A Cheshire firm run by a renowned sports lawyer has been shut down over suspicions of dishonesty. The Solicitors Regulation Authority revealed yesterday it had intervened to close down IPS Law LLP, based in Altrincham.
The basis for the intervention was suspected dishonesty on the part of manager and solicitor Chris Farnell. The SRA said Farnell was suspected to have failed to comply with accounts rules and the solicitors’ code of conduct. He has also been suspended from practice by the regulator.
North west firm Stephensons Solicitors has been appointed as intervening agent to handle the affairs of IPS Law.
Farnell, who had been signed to Blackburn Rovers as a youth but whose football career was cut short by injury, qualified as a solicitor in 1996 and worked for Eversheds and Hill Dickinson before starting his own niche sports law practice.
His website states that he advises Premier League and Football League clubs, as well as a number of players and agents, on areas such as image rights, third party ownership and transfers. His client list includes the boxer Tyson Fury, footballer Cristiano Ronaldo as well as Roberto Martinez, current manager of the Portugal national team, who gives an endorsement on the firm’s website.
In April this year, the Gazette reported that the High Court had disallowed a costs budget submitted by IPS Law and Farnell. Master Brightwell concluded that somebody ‘deliberately inflated’ the figures on the front page of the budget to match those in the opposing side’s budget. The SRA would not comment on whether this case is related to the intervention.
