Dr. Despina Mavromati is a widely recognized expert in international sports law and an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). She provides legal advice to clubs, athletes and federations in contractual, disciplinary and governance matters and assists them in recognition and enforcement proceedings of arbitral awards. Dr. Mavromati is a member of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (Appeals Chamber) and has previously been appointed as an arbitrator to several tribunals of international federations (World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal; International Tennis Federation Independent Tribunal; Gymnastics Ethics Foundation; International Powerlifting Federation Doping Hearing Panel). She co-authored (with M. Reeb) the “Commentary on the CAS Code” (2015, Wolters Kluwer) and has been ranked as a WWL Thought Leader - Sports and Entertainment every year since 2018.
Location
Lausanne
Av. C. F. Ramuz 80
P.O. Box
1009 Pully/Lausanne Switzerland +41 21 721 04 40 Contact email hidden; JavaScript is required
1009 Pully/Lausanne Switzerland +41 21 721 04 40 Contact email hidden; JavaScript is required
Expertise
Languages
- English
- French
- German
- Greek
Who’s Who Legal Switzerland, 2023Despina Mavromati is a leading name in sports law according to market commentators, who describe her as “an amazing lawyer with immense knowledge and expertise when it comes to disputes before the CAS.
Who’s Who Legal Switzerland, 2022Despina Mavromati enjoys a strong reputation as “a very well-known sports lawyer” with significant experience representing clubs and athletes in complex disputes.
Experience
| Since 2023 | UEFA CFCB Member (Appeals Chamber) |
| Since 2023 | CAS Arbitrator |
| Since 2024 | Of Counsel at valfor |
| 2022–2024 | Of Counsel at BianchiSchwald |
| 2017–2023 | UEFA Appeals Body Member |
| 2017–2023 | Lecturer at the Law Faculty of the University of Lausanne |
| 2017–2023 | Attorney-at-Law, SportLegis Lausanne |
| 2008–2017 | Counsel / Managing Counsel, Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) |
| 2003–2007 | Lecturer at the Swiss Distant Learning University (insolvency law), FernStudien Schweiz & the Law Faculty of the University of Fribourg (private international law) |
| 2002–2003 | Teaching Assistant at the Law Faculty of the University of Neuchâtel |
| 2002 | European Commission, DG Internal Market |
| 2000 | Admitted to the Bar of Thessaloniki (ΔΣΘ) |
| 2007 | Dr. iur., University of Fribourg |
| 2002 | M.B. A., Europa-Institut, University of Saarland (Germany) |
| 2001 | LL.M., European Law, Europa-Institut, University of Saarland (Germany) |
| 1998 | Lic. iur., University of Thessaloniki |
- 2017–2023 Former lecturer at the Law Faculty of the University of Lausanne
- 2025 Founder / Former Board Member Women in Sports Law (WISLaw)
- 2025 Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
- 2025 Editorial Board, LawInSport
- 2020–2021 Ethics and Disciplinary Commission Chair, IWF (2020-2021)
- Ordre des avocats vaudois (OAV)
- Swiss Bar Association
- Thessaloniki Bar Association
- Arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)
- Member of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (Appeals Chamber)
- Swiss Arbitration Association
- Swiss Association of Sports Law
- Sports Lawyers Association (SLA) (Board of Directors)
- Speaker, Termination of Player Contracts with Just Cause, Selected Issues under Swiss Law Current Issues in Player Contracts Conference hosted by the Turkish Football Federation in Istanbul, Türkiye
- Speaker, Latest Developments and Recent CAS Case Law 49th SLA Annual Conference in Baltimore, USA
- Speaker, Arbitration and the Olympic Games aConference hosted by the French Olympic Committee in Paris, France
- Speaker, Athletes‘ rights and Regulatory Drafting in International Sports Harvard Law School
- Panelist, Immigration Issues and Sponsoring Opportunities for Elite Athletes Sports Lawyers Association Webinar Series
- Speaker, Sports Arbitration from the Athlete’s Perspective 48th Annual Conference in Los Angeles, USA
- Speaker, Sports Arbitration – Best Practices FIFA Annual Review 2023 in Mexico City, Mexico
- Organiser, Panel Moderator on « Sports Governance” UNIL – CAS Sports Arbitration Forum in Lausanne, CH
- Human Rights Panel Member 8th LawInSport Annual Conference in London, UK
- Legal Aspects of the Qatar World Cup 2022 Hamad Bin Khalifa University College of Law, Qatar
- A comparison of Sports Justice Systems (presentation on the Swiss legal framework) Webinar organized by the Milan Bar Association
- 20th Rex Sport General Assembly & Conference Round table discussion with Dr. Hansjörg Stutzer on the recent Swiss Federal Tribunal case law regarding the independence and impartiality of CAS arbitrators
- Lecture (sports law) at the Temple University Beasley School of Law (invited by Prof. Kenneth Jacobsen) Rome, Italy
- Lectures to the students of the FIFA Executive Programme in Sports Arbitration FIFA offices in Paris, France
- UEFA Appeals Body Member present on-site at the UEFA Euro 2020 London, UK
- Lecture at the UEFA Football Law Program (case law of the Swiss Federal Tribunal)
- Bosman at 25: Contemporary issues in EU sports law (panelist discussing the EU General Court ISU v EU Commission Decision – T-93/18) Webinar hosted by the Edge Hill University
- High-level policy dialogue on sports governance and EU law organised by the School of Transnational Governance of the European University Institute
- VII Annual Seminar on Sports Arbitration of the Spanish Arbitration Association with Profs. Ulrich Haas, Massimo Coccia, Luigi Fumagalli; Clifford Hendel, Lucas Ferrer et al.
