Expert Defense in Anti-Doping Proceedings
An anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) is one of the most severe threats to a professional athlete’s career, carrying the risk of lengthy bans, loss of titles, and significant reputational damage. The legal framework governing these cases is highly specialized, strictly adhering to the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC).
At UNO-ONE Legal, we provide aggressive and technically rigorous defense strategies for athletes, coaches, and medical staff facing anti-doping allegations. We combine deep legal expertise with an understanding of the complex scientific and analytical procedures involved in doping control.
Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF)
A positive test result is not the end of the process; it is the beginning of a complex legal and scientific challenge. We scrutinize every aspect of the testing procedure and the scientific evidence.
- B-Sample Analysis: Guiding athletes through the right to request the analysis of the B-sample and ensuring procedural fairness during the laboratory process.
- Contaminated Products: Building defense strategies based on unintentional ingestion, establishing the source of the prohibited substance (e.g., contaminated supplements or meat) to seek significant reductions in the period of ineligibility.
- Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE): Managing retroactive TUE applications and defending athletes when legitimate medical treatments result in adverse findings.
- Scientific Collaboration: Working closely with world-leading toxicologists and pharmacologists to challenge the validity of WADA-accredited laboratory results or testing protocols.
Non-Analytical Anti-Doping Rule Violations
Athletes can face severe sanctions even without a positive test. We defend clients against all forms of non-analytical violations outlined in the WADC.
- Whereabouts Failures: Defending athletes against allegations of missed tests or filing failures within the ADAMS system over a 12-month period.
- Evasion and Tampering: Representing clients accused of evading sample collection, refusing to submit to testing, or tampering with the doping control process.
- Biological Passport (ABP): Challenging assertions of doping based on atypical variations in an athlete’s Athlete Biological Passport, coordinating with independent hematologists and endocrinologists.
- Complicity and Prohibited Association: Defending support personnel (coaches, doctors) against allegations of assisting in a violation or associating with banned individuals.
Litigation and Appeals (National & CAS)
We represent clients at every stage of the anti-doping judicial process, from initial hearings to final appeals.
- National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADO): Providing representation before national disciplinary panels and international federations’ specific anti-doping tribunals.
- Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS): Managing complex appellate proceedings in Lausanne, challenging sanctions imposed by NADOs or international federations, or responding to appeals filed by WADA seeking harsher penalties.
- Provisional Suspensions: Challenging mandatory or optional provisional suspensions to allow athletes to continue competing while their case is being resolved.
