Duxbury scores post

A football-mad lawyer has moved 200 miles to become the second in-house solicitor at a football club.Sports law specialist Scott Duxbury, who has left Manchester firm James Chapman & Co, is company secretary and head of legal at West Ham United in London.Ex-Denton Wilde Sapte lawyer Jonathan Waldo, who is now at Leicester City, was the first in-house football lawyer.'I did a lot of work for football clubs, including West Ham, when working in Manchester,' he said.

'The club decided that as their brand increased, they would need greater access to legal advice and I guess I was in the right place at the right time.'Mr Duxbury said the work in-house does not differ greatly from that in private practice, although he has had to develop a more entrepreneurial approach.

'There are now three sides to my role,' he explained.

'Firstly, I deal on the player side, advising on transfers and acting as a go-between for the club with agents.

Secondly, I have to handle the legal requirements of a company with over 500 employees.

And finally, I deal with all the club's commercial aspects, such as sponsorship.'Mr Duxbury predicted that more clubs would create in-house legal roles, though they may be combined with company secretarial duties.'I think as football clubs become more sophisticated businesses, they have to find more ways of generating revenues and this will lead to a greater need for legal advice,' he said.West Ham still outsources work to James Chapman & Co - which is best known for acting for Manchester United - City giant Herbert Smith and local firm Warners.See feature, page 24-26Andrew Towler