Gill Nuttall, PR & Marketing Manager

I’ve been quite fascinated by the whole Kevin Pietersen saga, not least because I really enjoy cricket and I think that the situation has been a distraction that the England team could have done without.

I often compare sport to what I consider “real work”, and by that I mean any other job or profession.  I look at professional sports men and women and I consider them very lucky indeed to have been given such a talent that they are able to take what they are so good at, play it at such a high class level and be paid very well.  When these sports people are given their first “caps” for their country, the feeling of pride must be second to none.

I say I compare this to “real” work and I am often criticised for doing so, I often hear, “But, Gill, it isn’t the same, you can’t compare” Well, I believe that you can.  I have worked in law for the last 23 years; almost 16 of those years have been spent at Ralli.   I look at some of the solicitors and support staff that have worked here for longer than me and I know that they are some of the most loyal people you could ever wish to meet.   You would never find one of our personal injury solicitors in court on a serious injury case, texting the Defendant’s representatives telling them the best way to bring down our client or informing them of any internal issues we might have.

We are all paid to do our jobs and albeit we won’t be earning anywhere near what professional footballers and cricketers are earning, we are nevertheless earning a living in our chosen profession and as a result, we owe some loyalty to our employers and that means we don’t give away any secrets involving our colleagues and we don’t criticise each other to opposing legal teams.  It really is that simple and it shouldn’t take a genius to work that out.

Turning briefly to the use of agents and PR machines in KP’s quest to try to turn this all round in his favour, two things spring to mind; 1.  the use of agents throughout sport and 2.  are they really necessary?   This is something that I have discussed with Ralli’s Stuart Page who says that “Copy approval, release to media and expertise in media law is very important to someone in the public eye as the wrong thing said at the wrong time can have a devastating effect on someone’s career.”

So, the use of agents in sport then, does the sporting world really need them or would they all be better off with a decent, straight talking solicitor?