GSSport24 Speaker

Stephen Townley

Special Counsel, Sports & Entertainment Brands - Stobbs, Intangible Asset Management

Veteran in sport and entertainment law and increasingly involved in handling environmental regulatory challenges. Author, businessman, including IP rights protection, fighting brand and content piracy, and addressing conflict, avoidance, and resolution in organisations with the aid of technology. Stephen has helped develop, manage, finance, and sell tech startups in these areas.

Stephen now supports the brand specialist Stobbs as Special Counsel Sport and Entertainment Brands. Reputation management is now centre stage in ESG and sustainability issues.

In addition to being a solicitor and former senior partner, he holds CIArb qualifications in arbitration and mediation, is an International Neutral at JAMS in New York and in WIPO in Switzerland and a technical expert in sport at the Singapore Dispute Resolution Centre and an arbitrator and mediator at the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS).

During his career, Stephen has held both in-house legal roles (such as General Counsel to the International Tennis Federation) and has been a board member and or chairman of private and public companies. Stephen is known for always trying to de-escalate and resolve disputes as well as being willing to take up the fight in complex litigation where needed.