Clifford Chance (CC) has been appointed the official law firm of the Rugby World Cup 2015 after wining a competitive pitch process.

CC will provide legal services to Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) over the course of the next two years in the run up to the tournament, which kicks off at Twickenham on 18 September 2015.

The law firm has worked with RWCL and the International Rugby Board for many years and has a track record of advising on major sporting events, including the 1998 FIFA Football World Cup, the 2012 UEFA European Football Championships, the sponsorship negotiations for the Barclays Premiership, the London 2012 Olympics, and more recently the 2016 UEFA European Football Championships and the 2022 FIFA Football World Cup.

Part of CC's role Clifford Chance will be to ensure that RCWL's commercial rights in the tournament, which are granted to sponsors, partners, licensees and broadcasters, are protected, and that unauthorised third parties do not claim or attempt to associate themselves with the tournament. Partner Daniel Sandelson will lead the team delivering services to RWCL.

The Rugby World Cup is the third largest sporting event in the world, after the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. The 'sevens' format of the game will appear in the 2016 Olympics.

In addition to staging the Rugby World Cup 2015, RWCL is the funding vehicle for the development of the game globally and funds raised are reinvested in rugby around the world through union grants, development programmes, regional tournaments and international events.