (Fédération Equestre International). What do you like more: to be a judge or to be a lawyer?

– It is difficult to say which side of the work I enjoy more and I would think that my priority also shifts depending on the case I either sit on as a judge or as a lawyer. You start your career first as a lawyer and only later transition to become a judge as the experience you gain as a lawyer is paramount to judge fairly in an array of cases. Throughout my 10 years working as a sports lawyer, I have gained my experience as an in-house counsel for sports federations of different sizes (FIFA and now FIH). This experience allowed me to be appointed as a FEI Tribunal Member in November 2019, a role that I hope to pursue in other organisations. Since then, I have highly enjoyed my work as a judge as you have to analyze all sides of the case and hear all the parties to then decide matters that actually make a difference for the sport. To answer your question, I don´t think I would like to choose one over the other, but rather have the balance of both.

– Moreover, you are the Senior Legal Counsel at International Hockey Federation (FIH), an ASOIF Legal Consultative Group member and a Women in Sports Law Finance Committee member. You know 5 languages and this year you started your own sports law & governance consulting company “Sports Lex” (www.sportslex.ch). Please, tell us, where do you find motivation for all your activities?

– As much as I practiced as many sports I could possibly sign up for in high school and university, it probably also applies to my career. I am a very open and curious person, love to learn and exchange thoughts on interesting topics with different people from different backgrounds. With sports being my passion, I thrive to be able to contribute with my expertise and knowledge within sports law & governance – a knowledge which I was able to gain over the past years through my experience and network. All those roles are different yet similar in its core and motivate me to pay my share to sports. It is exciting to be able to learn from so many people within the industry in those different roles, to hear their stories and experiences and to share our knowledge to adapt to this ever-changing industry. As to my newest venture SportsLex, it has always been on the back of my mind to start my own business and I am thrilled that I have now taken the step to also offer consulting services in sports law & governance with SportsLex in a time and industry where the pace is changing dramatically.

And as to speaking all these languages, I was lucky to grow up bilingual in Switzerland to Czech parents, attended an international English speaking high school, studied in a French speaking country and got together with a South American partner. 

– What advice would you share with our readers and young sports lawyers?

– Authenticity is probably your best core value both in private and work life. There are many paths that lead to where you want to get in your life and career, but stay true to your own personality and values, regardless of the pressure you are under. This also often means to get out of your comfort zone! Follow your path with dedication and integrity and listen to your gut feeling. Most importantly be a team player, always be helpful and bring the values that you have learned in sports also into the office. And last but not least learn as many languages as you can and never stop learning.

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

– Thank you very much for the invitation and it was a real pleasure! Take good care and best of success.