Antitrust

Antitrust issues are of increasing importance in today's global markets. More than 100 countries have competition laws, many of which include pre-merger filing requirements.   As governments worldwide introduce new and strict competition legislation and enforcement becomes more rigorous, key business decision makers need to understand the impact of those laws and take them into account in strategic planning.  Cooperation between the enforcement agencies is also on the rise, and a coordinated and integrated approach to dealing with the regulators has become of paramount importance, particularly before the US and EU authorities.  At the same time, commercial disputes involving antitrust issues are increasingly being brought before the courts in high stakes litigation, often affecting the future direction of key business activities.

Our Antitrust practice is uniquely qualified to assist our clients in assessing antitrust risk, and to plan and implement effective strategies for dealing with it.  The strength and depth of our network of lawyers in Brussels, Paris, Germany, London and the United States gives us the ability to deal with competition issues across major jurisdictions and find the most appropriate means of achieving our clients’ strategic objectives. 

We have a proven track record in securing clearance in both the US and Europe for complex cross-border mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures, and our global reach allows us to offer an integrated and seamless approach to multi-jurisdictional filings in major cross-border transactions.   We have extensive experience in handling federal grand jury investigations into price-fixing, market allocation, bid rigging and other criminal allegations in the US, and in cartel and abuse of dominance proceedings before the European Commission and national regulators in Europe.  In each case, our in-depth knowledge of the regulatory agencies and how they work on both sides of the Atlantic consistently produces positive results for clients.

We also have extensive experience representing clients in high-profile antitrust litigation.  In the US we have a long record of successfully representing clients in a wide array of antitrust private treble-damage actions, including class actions.  In the EU we have wide-ranging experience advising on private actions involving competition issues before the national courts and on appeals against decisions by national regulators.  We also have a well-established European Court practice, advising clients on appeals against European Commission decisions to the Court of First Instance and European Court of Justice, and on a range of other proceedings under EU law.  Our international coverage allows the group to analyze antitrust litigation issues from a truly global perspective, including advising clients on the difficult and complex issues surrounding choice of jurisdiction.

Our Antitrust group is focused on finding practical solutions to the myriad competition issues that clients – both local and global – face in a modern business context.  Our attorneys use a thoughtful multi-disciplinary approach, combining legal and economic expertise to deliver high-quality, consistent and integrated cross-border service that achieves our clients’ commercial objectives as quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively as possible.