Can Lawyers Make Good Football Agents?

Ronnie Hutcheon our registered football agent was asked this question by a free lance journalist the result of the conversation is summarised in the Law Society Gazette under the following title – The World Cup offers opportunities for lawyers and solicitor-agents.

This article analysis whether lawyers are suitable to become a football agent.  The relevant passage is copied below:-

Ronnie Hutcheon, who has his own personal injury practice, has just started acting as an agent. He says his experience in personal injury litigation has prepared him well: ‘I am used to managing a client’s expectations in the way I have to manage a younger player’s expectations. There are lots of disappointments, for instance for a young player at an academy. I tell them what the options are, what the chances of success are. Some agents raise their expectations only to get them signed up.’

The motivations of these lawyer-agents do not appear to be purely commercial. Hutcheon says that he started acting as an agent partly out of an inherent love of football, but also because he is interested in boosting home-grown youth talent, particularly in his own city of Liverpool: ‘I do it because I love football and have contacts in the game who share that passion. It is not about the money for me.’

The same slant of the topic is also found in The Times an article in May 2010 under the following link: Can lawyers make good football agents.

It is certainly a personal choice but certainly any football agent and footballer would be unwise not to use a solicitor/lawyer to deal with complex contract and IP issues.