Football regulator advertises Head of Legal role that pays ‘less than most newly qualified lawyers’

The independent football regulator’s top lawyer will be paid the same as peers just starting out on their legal careers, prompting industry figures to fear the body could be “toothless”.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) posted an advert for the Head of Legal role earlier this week that will pay the successful candidate an annual salary of £75,000; roughly the same as the average starting salary at London law firms.

The remuneration for the post, which is understood to be the most senior legal role at the body, currently known as the Shadow Independent Football Regulator, could mean DCMS struggles to attract candidates of the calibre that top football clubs can call on, a high profile football lawyer warned.

Stefan Borson, a lawyer and football finance expert, told City A.M.: “The work setting up the football regulator will be crucial to it being an effective body from day one. Yet the budget offered for what seems to be a key professional role is less than most London-based newly qualified lawyers are paid and only about the average weekly basic wage of a Premier League player.

“Given that the Premier League’s legal bill for last season alone was reported to be approaching £30m, the football regulator will find itself toothless without access to proper resources commensurate with the scope of its remit.”

The average wage for a newly qualified lawyer at a London law firm is roughly £75,000, while “Magic Circle” firms – a group of the five most prestigious solicitors in the UK – tend to pay newly qualified lawyers around £150,000.

And the London offices of big American law firms like Kirklands, and Milbank have been known to pay their new starters up to £180,000, over double the wage for the role at the Shadow Independent Football Regulator despite the public sector job requiring considerably more experience.

The opening comes at what is a crucial time for the regulator, which will now almost certainly get the go ahead after being included in the new Labour government’s policy agenda, outlined in the King’s Speech.

DCMS appointed Martyn Henderson OBE as the body’s interim chief operating officer late last year. Henderson had held the role of chief executive at the Sports Grounds Safety Authority before deciding to lead the new regulator as it gets off the ground.

Should it be signed off by parliament, the regulator will usher in a new era of governance in football. The sport continues to be plagued by mismanagement, with centuries-old clubs like Bury falling into liquidation in recent years, and this season’s Premier League operating under a grey cloud, with several clubs – including champions Manchester City – facing the real prospect of financial and point penalties.

The Head of Legal role at the shadow regulator is a 12-month fixed contract, but City A.M. understands that the successful applicant can expect to be carried through to the regulator when it is formally established.

Despite fears around the post’s pay, Chris Clark, director at legal recruiter Definitum Search, said the government could still attract candidates of sufficient calibre.

“Government legal roles are often much lower paid than the private market, whether it’s the SFO, FCA or in this case the DCMS,” he said.

“Someone will take this role for the passion despite the financial impact, most likely a senior partner with financial freedom, looking for a new challenge.”

DCMS declined to comment.