- Lee Hagipantelis was sacked by the Wests Tigers
- He parted company with the club last year
- His law firm is also due to end their sponsorship deal
The tumultuous relationship between Lee Hagipantelis and the Wests Tigers has taken another surprising turn.
Rising star Jordan Miller has appointed the former Tigers chairman as his legal counsel as the 19-year-old takes action against the club after they terminated his contract.
It comes as Hagipantelis’ firm, Brydens Lawyers, are also set to cut ties with the Tigers having been a major sponsor for the club over the past 10 years.
Hagipantelis, the principal at Brydens, practices in commercial law, criminal law and employment law. He has been a partner at the firm since 1994 having taken ownership of Brydens in 2012.
Their sponsorship is due to end at the end of October and it is being reported by The Daily Telegraph that Hagipantelis has already taken on Miller’s case.
The lawyer told the outlet that he will ‘not be drawn into the specifics of the matter’.
The prop made his debut for the Tigers last season, going on to play in two matches for the club in 2024, before he was handed a breach notice by the club.
It came after Tigers officials claimed he was late to training on two separate occasions.
Miller states that the most recent breach occurred due to extenuating personal matters. It is understood that he still attended the training session.
There are no allegations of any wrongdoing by Miller but it is understood that Police are involved in the matter.
Hagipantelis, meanwhile, was sacked as the club’s chairman in December 2023.
It came after the NRL club swung the axe in brutal fashion with chairman Hagipantelis being one of multiple board members to be relieved of their executive duties following a review by the club.
The side had decided to take extreme action following back-to-back wooden spoon campaigns while a spate of coaches including Tim Sheens, Ivan Cleary and Michael Mcguire, had all either left or walked away from the club.
Hagipantelis has gone on to buy a stake in embattled A-League club Newcastle.
It was revealed in May that he would be terminating his $1million sponsorship deal with the club, penning a two-page letter to the club.
He had hit out at the review process, calling it a ‘sham’, before claiming that some of those involved in the process were ‘cowards’.
‘The disgraceful events of 12 December last year impacted significantly and adversely on the relationship of Brydens Lawyers and Wests Tigers given the disrespectful way I, as chairman of Wests Tigers, was treated by the representatives of the club’s stakeholders,’ Hagipantelis wrote.
‘Recent events have compounded the concerns which I have held with respect to the continuing relationship of Brydens Lawyers and Wests Tigers.’
He added: ‘I have the philosophical difficulty of continuing in business with people in whom I repose no respect.
‘I speak of the representatives of the stakeholders with whom I had the displeasure of serving on the Board.
‘These persons are still engaged in the Club whether it be in a formal or informal capacity.
‘I regard these people as cowards.’
