Sports lawyer joins first-of-its-kind global anti-doping board

The Birmingham office of national law firm Mills & Reeve is celebrating the appointment of sports legal specialist Phil Hutchinson as an independent member of WADA 's new Independent Ethics Board.

WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), established in 1999 and headquartered in Montreal, Canada, is an international, independent agency that develops, harmonises and coordinates anti-doping rules and policies across all sports and countries to protect athletes ' health and ensure fair competition.

This first-of-its-kind ethics board has been set up in response to an increasingly complex global sporting environment, charged with implementing WADA 's Code of Ethics.

Phil (pictured), who joined Mills & Reeve in 2013 and has specialised in the firm 's sports sector for more than eight years, is an established litigator with a wealth of expertise in sports litigation, arbitration and sports regulatory matters.

He will bring significant expertise of representing high profile athletes in integrity cases - such as those involving match fixing and doping - to WADA 's new board.

The Independent Ethics Board will consist of nine members in total (with seven independent positions and one position each for sport and public authority representation).

Phil has been selected following a competitive selection process by the WADA Nominations Committee against over 70 other candidates.

The appointed members represent a group that is diverse in terms of gender, age, core competencies (including elite level athlete experience), regional representation and ethnicity.

His key responsibility will be ensuring compliance with the Code of Ethics by WADA Officials to allow WADA to achieve its global collaborative mission for doping-free sport and to protect its core values.

Phil Hutchinson, principal associate at Mills & Reeve said: “The work of the World Anti-Doping Agency is vital to maintaining the integrity of sport and ensuring a level playing field for sport across the world.

“This isn 't just relevant to athletes, but also to federations, governing bodies and those who operate or work within sport. The introduction of the Code of Ethics and formation of the IEB will be vital to ensuring that WADA 's core ethical values are protected. ”

At Mills and Reeve, Phil advises a number of leading sports agencies on regulatory and litigious matters, with a particular focus on football.

In addition to his anti-doping work, he has also represented Daniel Sturridge and Kieran Trippier in their respective high-profile cases brought by The FA in relation to alleged breaches of The FA Betting Rules.

He has represented football clubs, players and agents on transfers totalling tens of millions of pounds and has been named as a 'Rising Star ' for four consecutive years (2019 - 2022) in Legal 500 editions for sports law.

He is also listed as an 'Associate to watch ' for sports law in Chambers 2022.

Phil added: “I am honoured to be appointed to the Independent Ethics Board, particularly at such an important time for Birmingham as it gears up to host the Commonwealth Games.

“I look forward to using my extensive experience of athlete representation in the anti-doping sphere to support my fellow members of the Board in ensuring the implementation of, and compliance with, the WADA Code of Ethics. ”