Erika Riedl is a Swiss-Italian Sports Lawyer, Arbitrator, and Mediator with over 15 years of international experience in governance, regulatory affairs, and integrity within sport. She has served as General Counsel and legal advisor to multiple international federations and is currently Counsel at epartners law firm. A PhD candidate in esports integrity at the University of Lausanne, Erika also sits on various disciplinary and integrity panels, including for World Athletics, ITTF, and Riot Games. A former elite skeleton athlete and multilingual legal expert, she combines academic insight with hands-on legal and investigative experience across the global sports industry.
University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Author Profile
ORCID
Education 🎓
Erika Riedl holds a Master of Law from the Universities of Innsbruck and Padua, completed between 1999 and 2003. She later earned an International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport (CIES/FIFA) from the Universities of Leicester, SDA Bocconi, and Neuchâtel in 2005–2006. She is currently pursuing a PhD in criminology at the University of Lausanne, with a research focus on esports integrity, which she began in February 2024. Erika has also undertaken a range of continuing education programs, including Sports Law at the University of Neuchâtel, Institutional Integrity Management at Hong Kong University SPACE, Investigations Management at Charles Sturt University, Mediator Training through CEDR, and recent courses in human rights abuse in sport, esports law, and sport sustainability.
Professional Experience 💼
With over 15 years of experience, Erika Riedl is a seasoned Sports Lawyer who has served in diverse roles across numerous international sports organizations. Currently, she is a Counsel at epartners law firm in Zurich since September 2024, and previously acted as an independent advisor in Sports Law, Integrity and Governance from 2022 to 2024. She served as Legal Counsel at the Swiss Arbitration Centre in Geneva between 2021 and 2022, where she led mediation initiatives and optimized procedural workflows. From 2016 to 2021, she was a part-time Senior Legal Counsel at the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) in Neuchâtel, contributing to governance research and academic publications. Her legal advisory roles extended to the International Weightlifting Federation in 2021, and she worked extensively with the International Equestrian Federation from 2012 to 2020 as a Tribunal Clerk and earlier as Junior Legal Counsel. Erika held further positions at the Cycling Independent Reform Commission, the International Olympic Committee during the Sochi 2014 Games, the International Volleyball Federation, and the International Canoe Federation. She began her professional journey as a Legal Counsel at CIES and interned at the Swiss Federal Office for Sport and the High Court in Graz.
Technical Skills 🛠️
Erika is multilingual, fluent in English, German, Italian, French, and Spanish. She has excellent drafting skills and is both detail-oriented and capable of strategic oversight. Her expertise spans governance, investigations, regulatory compliance, education, contract management, and project leadership. She has trained as a mediator and serves as an arbitrator, combining technical legal knowledge with dispute resolution capabilities.
Awards & Honors 🏅
While no formal awards are listed, Erika’s achievements include key contributions to reforms in international federations, improving arbitration processes, and handling over 250 tribunal decision drafts. Her work with the Cycling Independent Reform Commission and the IOC during the Sochi Olympics underlines her recognition and trust in high-stakes governance and anti-doping work.
Research Interests 🔍
Her current research is centered on esports integrity, approached through a criminological lens as part of her doctoral studies at the University of Lausanne. She has also published on governance and regulatory restoration in sports, with notable work on the International Biathlon Union scandal. Erika’s academic interests align with practical legal reforms and integrity mechanisms in both traditional and emerging sports landscapes.
Publications Top Notes: 📝
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Title: A systematic literature review of esports integrity
Author(s): Erika Riedl, Pim Verschuuren
Journal: The International Sports Law Journal
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Title: A comparison of esports integrity policies and programs to those of traditional sports
Author: Erika Riedl
Journal: Sports Law, Policy & Diplomacy Journal
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Title: Restoring trust in sport
Author: Catherine Ordway (with contribution by Erika Riedl)
Journal: Restoring Trust in Sport (Book chapter published by Routledge)