Competition / antitrust

Competition law is growing in importance, and moving up the agenda of both domestic and European regulators. A greater number of transactions, commercial agreements and business practices which impact on competition are subject to complex, and sometimes confusing, legal rules.

In Europe, it is no longer possible to notify the regulator of commercial practices which could impact on competition. Businesses must self-assess competition compliance, balancing commercial gain with regulatory risk in all relationships with competitors, suppliers and customers. If you get this assessment wrong, penalties can be imposed on both individuals and organisations, and they are becoming more and more severe. This makes it even more important for you to balance achieving commercial results with the regulatory risks you face.
 
Our service

We can advise you on business strategy, commercial agreements and competitive conduct with the aim of minimising your exposure to competition law liability. We also offer advice on how to protect you and your business against competition law violation by third parties.

We have particular expertise in distribution and other vertical arrangements, intellectual property and competition law, joint venture competition compliance, pricing matters, consortia or trade association participation, abuse of dominance and the application of competition law. Our knowledge of these legal specialisms is further complemented by in-depth knowledge of particular industries including life sciences, sports, energy, retail, telecoms, IT and media.

Our experience

We have a broad spectrum of experience in competition law and antitrust advice, including:

• reviewing business strategy and key agreements to determine any competition law liability and advising on the best approach to minimise such risks
• advising on various forms of vertical arrangements, including distribution, licensing and franchising, and particular issues of concern such as internet selling, non-compete provisions and parallel import restrictions
• advising on the appropriate structure for distribution networks in Europe to ensure that they fall within the application of the block exemption
• advising on motor vehicle and technology transfer agreements and the application of block exemptions
• establishing compliance programmes and providing on-going compliance training across Europe
• advising on pricing strategy and pricing provisions in agreements
• advising on abuse of dominance issues, including defending claims against clients and advising on the possibility of claiming abuse of dominance to enhance bargaining power
• ensuring that collaborative activities, such as joint ventures and participation in industry events and trade associations are compliant with competition law