Sam Georgevic, Trainee Solicitor at Harbottle & Lewis.
Sam Georgevic, ambitious and confident young professional, is currently a trainee solicitor at Harbottle & Lewis. In this interview, Sam talks about his background and education as well as his experience as a trainee lawyer in a prominent London law firm. He is on the mission to eventually becoming a successful sports lawyer.
Join Sam to find out more on how to become a lawyer, secure a training contract, learn how to obtain a law degree in one year, gain work experience and much more.
Q1: Tell us a little bit about your background.
I was born and raised in Birmingham, then moved to Leeds to study International History and Politics. I carried out a four year degree, with three years spent at Leeds and a year abroad in Melbourne at Deakin University. But deep down inside, I always knew I wanted to become a sports lawyer.
Q2: Can you share some insights into the degree you studied (History & Politics)?
When I was in Melbourne at Deakin University, I basically studied every single subject you can imagine, because I didn’t have to just stick to History & Politics modules. I took modules in Sports Law, Accounting & Finance, Conflict, Security and Terrorism, Modern Middle Eastern Politics, The Rise of China or Aboriginal History.
However, my course at Leeds was International History & Politics and I did my dissertation on comparing motivations and recruitment strategies of British individuals who joined al-Qaeda in early 2000s’ with the British foreign fighters who joined ISIS from 2013.
The course at Leeds was a fairly selective course with only 40 students. Overall, it was a fascinating degree with a strong focus on modern history, rather than a standard history degree.
Q3: How was your experience in Melbourne?
It was great to study a vast range of subjects. I had a great time in Melbourne which is often known as the most liveable city in the world. Although, my studies required a considerable amount of work and effort, especially towards exams, it was fascinating to gain an introduction into vastly different areas. So it was good to study all these things, whilst also enjoying the rest of my Melbourne life.
I also got to work at Melbourne City Football Club whilst I was over there. I worked alongside the CEO and Legal Counsel at the time – John Didulica whose brother is former Ajax goalkeeper Joey Didulica.
I did some other bits of work experience whilst I was in Melbourne, for example as an intern at a media law firm, GI & Sanicki Lawyers between March – July, 2016.
Q4: What made you choose to become a lawyer?
I’ve always had an interest in trying to get into the Sports Law world. It was ever since I was around 15, where I had a good conversation with a good friend of my father’s and absolute hero, Cyrille Regis, the former Sky Blues and Baggies legend. After his successful career, Cyrille later became a very prominent football agent and worked closely with Jonathan Barnett at the Stellar Group.
Cyrille always said to me that if I want to get into the football industry, which has always been a huge passion for me, I should consider sports law. Ever since that conversation in the car when we were on the way to the Ricoh, I’ve continued to work towards this aim.
I think sports law combines both my interest in studying with my passion that is football and sport.
Q5: What legal qualification did you gain that allow you to practice the law?
Even though I started my education with History degree, I knew I was going to do my law conversion afterwards and so I carried out a range of legal work experience whilst doing my undergraduate degree. Back in August 2016, I gained work experience at Harbottle & Lewis, the firm where I am currently doing my training contract, and really enjoyed this experience.
After my History degree, I started the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) at the University of Law, which is a conversion course for non-law graduate that allows you to progress further into a second year to study the Legal Practice Course (LPC). The LPC is the course you require to become a solicitor. Having gained a training contract position with Harbottle prior to the beginning of my GDL, I was very fortunate that this was Harbottle & Lewis sponsored me for both the GDL and LPC.
Q6: What was your experience studying the GDL? It seems to be an intense course to study a law degree in one year.
Yes. You normally do 3-year law degree at undergraduate level in England, but the GDL is a shortened one year course. You do all the key core modules in one year that I believe you would have done when studying the law degree. Of course, you don’t go into as much depth into each module that you would had you studied law at undergraduate level, but the GDL is still a fairly intense year, which I’m sure is even more of the case now due to remote learning during the pandemic.
Q7: What was your favourite subject when studying the GDL or LPC?
On the GDL, it was probably the Criminal Law module which was absolutely fascinating I also enjoyed the Public Law which is quite similar to what I am doing now in the Media Information Group at Harbottle & Lewis. On the LPC, my favourite module was Intellectual Property Law.
Q8: How did you manage to get a traineeship at Harbottle & Lewis?
During my five months summer holiday (October – March) in Australia, I worked and travelled, and also did various law applications for the summer when I would return to to England. Basically, I applied to a range of firms. I used the Legal 500 website to identify the best legal firms in sports, and I applied to most of these firms.
I managed to do three Work Experiences that summer when I got back from Australia, one was with Harbottle & Lewis. That was the one which I most enjoyed and then I applied for the training contract with the company. Following applying for the training contract a year later, I had two interviews within the space of a week and soon after the second interview, I received the offer. It was really fantastic news, especially that it had happened four days before I started GDL course.
Q9: How much responsibilities are you given? What are your tasks?
As there are currently a small number of trainees spread across the firm, you do have a lot of responsibilities. The team I am currently working in is a fairly small department, so you do get involved in matters which maybe in other large law firms you wouldn’t get much exposure to.
At Harbottle & Lewis, I started in Property Department which was such a friendly team and a really good department to start your training contract as I learnt all the processes and had interactions with a number of departments, After that, I was in Corporate Department where I got a lot of exposure to private equity and venture capital deals, an area that I am quite interested in.
I am currently in the Litigation Department which is split between Commercial Litigation and the Media Information Group. I will be sitting in the Media and Entertainment group during my last seat.
Q10: Do you have a mentor at Harbottle & Lewis? If so, what is your professional relationship like?
Yes. You get set up with a trainee buddy when you first join the company at the beginning of your training contract. You also have a supervisor in each department who are assigned to monitor your progress and who conduct an appraisal every three months spent in a department.
Q11: What type of clients do you represent at Harbottle & Lewis?
Unfortunately, I cannot reveal clients names, but we represent a lot of high-profile high net worth individuals and a range of large organisations. We have a great reputation in the Media & Entertainment sector, and the Private Client and Family departments are expanding at a very fast rate. On the Sports side, I understand there has been a slight shift towards focussing on individual talent in recent years. Having said that, the team still act for a number of exciting and well-known sporting organisations and I can’t wait to get started in the group.
Q12: We all know how important networking is, almost in every profession? What tips would you give to students about networking process?
I have attended a range of sport and technology conferences, most of which have had a legal focus. I think this is a great way of meeting people and at the same time you have a great opportunity to learn from experts in the field. I try to attend as many webinars as I possibly can.
I enjoy social interactions, so I try to chat to as many people as possible, not just for strictly networking purpose, but it’s just nice just to have a chat with people to see what they are up to.
Q13: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Chief Executive of Coventry City…joking aside, hopefully within the sports industry. That’s where I want to be.
Sam is an author of the article titled 'How Would A Private Equity Firm Invest In The English Football League'? He discusses various aspects and reasons for an increasing interest in sporting organisations from private equity firms, and considers key points for negotiating a hypothetical PE Investment into English Football League.
The article was originally published at Sport in Law website and is available to access by clicking on this link: https://www.lawinsport.com/topics/item/how-would-a-private-equity-firm-invest-in-the-english-football-league
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