Hot demand for Kiwi sports lawyer Maria Clarke worldwide

Maria Clarke. Photo / Paul Taylor.

New Zealand sports lawyer, Maria Clarke is in hot demand across the world after leading the reform work within the IAAF.

After athletics' governing body was hit with allegations of serious corruption, mismanagement and a plethora of doping related issues in late 2015, President Lord Sebastian Coe, appointed Clarke as chair of the 'governance structure reform working group'.

She has overseen the design of a new constitution and governance structure which was overwhelmingly voted in late last year, by 182 votes to 10.

New Zealand's leading sports lawyer said she's fielded a number of calls from international sports federations asking for her help as they review their own practices.

"I've had several calls from several different federations asking can you help us? Good governance is not something that international sports federations have really applied their minds to."

"Obviously with all the allegations that are swirling and the lack of integrity in sport, I mean we saw here what the fans think about that [referring to Justin Gatlin's 100m victory], so if you don't have integrity in sport then you don't have sport."

Maria Clarke admits she's had conversations with those federations, but is not at a point where she can publically discuss who made the phone call.

She said there is a lot to think about.

"I still have a sports law practice with other clients so I have to manage that. Last year I was away maybe 60 days in the year and I have a family to look after so you have to balance all of that up. But it's really exciting to be a Kiwi and be involved in the architectural stage of this."

Maria and her 10 strong working group started on the "Time For Change" project in February 2016 and it is hoped the reforms are properly implemented by 2019.

Integrity related reforms are currently being put in place, while the rest will be set in stone in two years' time.

One of the sticking points Maria Clarke and the rest of the IAAF are dealing with is female power.

Gender balance is one of the four principles encouraged by the working group, with the proposed governance reforms stating one of the two vice presidents must be a female.

The Auckland-based mum of two has labelled it a key thread that will take time for some to become accustomed to.

"We've got a global community, people from all cultures, and one of the key passages of the reform is gender leadership and in some of our areas that's a real challenge. In our area it's like business as usual, but with Africa and Asia and even Europe they don't have a lot of women capable of stepping up to these roles."

"So we've got a really big role in trying to develop programmes that will get more women in places where they can be in these top positions, by way of example."

Although the IAAF appears to be making positive changes swiftly, there are still the remnants of a dark past.

It was only last year that an independent investigation labelled the behaviours of the governing body "beyond sporting corruption and criminal in nature".

Former IAAF President Papa Massata Diack, Mr Diack's son and a former IAAF marketing consultant received life bans from the sport for inflicting "unprecedented damage on athletics".

Maria Clarke concedes it may be a case of two steps forwards one step back, for some time.

"We've still got a French prosecution underway; we don't know the outcome of that. There are still cases before the Court of Arbitration for Sport; we don't know the outcome of those. So unfortunately the IAAF is used to this sort of thing."

However Maria Clarke has full faith in the man leading the charge, Lord Sebastian Coe.

"If you read any leadership book, he espouses all the leadership propositions. Setting a strategy, setting a direction, getting a really good team around you who you can trust and letting them get on with the job, that's exactly what I've had from Seb."

"I think he's been a phenomenal leader, very courageous."