People | Bob Mitchell

Bob is a Partner, head of the firm's Sports and Sponsorship Group.

Bob specialises in all commercial aspects of sports law but has particular experience in providing advice on and negotiating the terms of sponsorship, endorsement and merchandising agreements, as well as participation, promoter and venue agreements. He has also advised a number of leading sportsmen on the exploitation and protection of their image rights.

His experience extends to acting for both significant sports rights owners and large multi-national corporate sponsors of events and teams. Bob has advised on some of the most high profile and significant sports sponsorship deals in recent years including Barclays' renewal of its sponsorship of the Premier League; Standard Chartered Bank's shirt sponsorship of Liverpool FC; npower's sponsorship of the three divisions of the Football League and a number of sponsorship deals in relation to the London 2012 Olympic Games. In 2006, Bob and the Sports Group were awarded "TMT Team of the Year" by Legal Business for their cutting edge work in the sports sponsorship arena and particularly in conjunction with the grant of mobile telecommunication rights. He has recently been named as 2010’s most influential lawyer in the sports industry by Sports Business International magazine.

In addition, Bob has a wealth of experience in advising leading football and rugby clubs on groundsharing arrangements; has for the past 20 years advised the PGA European Tour on its sport related legal issues including sponsorship, promoter, venue and regulatory matters and together with the firm's Senior Partner, Gerrard Tyrrell, was instrumental in the creation of the Team England Player Partnership for England's cricketers and has acted for the partnership for the last 10 years. He has advised all types of sports-related clients on a comprehensive range of sports law issues in sports ranging from football to greyhound racing, motorsport to boxing and rugby to the Olympic Games.

In Chambers & Partners 2010, Bob is commended by clients for his “’pragmatic and sensible approach.' Sources applaud the successful balance he manages to strike as 'he always looks after his clients' best interests, but also manages to close the deal’.”

Bob joined Harbottle & Lewis as head of the Sport and Sponsorship Group in 1997 and became a Partner in 2000.