- Comparing approaches in dispute resolution in football (Panel Chair) LawInSport Webinar
- Think Sport Conference organized by the University of Lausanne Round table on the future of sports law and sports governance, with a key lecture by the IOC President Thomas Bach
- Working Group assessing the impact of Covid-19 on procedues in sports dispute resolution with Nick DeMarco QC, Murray Rosen QC, Jeff Benz, Steven Flynn, Kendrah Potts, Roberto Barracco et al.
- Schiefelbein Global Dispute Resolution Conference (speaker on the International Sports Disputes panel with Jeff Benz, Louise Reilly, Kenneth Shropshire and Ray Anderson), Phoenix (AZ), USA
- The Future of Sports Law and Business Conference (speaker) Etihad Stadium, Manchester UK
- Round Table discussion at the 45 Sports Lawyers Annual Conference (speaker) Phoenix (AZ), USA
- Presentation on the UNESCO Anti-Doping Convention at the IX St. Petersburg Legal Forum
- Presentation on eSports and Doping at the RexSport Congress Madrid, Spain
- Round Table on the Protection of clean Athletes at the PCC Conference (with Brent Nowicki, Adolpho Birch, Mike Morgan & Travis Tygard), London, UK
- FIFA Master class on sports dispute resolution University of Neuchâtel
- WISLaw Talk on jurisdictional issues related to football disputes hosted by the Hellenic Football Federation in Athens, Greece
- Presentation at the 29th Annual National Sports Law Institute Conference Milwakee (AZ), USA
- Harvard Law Talk on the Challenges when Drafting Sports Regulations: From Doping to Gender Classification (with Paul Greene), Harvard Law School, Cambridge (MA), USA
- Presentation on the standard and burden of proof in CAS proceedings at the 2nd International Sports Law Journal Annual Conference at the Asser Institute in The Hague
- Lunch talk on the Pechstein Judgment (with Prof. Margareta Baddeley) at the 2nd International Sports Law Journal Annual Conference at the Asser Institute in The Hague
- 2nd WISLaw Conference at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne (panel chair at a dispute resolution round table discussion with Michael Beloff QC, Philippe Sands QC & Catherine Pitre).
- UEFA Disciplinary Workshop in Cyprus, Speaker on “The Review of Disciplinary Sanctions in Football Matters and the Question of Proportionality”
- Round Table on Anti-Doping matters (with Michael Beloff QC, Nick Steward QC, Yury Ganus et al.) at the XIII Legal Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia
- Sports Law and Business Conference, (Panelist with Mark Hovell, Samantha Hilas, Gareth Farrelly & Kevin Carpenter) Ettihad Stadium, Manchester (UK)
- Presentation to the Members of the Disciplinary Tribunal of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) on Due Process in CAS proceedings Lausanne
- Presentation on “Contractual Penalties in Football” at the CEDIDAC Sports Law Conference University of Lausanne
- Harvard Talk on Arbitration and Athletes’ Rights (with Paul Greene) Harvard Law School, Cambridge (MA), USA
- WISLaw Seminar on Sports Arbitration hosted by the Canadian Olympic Committee (“Corruption cases and the Court of Arbitration for Sport: Jurisdiction, Scope and Limits”, with Janie Soublière and Prof. Richard McLaren) Montreal (Canada)
- Intensive course on sports arbitration (with Prof. Richard McLaren) at the University of Western Ontario (Canada)
- 1st International Sports Law Journal Annual Conference (panelist with Howard Jacobs, Lindsay Brandon et al.)
- LawInsport Annual conference, Panelist, Best Practices in Sports Arbitration with Nick de Marco QC, John Mehzard QC, Jon Taylor QC, Nina Goolamali QC et al.
- Womens’ Career Panel at the New York University, Tisch Institute of Sports Management (organized by Prof. Cameron Myler OLY)
- Tackling Doping in Sport – Presentation “Swiss Law in Doping Cases: why does it matter?” (with Prof. Antonio Rigozzi), London, UK
- Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Istanbul Conference – Presentation on the functioning and the mechanics of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (with Dr Fabrice Robert-Tissot, Ms Carole Mallinvaud and Prof. Antonio Rigozzi), London, UK
- Sports Lawyers Annual Conference, Presentation on the Leading Disciplinary and Governance Procedures before the Court of Arbitration for Sport Los Angeles (CA), USA
- Lecture on the “Consensual” Nature of CAS Arbitration Harvard Law School, Cambridge (MA), USA
- Lecture on the Dispute Resolution at the Olympics, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (with Michael Lenard) TUFTS University, Medford (MA), USA
- Harvard Round Table on Olympic Sports and Doping (with Jeff Benz, Paul Greene and Mary McCagg) Harvard Law School, Cambridge (MA) USA.
- Lecture on the Good Governance and the Rule of Law, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy TUFTS University, Medford (MA), USA
- Presentation on the CAS jurisprudence in Disciplinary Matters at the CAS Seminar Vancouver (Canada)
- Presentation on Sports Mediation at the American Bar Association Fall Seminar (with Prof. Richard McLaren) Montreal (Canada)