Company: Supercars
Title: Legal counsel
Age: 30
Michael Napoli is a passionate sports lawyer who manages the legal affairs of a business in-house while focusing on delivering the most exciting sport in Australia. He currently works as legal counsel for Supercars, which operates the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. This is the premier Australian touring car racing category which is run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations. At Supercars, Napoli drafts and reviews multimillion-dollar commercial contracts between Supercars and sponsors. In doing so, he is also heavily involved in the negotiation process, assisting the commercial team with satisfying sponsor demands while maintaining the commercial objectives of Supercars. It’s a hectic role as simultaneously assists the events department in securing suppliers, including negotiating agreements for musicians, equipment and hospitality services. Since starting his career in sports law, Napoli has been recognised by his peers for his hard work. He was a finalist at the Australian Legal Counsel of the Year in the 2018 Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards. He has also been selected by the Legal 500 to be included in the GC Powerlist series in Australia.