webeeui-hero-2-colCareer & Strategy
Career & Strategy: Your Lawyer at the Heart of Your Sports Career
Supporting your career in all its legal aspects?
A sports career is built on decisions that affect your professional, financial, and personal future. Every contract signed, every transfer negotiated, every structural choice has lasting legal implications. Being fully informed about these issues allows you to remain in control of your decisions.
Since 1973, Bertrand Law Firm has been supporting athletes and coaches throughout their careers as their lawyer.
Our role is to provide you with the legal insight you need, coordinate with the professionals around you, and ensure that you remain at the center of your professional ecosystem, fully informed and in sole control of your decisions.
webeeui-left-split-toggleOur Support by Profile
Professional Athletes and High-Level Athletes
Who do we support?
- Players under professional contract
- Individual and high-level athletes
- All sports (team or individual)
Our services
- ✅ Ongoing legal advice tailored to the specificities of sport ing throughout your career
- ✅ Legal analysis of proposed contracts (employment, image, sponsorship, partnership, etc.)
- ✅ Advice on the legal implications of career decisions
- ✅ Legal structuring (image company, status)
- ✅ Tax advice on sports income
- ✅ Legal protection and enhancement of image rights
- ✅ Coordination with your sports agent and other professionals
- ✅ Personalized regulatory monitoring
My agent has offered me a new contract. How can I be sure that it protects my interests?
We analyze the proposed contract independently and explain each clause, its implications, and possible points of negotiation. We work in coordination with your agent while ensuring that your interests remain the priority.
Should I set up a company to manage my image rights?
That depends on your personal situation, the amount of your image income, and your goals. We analyze your case and present you with the legal options, along with their advantages and limitations, so that you can make an informed decision.
How are my competition earnings taxed abroad?
The taxation of international sports income depends on tax treaties between countries and your place of residence. We explain the applicable legal framework and, if necessary, work with a tax lawyer for complex situations.
Coaches and technical staff
Who do we support?
- Head coaches and assistant coaches
- Physical trainers and technical staff members
- All levels (professional and amateur)
Our services
- ✅ Legal advice on coaching contracts
- ✅ Analysis of specific clauses (objectives, results, termination)
- ✅ Advice on the legal implications of proposals received
- ✅ Legal assistance during the term of the contract
- ✅ Tax advice on remuneration
- ✅ Legal aspects of international mobility
- ✅ Coordination with other professionals assisting you
My contract contains a performance clause. What are the legal implications?
We analyze the precise wording of this clause, its conditions of application, and the legal consequences if it is triggered. You will know exactly what you are committing to.
I have been approached by a foreign club. What legal points should I check?
Beyond the contract itself, we will advise you on the applicable labor law, tax treaties, social implications, and practical aspects of expatriation.
Young talents and prospects
Who do we support?
- Young athletes in training
- First professional contracts
- Aspiring professionals and interns
Our services
- ✅ Legal advice from the very first professional contracts
- ✅ Analysis of training and trainee contracts
- ✅ Explanation of the rights and obligations of young athletes
- ✅ Advice to families on legal aspects
- ✅ Early legal structuring, where relevant
- ✅ Raising awareness of the legal issues involved in a career
- ✅ Coordination with legal representatives and entourage
My son is signing his first professional contract. How can I support him?
We analyze the proposed contract, explain each clause to the young athlete and their family, and ensure that the young person's interests are protected at this crucial stage in their career.
webeeui-nested-featuresWhy choose Bertrand Law Firm?
Each sports-related issue requires specific legal expertise. Identify the situation that corresponds to your immediate needs. Our lawyers who are experts in sports law will support you with a tailor-made approach, whether your case is urgent or requires a long-term strategy.
OUR DIFFERENTIATING EXPERTISE
We stay in our field: law
We are lawyers, not agents, asset managers, or communications consultants. We provide you with independent legal insight and, whenever your interests require it, we refer you to the appropriate professional.
You remain at the center of everything
Our mission is to ensure that you are fully informed about everything that concerns you. You understand the issues, the implications, and the risks. You remain in complete control of your decisions.
