Yannick Hefti

I am a counsel in our Sports and Dispute Resolution teams, based in Dubai. I advise on regulatory and contentious matters throughout the EMEA region, including for sport federations and governing bodies, event organisers, clubs, governments and private individuals.

Working out of London, Dubai and Berlin, I have advised clients across a wide range of industries and sectors, including sports, entertainment, art, aviation, hospitality and technology.

On the sports side, I am closely involved in drafting and enforcing rules and regulations governing player safety, wage caps, owner & director tests, ethics violations and anti-doping. I have advised federations, clubs and governments in the context of motorsport, football, rugby, esports, cricket and horse-racing. I have assisted clients in setting up new championships, implementing new sports legislation, and in relation to commercial arrangements with rights holders, sponsors, and event organisers.

I also regularly represent clients in high-value commercial disputes and carry out advocacy on their behalf. This includes acting as lead advocate in a DIFC-LCIA shareholder dispute, successfully obtaining damages of more than USD 100 million. I have previously acted for a leading art broker in English High Court proceedings concerning the authenticity of a 16th Century painting and defended a major international supermarket retailer against multi-billion-pound equal pay claims in the Employment Tribunal, High Court and Court of Appeal in the UK. I have also assisted a US-headquartered genetic research company obtain regulatory approval for its cancer detection tests in the European Union and carried out fraud, bribery and sanctions investigations for major financial and insurance firms.

I am passionate about pro bono work and worked closely with a charitable foundation to procure the release of a high-profile Briton detained abroad for six years, including in interactions with British politicians, cabinet members, civil servants, and journalists. I have also advised clients in domestic violence and housing clinics across London.

In addition to being a qualified solicitor in England and Wales, I am also a member of the Irish Law Society and am admitted to practice in the United Arab Emirates. I speak native French, and conversational Spanish and German.

• Working closely with major sport governing body on all of its regulatory matters, including in relation to safety, costs caps, sporting fairness, new championships and commercial contracts.
• Spearheaded detailed liability assessment of fatal and serious in-competition accidents for global sporting authority
• Prepared detailed assessment of potential liability arising from traumatic brain injury claims
• Advising on implementation of novel legislative and regulatory sports framework in the Middle East
• Advised esports team in relation to sponsor's default
• Lead advocate in DIFC-LCIA shareholder dispute, successfully obtaining damages and account of profits award of USD 100m
• Co-advocate in defence of multimillion dollar DIFC-LCIA debt claim, involving complex fraud claims
• Defended ultra-high-net-worth individual in DIFC Court fraud case, relating to alleged misappropriation of private bonds
• Steered multinational restaurant chain's commercial negotiations and defences in respect of multiple tenancy disputes before both DIFC and ADGM courts
• Acted for major supermarket chain in the UK's largest ever equal pay dispute heard by UK Supreme Court
• Defended leading property developer in GBP 10m High Court and Employment Tribunal proceedings relating to unfair and wrongful dismissal and whistleblowing
• Represented premier art broker in its defence of GBP 10m negligence claim arising out of alleged misattribution of Old Master painting
• Acted for ultra-high-net-worth individuals seeking to recover personal loans valued in excess of USD 300m in advance of debtor's high-profile insolvency
• Led several sensitive employment investigations for Fortune 500 client, including relating to bribery and corruption, workplace harassment and theft of company data
• Directed a comprehensive review of major insurance broker's global compliance framework, with a focus on sanctions and anti-bribery and corruption