For the love of football

Combining his love of football with his legal expertise, Patrick Stewart (LLB 1994) is the director of legal & business affairs at Manchester United.‌

Patrick Stewart, LLB 1994
Current position: Director of legal & business affairs at Manchester United

Had it not been for the Erasmus student exchange programme, Patrick Stewart would probably not be where he is just now – director of legal & business affairs at Manchester United.

Patrick, who was brought up in Aberdeen, became one of the first in-house lawyers to be appointed by a football club, north or south of the border, when he moved to Manchester United in March 2006. But that career success might never have been achieved had he not been the first-ever Law student at the University to take part in Erasmus, established in 1987 by the European Union.

The programme took him to the University of Mainz in Germany in 1991, where he studied Law through German for a year, improving his language skills, studying new aspects of law, but most importantly, stepping outside what he describes as his comfort zone.

After practising at two law firms in Edinburgh – W & J Burness (as it then was) and Maclay, Murray & Spens, where he worked on a shirt sponsorship deal for Hibs with Le Coq Sportif – he realised that it was possible to marry his love for football with his legal training.
That career-changing moment led to a position with Team Marketing, the Lucerne-based marketing agency that deals with the sponsorship and television rights for the UEFA Champions League.

‘My German and my experience in Mainz were absolutely pivotal to getting that job,’ he says. It in turn led to his dream job as Manchester United’s first in-house lawyer, where a wide-ranging legal role includes negotiation of a record-breaking shirt sponsorship deal with US car brand Chevrolet and professional contracts for players and managers.

Patrick’s academic mentor was Jim Murdoch, Professor of Public Law, who was recently appointed international dean for mobility. Patrick was also a founder member of the Kelvin Ensemble, in which he played the French horn.

From an interview in Avenue 56 (June 2014)

Supporting student employability

Patrick has given a little of his time through the , a global community that supports the future employability of our students. You can too, find out how.

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