Coordination with your ecosystem
We work in collaboration with the professionals around you: sports agent, accountant, wealth manager, tax lawyer, auditor, real estate agent, etc. We ensure that everyone works in your best interests.
Professional recognition
- Gold Trophy 2024 & 2025 — Law Summit (Sports Law)
- Gold Medals 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 — Palmarès du Droit
- "Essential" ranking — Décideurs Magazine (since 2011)
OUR METHODOLOGY
Step 1: Listening and understanding
In-depth interview to understand your situation, your projects, and your current professional ecosystem.
Step 2: Legal analysis
Review of your file, identification of legal issues, formulation of clear recommendations.
Step 3: Comprehensive information
We explain everything to you: the options, implications, risks, and benefits. You make an informed decision.
Step 4: Implementation
Drafting, negotiation, structuring according to your decisions. Coordination with other professionals if necessary.
Step 5: Availability
We are always available to answer your legal questions, monitor regulatory developments, and make adjustments as your situation evolves.
webeeui-full-width-brandWhy anticipate your legal challenges?
Legal anticipation: the key to a successful career. In professional sports, decisions often involve years of career and considerable sums of money. A poorly understood contract, an unanalyzed clause, an inappropriate structure, or incomplete information can have lasting consequences. Having legal support throughout your career allows you to make every decision with full knowledge of the facts.
Risks avoided through preventive advice
Risks in the absence of legal support:
- ❌ Misunderstood or unfavorable contractual clauses
- ❌ Image rights exploited without real control
- ❌ Tax implications discovered too late
- ❌ Excessive dependence on a single contact
- ❌ Decisions made without consideration of the legal consequences
- ❌ Legal preparations for restructuring not made
Objectives of legal support:
- ✅ Each contract analyzed and understood before signing
- ✅ Image rights protected and promoted with full knowledge of the facts
- ✅ Taxation anticipated and legally optimized
- ✅ Professional ecosystem coordinated in your best interests
- ✅ Informed decisions at every stage of your career
- ✅ Professional transition prepared with peace of mind
The economics of anticipation
Regular legal advice is a modest investment considering the stakes involved in a sports career. The fees for preventive support are nothing compared to the cost of litigation: lengthy proceedings, uncertainty, stress, and sometimes damage to reputation.
webeeui-faqFAQ: Career & Strategy
What does legal career support involve?
It involves regular legal support throughout your athletic career. We answer your day-to-day legal questions, analyze your contracts, advise you on the legal implications of your decisions, and coordinate with the professionals around you. The goal is to ensure that you are fully informed and remain in control of your choices.
What is the difference between a lawyer and a sports agent?
A sports agent is an intermediary who connects players and clubs and negotiates transfers. A lawyer provides independent legal advice. We are not agents, we do not act as intermediaries. We work in coordination with your sports agent while ensuring that your interests are protected.
How do you work with the other professionals around me?
We remain within our area of expertise—the law—and collaborate with other professionals whenever it is in your best interest to do so: sports agents, accountants, asset managers, tax lawyers, auditors, real estate agents, and communications experts. We ensure that everyone works in your best interest and that you are kept informed of everything.
What areas of law do you cover?
We handle all legal issues related to your career: sports law and regulations, labor law, contract law, image rights, tax law (legal aspects), corporate law, and more broadly any legal issue that arises in your professional life as an athlete.
Do I need to set up a company for my image rights?
That depends on your personal situation, the amount of your image income, and your goals. We analyze your case, present you with the legal options (image company, exploitation in your own name, other arrangements), their advantages and constraints, and you make an informed decision. We then draft the necessary documents.
How does the initial consultation work?
During the first appointment, we take the time to understand your situation, your background, your plans, and your current professional ecosystem. Together, we identify your legal needs and explain how we can assist you. This discussion can take place via videoconference or at our office in Paris.
Do you work with athletes abroad?
Yes, we assist expatriate athletes and those who play internationally. We advise them on the legal and tax aspects of their situation and, for issues relating to foreign law, we work in coordination with local lawyers.
How are your fees determined?
Our fees are set transparently, generally on a flat-rate basis for regular support or an hourly rate for one-off consultations. We always provide you with an estimate before any work is carried out. The terms and conditions are defined together during the initial meeting.