Success is no accident. It’s hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all love of what you are doing or learning to do.

– Pele

IOAN VLAD

Ioan Vlad is a Senior Partner and co-founder of Gherdan & Associates, Romania’s first law firm dedicated exclusively to sports law. His practice covers the full spectrum of sports-related legal work, from player and coach representation in contractual disputes before Romanian courts, to disciplinary proceedings before national and international federations, to the defence of clubs and officials in criminal investigations with a sports dimension.

A significant part of Ioan’s practice is focused on football, where he represents players, coaches, and clubs in matters before the Romanian courts and national federation bodies. He has particular experience in salary recovery claims, contract termination disputes, and disciplinary proceedings at domestic level, understanding both the legal and human stakes involved for clients whose livelihoods depend on swift resolution.

Alongside his sports law practice, Ioan advises and defends clubs and officials in criminal proceedings connected to the sports industry, including money laundering investigations. This is a growing and increasingly complex area of Romanian sports law, requiring a practitioner who can navigate both the criminal justice system and the specific governance structures of sport simultaneously. Ioan brings both capabilities to bear in a field where few Romanian lawyers operate with genuine depth.

He also acts in club structuring and advisory matters, assisting sports organisations with the legal framework governing their activities — from internal regulations and federation compliance to the establishment and restructuring of sports entities.

Ioan holds a law degree from the Faculty of Law of Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca and an LL.M. in International Business from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, where he graduated in 2012. He has been a member of the Bucharest Bar since 2013. Before law, he played professional football, an experience that gives him a direct and personal understanding of the pressures, timelines, and professional consequences that athletes and coaches face when legal disputes arise.

Ioan can be contacted directly at ioan.vlad@gherdanassociates.com.