UK
When you are choosing a legal partner, we believe you will always be in the best position if you select a law firm that understands your world. When it comes to antitrust and competition law, you need experts on hand that can provide strategic advice based upon extensive experience. Your competition lawyers need to understand the issues that will affect you now, and in the future.
We take the time to gain an overview of your goals and to understand how these fit into your wider commercial ambitions. We combine first-class legal expertise with a deep understanding of evolving policy, providing you with practical advice on how to promote and protect your business interests.
What is antitrust and competition law?
Antitrust and competition law exists to ensure that markets are competitive. Infringements of competition law and antitrust violations can have significant financial and reputational consequences for companies. They can also affect individuals if criminal sanctions and director disqualification orders are imposed.
Amongst other aspects, antitrust and competition law:
- prohibits arrangements that restrict competition (e.g. under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and the Chapter I Prohibition of the Competition Act 1998);
- prohibits conduct which is an abuse of a dominant position (e.g. under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and the Chapter II Prohibition of the Competition Act 1998);
- enables authorities to intervene in mergers and joint ventures, potentially blocking deals, or ordering that these are undone;
- applies to distribution arrangements, including in relation to e-commerce and online sales;
- applies to the licensing and enforcement of intellectual property rights, including patents;
- enables authorities to investigate markets and sectors, potentially imposing market or sector-wide remedies to address any identified competition concerns; and
- prohibits certain forms of subsidy and State aid, preventing state support from providing companies with advantages over their competitors.
Antitrust and competition law can be complex, with its application evolving as markets emerge and develop. New products and services can raise novel questions and issues. Developments may present opportunities but they also present challenges and compliance risks.
Working across our offices, our team is at the forefront of legal developments. We have a proven track record of enabling businesses to achieve their commercial goals in compliance with antitrust and competition law.
Clients worldwide trust and value our expertise and view the team as an extension of their own in-house legal function (with the added benefit of external counsel legal privilege).
Antitrust and competition law services
Investigations of suspected infringements of antitrust and competition law can lead to significant financial penalties and - in some jurisdictions - director disqualifications and prison sentences for individuals. In the event of an investigation, the need for experienced legal support is very real and absolutely time-critical. This is even more so when the antitrust enforcement investigation is a 'dawn raid' (i.e. an unannounced inspection).
With our team of dawn raid experts located across our offices, you can rely upon us to manage the most complex of competition law investigations. We provide clarity and certainty during the course of any investigation. We draw on our significant experience to ensure that clients receive the timely strategic advice they need - whether it's a question of how to assert legal privilege during a dawn raid, how to apply for leniency, or how to defend the company's position.
We will work with you closely to agree a strategic response to the investigation, and ensure that this is deployed quickly and effectively.
With a growing number of active merger control and FDI regimes worldwide, authorities are ever more focussed upon investigating deals. If you are planning strategic mergers and acquisitions or joint ventures, you will need to consider whether merger control and/or FDI issues are relevant to your deals, and if so, how these are best addressed.
We understand the importance of identifying merger control and FDI issues as early as possible. We ensure that the route to securing clearances is planned, understood and addressed within the deal timetable.
Our experience encompasses a range of transactions in a variety of sectors; we have successfully secured merger control and FDI clearances in multiple jurisdictions.
Our team is highly experienced in advising upon complex intellectual property (IP) cases. We have particular expertise in relation to competition and antitrust law issues arising from:
- asserting IP rights, including seeking injunctions in reliance upon patents declared essential to standards (SEPs) that are covered by FRAND (or RAND) commitments;
- licensing IP rights, including in the context of competitors licensing rights to each other; and
- agreeing to end disputes regarding IP rights, including agreements to settle patent litigation.
Working closing with our award-winning IP team, we have successfully commenced and defended IP-related antitrust and competition law actions and complaints in multiple jurisdictions, including in the UK and the EU.
Our award winning team is highly experienced in antitrust and competition litigation. If you need to obtain an injunction, reach a timely settlement, or defend an action for damages, you will need advisers who can act strategically, commercially and quickly.
We have extensive dispute resolution experience, and are trusted by clients in major disputes which establish legal precedents.
Understanding your aims enables us to devise and implement innovative strategies to strengthen and advance your position in any ongoing disputes.
We ensure that clients' distribution arrangements are compatible with antitrust and competition law within the UK and the EU.
If you already have distribution arrangements in place, we can conduct an initial compliance audit. We will provide you with a practical overview of any issues and explain how these can be addressed.
If you intend to implement a distribution network (or re-organise your existing network), we can assist you in determining which model is best suited to your commercial aims (e.g. agency, selective distribution, exclusive distribution).
With state aid and subsidy control issues attracting increasing scrutiny, we advise a broad range of clients to ensure that their arrangements comply with the relevant legal framework.
We immerse ourselves in the detail of clients' arrangements. We quickly identify any areas giving rise to potential compliance concerns, and provide pragmatic advice upon how to manage these risks.
Antitrust and competition law specialists with practical experience
[The team] excels at advising on cartels, contentious matters, …merger control issues, and on the competition law aspects of distribution agreements and other commercial arrangements. The Legal 500 (UK)
Our work across a wide range of sectors and matters enables us to provide our clients with the advice they need, when they need it. Examples of previous past engagements include:
Dawn raids and investigations
Advising an energy supplier in the context of an investigation by a national authority into a suspected infringement of UK competition law, including attending the dawn raid and defending the client during the course of the investigation.
Competition law and antitrust litigation
Advising Preventx in relation to a competition law claim brought against Royal Mail, which resulted in Preventx successfully securing an injunction to restrain Royal Mail's conduct. The team received the "Competition Team of the Year" award at the Legal Business Awards for its work on this matter.
Intellectual property
Advising a technology owner on antitrust and competition law issues arising in the context of the enforcement of patents declared essential to standards.
Merger control
Advising companies across a range of sectors on merger control and FDI issues, including advising Volex plc on its c. €180 million acquisition of Murat Ticaret and Pacific Green on its £74 million sale of its Richborough Energy Park Battery Development.
Distribution and e-commerce
Advising brand owners on competition law and antitrust issues in relation to the distribution of products and services within the UK and EU, across sector including, automotive, pharma, and fashion and luxury goods.
State aid
Advising government departments and public bodies on State aid and subsidy control issues arising from the planned awards of funding, including in the context of redevelopment projects within the UK, as well as projects centred outside of the UK.
Recognition for antitrust and competition law expertise
[The team] stands out for representing claimants and defendants in follow-on damages claims. [The team also] assists clients with the competition aspects of corporate transactions, such as merger control matters [and] advised clients on dawn raids and sector investigations.Chambers & Partners (UK)
Our Competition and Antitrust team has been "Highly Commended" in the "Competition Team of the Year" category at the British Legal Awards, and received the "Competition Team of the Year" award at the Legal Business Awards.
The Legal 500 recommends partners Bernardine Adkins and Samuel Beighton for EU and competition law.
Contact the team
For strategic competition and antitrust legal advice get in touch with a member of our team.