In an era when most lawyers speak enthusiastically of specialisation, meet Philippe Levy, who made his passion a very profitable speciality.
'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink,' goes the proverb. But can you take a horse to court? This is a question for Philippe Levy (EJ Belgium), a lawyer from Liege who became a specialist in Equestrian Law.
'I have been an enthusiastic horse rider myself since my youngest years', Philippe says, 'so I know a lot of people in this field. I developed this speciality at a time when it was completely unheard of. Now, a few other firms in Belgium have specialists in Sports Law in general'. Philippe also refers to himself, on his website, as specialised in sports cases, but horseback riding as a competition and a hobby is by far his core domain. 'I do advise football clubs or players sometimes but horses are my first thing'.
Equestrian law includes a large number of possible problems. As horses become more and more expensive, they are often purchased by groups of people, creating the need for contracts and the potential for lawsuits. 'Cases of multiple owners of a single horse typically includes accidents caused by the animal or expensive veterinarian bills.' Selling and buying these very pricey horses also creates litigations needing a specialised lawyer.
Competitions themselves also require legal advice. The regulations of the national federation of each sport can be a matter of conflict. There is an arbitration court in Bern, Switzerland, which is regularly employed to solve such cases. 'It works quite well', reports Philippe, 'I have worked on cases of riders protesting that they were not selected as part of a team for some competitions. There is also the use of steroids, both on rider and horse'.
Philippe also worked as a legal adviser to people wishing to organise sporting events. 'There is a lot of work in sponsoring, for example. Equestrian sports are much bigger than you would think. In Belgium, it has the fourth highest number of affiliates of any sports. In France, they are one million. I have worked in this field for thirty years and the number of people implied is now five times higher. Through Eurojuris, I have been working with French lawyers in the same field, in particular Jean-François Puget. One last thing: this specialisation was for me a way to build a customership that employs me for other domains: now riders ask me to take care of their divorces!' For Philippe, at least, it seems he put his bet on the right horse!
