Commonwealth Games England appoint Shakespeare Martineau as first-ever legal services partner

Shakespeare Martineau have been appointed as Commonwealth Games England's first-ever legal services partner ©Shakespeare Martineau

Commonwealth Games England has announced that Shakespeare Martineau will be its first-ever official legal services partner ahead of Gold Coast 2018.

The newly-formed legal company, who were established in June of this year, will also support the organisation through to the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games.

The announcement marks the first signing of an official major partner for Commonwealth Games England since the Samoa 2015 Youth Games, where they finished with the second-highest medal total, winning 44 in total, which included 12 golds.

“Following a highly successful 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games for Team England, we're delighted to announce that Shakespeare Martineau will be Team England’s first ever official legal partner,” Commonwealth Games England chief executive Paul Blanchard said.

"We're excited about working with Shakespeare Martineau to show how integral teamwork is in both sporting and business environments.

"We also share similar beliefs when it comes to fostering upcoming talent.

"With the support of Shakespeare Martineau, we aim to send the best team we can to the Gold Coast in 2018.”

The development follows Shakespeare Martineau hosting an event where its 130 partners met with some of England’s top Commonwealth athletes, including Glasgow 2014 under 57 kilograms judo gold medallist Nekoda Smythe-Davis.

Glasgow 2014 judo gold medallist Nekoda Smythe-Davis was one athlete to attend a recent event held by Shakespeare Martineau ©Getty Images

Matt French, who won shooting silver in Glasgow last year, and Commonwealth Youth Games javelin champion Emma Hamplett were also in attendance, where a question and answer session on teamwork, goal setting and elite performance was held.

“Our plan is to build a powerful team of commercial partners who buy into our vision to create a winning England movement over the next few years in the lead up to the 2018 Games,” Commonwealth Games England head of commercial Nick Evans added.

“We are delighted Shakespeare Martineau has joined our winning Team.

“There is tremendous synergy between Team England and Shakespeare Martineau and we look forward to utilising our assets such as motivational speaking, staff engagement, supporting emerging talent and utilising the power of our brand to leverage the partnership and make it a success over the next three years.”