You’ll never walk alone: Legal Counsels supporting the soccer business in Germany and the U.S.

22.06.2020 | Online-Seminar

Nowadays, lawyers are an essential part of the management of professional soccer clubs. But how does the job profile of legal counsel in a soccer club actually look like?

It’s not only about legal support provided for transfer of players or coaches, legal issues relating to association or corporate law and contract drafting for safeguarding the club’s relationship with service providers, partners and sponsors. Likewise, new challenges arising both in the office and on the soccer field must be continuously followed up from a legal point of view. The rise of new technologies is one example worth to be mentioned.

Our 90-minute online panel featured Maya Mendoza-Exstrom from the current champion of Major League Soccer (MLS) Seattle Sounders FC and Julia Hambüchen from Bundesliga (DFL) club Borussia Mönchengladbach. Both talked about their career path and the challenges of their daily work as soccer club’s Legal Counsel – also and especially in view of Covid 19.

Maya Mendoza-Exstrom, is the SVP for Legal and External Affairs for Seattle Sounders FC.  In addition to her role as General Counsel, she oversees Government Affairs, Youth Soccer Programs and Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Impact for the Club.  A Seattle native and fan of the organization since birth, Maya was an All-American collegiate soccer player and is a USSF “B” Licensed coach.  Maya is currently the Board Chair for the Seattle Parks Foundation and sits on the Board of Directors for the Wing Luke Museum and RAVE Foundation (the official charitable arm of Sounders FC).

Julia Hambüchen ist seit Anfang 2018 Bereichsleiterin Recht und Compliance bei Borussia Mönchengladbach. Nach einer Ausbildung zur Bankkauffrau entschied sich die heute 38-jährige Volljuristin und zweifache Mutter zum Studium der Rechtswissenschaften mit Schwerpunkt „Internationales Zivil-, Wirtschafts- und Verfahrensrecht“. Neben ihrer Tätigkeit als studentische Hilfskraft im Institut für Bankrecht engagierte sie sich, als ehemalige Teilnehmerin, für das Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Team. Ihr zweites Staatsexamen legte die Jüchenerin im Anschluss an ihr Referendariat am Landgericht Aachen im November 2017 ab. Den Titel des Compliance Officers trägt sie nach erfolgreicher Durchführung des TÜV-Lehrgangs seit April 2018.

Sebastian Himmelseher is a PhD student at the Institute for Public Law and Politics at the University of Muenster and head of DAJV Student Division in Dusseldorf. He is 27 years old and went to law school in Muenster and Philadelphia, PA. His PhD thesis is promoted by a scholarship and focuses on general matters of constitutional law. Beyond the legal world, Sebastian is a passionate sports fan and closely follows the German Bundesliga and the NFL.