The purpose of the "service" is to provide a safety net for those who do not have their own legal representatives in place in Scotland and who may have difficulty in identifying representation at short notice.

The service will offer legal advice free of charge with a view to helping to ensure the smooth running of the Games and it will apply from July 8 to August 6 2014.

A similar pro bono service was offered at London 2012.

Glasgow 2014, along with the support of its official legal advisers, Harper Macleod, has asked a group consisting of the Law Society of Scotland, the Faculty of Advocates and legal representatives with a background in sports law to assemble an independent service of advocates, law firms and/or sole practitioners to offer their legal services.

"A similar pro bono service was used successfully during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games," said Austin Lafferty, chairman of the Pro Bono Management Committee.

"I fully anticipate that Scottish solicitors and advocates will have the skills, experience and enthusiasm to benefit the Commonwealth Games, which is such a hugely important event for Glasgow and Scotland."

Glasgow 2014 say that the service will be made up of a specialist sports advocacy section to represent athletes at hearings, in particular at urgent ad hoc hearings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and a general section to provide advice and assistance in the areas of sports, criminal, defamation and privacy, immigration and asylum, discrimination and personal injury law.

Independent sport dispute specialists, Sport Resolutions UK, will act as secretariat and be responsible for the day-to-day administration and operation of the service during the Games period.

For more information on being part of the service click here or apply to [email protected]. 

Applications open on Saturday (February 1) and close on February 28.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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