Interview with the sports lawyer. Juan Crespo Ruiz-Huerta

I am extremely happy to continue the interviews with lawyers who work in sports law. Today you will be acquainted with the Coordinator Sports Law Program at the European Sport Business School, editor of the Football Legal, co-founder of StadioPlus, Senior Manager at Sportradar and external consultant of the Ruiz-Huerta & Crespo Sports Lawyers firm – Juan Crespo Ruiz-Huerta (LinkedIn)

– Dear Juan, thank you so much for the opportunity to ask you about your career in sports law! You have many projects on which you are working right now, but could you tell me please, what is your favorite activity? Alternatively, the activity that you spend the most time on?

– Hi! Thanks a lot for this opportunity; I always enjoy sharing my life experiences with other colleagues, and who knows, perhaps they can come in handy to someone!

I wouldn’t say and cannot say I have a favorite project right now. I really enjoy being a sports lawyer, trying to get things done and achieve justice, and being part of Sportradar’s integrity initiative, which is pivotal to the wellbeing of football across all continents. As well, I enjoy writing legal articles with my colleagues from Football Legal and delivering lectures. If you push me, I’d say that what I genuinely love the most is to engage in meaningful conversations and dialogue with other members of the sports family; whether they are attendees to an integrity webinar, students or clients, I truly appreciate spending time with them and knowing their points of view. And if I can help them, that’s a win-win situation.

– You have graduated University of Valencia (Bachelor’s degree) and St. John’s University in the USA (LL.M in International Sports Law). In your opinion, is the quality of education in these systems very different?

– If I may, I’ll start with a topic; they are really different schools, and also you got the private/public institution difference, which makes the comparison between them even harder.

I’d say that when I entered the University of Valencia, I was discovering a brand-new world. Coming from a French system school, the learning techniques of the Spanish system focus more on memorizing and less on discussing. However, memory is an essential tool for lawyers, which should be exercised quite frequently.

Then, when I studied my LL.M in the States, I got to choose what I wanted to study, forgetting about, let’s say, courses I was not, you know, fond of. That’s to say, the experience, from a student’s point of view, is more immersive when you study far from home and in America than in your hometown.

Finally, I’d like to mention my online LL.M in legal practice with Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC), which was a really lovely experience as I could work and study simultaneously. For professionals like us, online programs are an excellent opportunity for continuous learning without the perks of going to the classroom.

– And about sports law. What do you think now: is it better to receive a Master’s degree in Europe to become a sports lawyer in a European country or is it better to obtain a degree in the USA anyway?

– Nowadays, the most renowned sports law programs are in Europe, mainly in Spain, France and Switzerland. That’s because the modern shape of sports law comes from Europe and has been deeply impacted by EU law. If you would like to practice sports law and, more precisely, football law, Europe is the right place to be right now and until Asia becomes the next superpower.

On the other hand, American schools are excellent, and they have plenty of resources for students to improve, learn and enjoy. Courses will, of course, be more focused on American sports law, but they’re paying closer attention to what is going on in Europe.

I guess it depends on where your primary area of practice will be located.

– You are a coordinator of the Sports Law Program at the European Sport Business School and the Universidad Europea (Online). What is the biggest difference between these programs?

– Well, the program we managed together with the Fundación Valencia CF and the European Sports Business School (ESBS) is an executive program aimed at people and students who would like to get an introduction into the world of sports law. In other words, we try to introduce our students to all relevant topics during 12 different lectures, divided into topics, so they get a good grasp of what sports law is and whether they would like to continue walking this path. It’s an introductory program lectured by some world-class practitioners that serve as the perfect introduction.

Meanwhile, the International Master in Sports Law, LL.M (Universidad Europea) is a longer and more detailed program that requires a more considerable commitment by the students. As an online program, it gives students a more flexible approach than face-to-face programs. Each topic lasts for one month and is dealt with in-depth by our expert lecturers. It is the perfect program for international lawyers who would like to become sports lawyers but need to continue with their regular activities.

However, at the end of the day, I try to manage both programs with the same spirit, as I try to bond with my students and guide them throughout the program. This is, for me, the essential part of directing a sports law program; it doesn’t matter how long or whether it’s online or face-to-face. What matters is being there for the students and helping them to learn and overcome difficulties. I like to tell my students that we are our very own sports law family. I’m glad when former students reach out to me to update me about their latest projects.

– As I know, you are a co-founder of StadioPlus. Could you tell me a bit about this project?

– Sure! We’re trying to democratize the NFTs (non-fungible tokens) market and create a community with the fans. Several world-class athletes like former gold medalist Luis Scola (Argentina’s national basketball team), former Internazionale captain Javier Zanetti, or Juan Carlos Ferrero, former ATP nº 1, are trusting us to produce NFT products.

There are more prominent, older and more experienced NFT platforms from which we are continuously learning and improving. Still, we want to be something different, something that links fans directly with their idols. We want them to bring home a piece of the legends built by these renowned athletes.

We started a few months ago, but I hope the next time we will be chatting, StadioPlus will have achieved part of this dream.

– You have many activities in your life. How do you manage them? I mean, maybe you have some advice on time management for sports lawyers?

– That’s a complicated question to answer! Like any other professional, I think lawyers should organize and track/monitor their daily activities zealously. You need to spend at least 10-15 minutes a day summarizing what you have done and need to do the next day/week.

Even though I consider myself (still) a younger individual, I like to write down my daily and weekly tasks rather than schedule my agenda virtually. This simple exercise helps me to organize my mind and structure priorities. I genuinely believe lawyers should not forget about the power of writing down their ideas and activities.

From a more practical point of view, I guess I’m not discovering anything new, but I like to prioritize activities by the level of urgency, with one exception. If possible, activities or projects with extended deadlines (for example, one or two months ahead of me) will wrap them up and have a preliminary draft as soon as possible, so other colleagues can review them with enough time to implement changes.

I’m lucky to be surrounded by outstanding professionals in each of my fields of activity, which are always there to lend me a hand (or two!).

– What advice would you give to young sports lawyers?

– We are indeed living in thrilling, challenging and changing times. Hopefully, the worst part of the pandemic is behind us. Therefore, I think that young sports practitioners should again try to attend events and meet people.

I had the chance to be born in a family linked with the world of law and sports, so it was almost the natural order of things to continue with my family’s story. That’s why, for young sports lawyers that do not have the chance to be surrounded by sports law, there’s a need to walk the world and attend as many events as possible (whether online, local or whatever comes to your mind) and chat with as many people as possible.

Finally, a last piece of advice; be curious, learn as much as you can about the world and its different realities and cultures. Learn more languages or learn a few words each time to meet a new client with a different mother tongue. People will always appreciate you took your time to know about the environment they come from. It will enrich us as persons and step into someone’s else shoes. A broader mind is a better mind.

– Juan, thank you so much for this interview. I wish you all the best in your career and good luck with your projects!

– Thanks, Valeryia, for this opportunity to introduce myself. I hope I’ll see you all around! Take care!