Bird & Bird launches a complimentary legal support service in partnership with the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC)

Bird & Bird's complimentary legal support service is available to all ESIC members and entitles each member to three hours of free legal advice on up to three separate legal queries (annually) on general esports commercial or regulatory matters. 

General commercial matters include (but are not limited to) providing advice in relation to: 

• Franchise, team and player agreements
• Staging, hosting and venue hire agreements
• Ticketing, merchandising and hospitality agreements 
• Media rights agreements
• General commercial contracts 

Regulatory matters that can be supported through the legal support service include (but again are not limited to): 

• Drafting safeguarding and child protection guidance and protocols. 
• Advice on the prevention of doping and corruption.
• Advice on how to respond to suspicions of doping, corruption or harm to children and young people. 

ESIC members can also benefit from advice outside of the legal support service at a discounted ESIC member rate. 

Richard Bush and William Deller, esports specialists in the Media, Entertainment and Sports sector group at Bird & Bird comment:

"Esports is an area of huge growth and innovation, which presents various novel commercial and regulatory challenges. Our partnership with ESIC will not only help its members navigate these challenges, but also provide them with legal support aimed at furthering the development of their businesses and protecting esports from various integrity risks." 

Ian Smith, ESIC Commissioner adds:

"Bird & Bird are experts in providing legal advice in esports, and in the broader sport, media and technology sectors, making them the ideal partner for this initiative. The firm's complimentary legal support service fits perfectly with ESIC's wider strategy: to add value for its members, to support their development and, of course, protect esports integrity. I look forward to working with the team."

To find out more about Bird & Bird's complimentary legal support service in partnership with Esports Integrity Coalition, visit our page here.