Biography

After working for a notary and a lawyer admitted to the Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation) from 1976 to 1979, François Klein first founded his own law firm in 1979 and then joined KGA Avocats, then called “Klein & Associés“, at the end of 1985.

François Klein has always been active in business law and his practice focuses mainly on corporate law, company law, intellectual and artistic property law, but also on white collar criminal law. He handles all these matters in both an advisory and litigation capacity.

In addition, François Klein has developed a regular practice in commercial, national and international arbitration for many years. He is one of the “pioneers” in sports law, in which he has been active since 1986. In this capacity, he has been on the List of Arbitrators of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne since 2003. He is also on the list of arbitrators of the French Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Arbitration Chamber of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF).

He advises companies of all sizes, from SMEs to international corporations; in keeping with the tradition developed in his practice, he enjoys participating in the life of companies and is often invited to attend his clients’ board or supervisory board meetings.

With his teams, he works on the creation of companies, their support, their development, in the service sector, in trade and sometimes in the industrial sector.

His practice, both advisory and litigation, enables his teams to offer comprehensive services to their French, but also international clientele, composed of European, Middle Eastern and African, and sometimes North American, players.

Beyond his purely professional activities, François has been or is a member of various committees of the Professional Football League (LFP). He currently sits on the Joint Appeals Committee. He was one of the founding members of the Direction Nationale de Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG).

Finally, François Klein has published various works in the field of sport, such as:

• The 101 proposals for French football
• Contributions and updates on the Lamy Droit du sport (The public’s right to information on sports competitions)

François teaches sports procedural law as part of the University Diploma in Sports Law at the University of Créteil. This specialisation has earned him the reputation of being one of the best specialists in this field.