Competition and EU

Mastercard

£9bn wiped off Merricks’ £10bn class action, says Freshfields

Mastercard’s lawyers at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have claimed that the latest judgment in the long-running class action means 90 per cent of the case brought by class representative Walter Merricks “fails factually.” The interchange fee collective action, brought by Merricks on behalf of 45.5 million UK Mastercard customers, is the first class action to have […]

Cleary and Latham advise as Whirlpool gets go-ahead for JV

Latham & Watkins and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton were called on by legacy client Whirlpool Corporation to handle a year-long transaction and CMA investigation on the company’s combination with Turkish appliance business Arçelik. After the deal’s announcement in January 2023, a merger inquiry was launched by the CMA to review potential competition concerns. Following […]

Annie Herdman, Ropes

Paul Weiss hires another ex-Kirkland partner in London

Following swiftly on from its hire of Linklaters’ competition head Nicole Kar, Paul Weiss is growing out its City practice with another new recruit. Antitrust expert Annie Herdman joins from Ropes & Gray, where she has been for two years. Prior to Ropes, she made partner at Kirkland & Ellis in 2019. Before that, she […]

Paul Weiss set to hire Linklaters competition partner

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison is set to hire another Linklaters partner to join its burgeoning London ranks, this time to grow the firm’s competition practice. Nicole Kar is understood to be moving having spent more than 20 years at Linklaters. Joining the magic circle firm in 2001, she was given the nod to […]

Amsterdam, Holland

Competition boutique sets up in Amsterdam

A competition-focused boutique launched by a former Covington & Burling partner will establish a third office in the new year, adding Amsterdam to its existing sites in Brussels and London. Geradin Partners, the firm launched by Damien Geradin who spent five years as a partner at Covington between 2010 and 2015, has hit Dutch firm […]

Analysis

The Lawyer Awards 2016: transactional teams

Slaughter and May Competition team of the year   The award-winning Slaughter and May competition team won an advisory spot last year on a groundbreaking appeal in the electricity and gas sector. The firm advised Northern Powergrid as it lodged an appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) against Ofgem’s decision to modify the […]

Clive Freedman, 7KBW

Star legal writers: regulatory and competition

This week’s top briefings writers from TheLawyer.com cover the regulatory and competition sectors, including how philanthropic fundraising through crowdfunding can clash with insurance claims, new UK public procurement rules, and Ukraine sanctions law.

Panel

Briefing live: Romania

Panellists at The Lawyer’s recent Romania briefing heard much to encourage them to get involved in the country When it comes to investing in Romania there’s no time like the present, according to panellists at The Lawyer’s recent Briefing Live event on the country, held in association with Popovici Nitu & Asociatii. The watchword was […]

Deirdre Trapp

Freshfields’ competition team still sets the pace in spite of market shift

Magic circle firm’s ACT dept refuses to play second fiddle to corporate. By Gavriel Hollander Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s antitrust, competition and trade (ACT) team has, it is fair to say, stood head and shoulders above its UK rivals for some time. But with merger control not the lucrative stream it once was, this might be the […]

Featured Briefings

CMA review into competition law and ‘vertical agreements’ in the UK

The CMA recently launched its much anticipated review as to how competition law should apply to many common types of commercial arrangements (including, among others, distribution agreements (including exclusive and selective distribution), agency and franchising). It will, of course, be relevant in the automotive sector, bearing in mind that dealer agreements now fall under the “general” competition law rules rather (with the Motor Vehicles Block Exemption being confined to aftermarkets).

Bulgaria: CPC fines Kaufland for abuse of superior bargaining position

The Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) fined retail chain Kaufland Bulgaria Lev343,417 (approximately €175,000) for abuse of a superior bargaining position. The fine was requested by alcohol producer Keti-94 Ltd – Plovdiv. The fine’s amount is 7% of Kaufland’s net revenues from the sale of the products subject to the violation for 2019. […]

Balancing fear and greed: Does an expansion of the UK foreign direct investment rules beckon?

By Bernardine Adkins, Sean Giles In 2018, new measures were introduced to expand the scope of government intervention in mergers. This year, the government’s briefing note accompanying the Queen’s Speech proposes new rules on investment screening. What does this mean for business? Our experts examine the existing UK foreign direct investment rules, and explain what any […]

Fiduciary management: Improvement through competition?

Have you ever considered using fiduciary management services? Does your scheme have a fiduciary manager? Are you considering appointing or replacing a fiduciary manager? If so, you should already be considering the implications of the Competition and Markets Authority’s final report into the investment consultants market. The new requirements arise from concerns around the operation of the […]

Portugal: European Competition Law Review Issue 5

European Competition Law Review provides an update of developments in EU law and the national laws of EU Member States, as well as the other major trading nations for the competition or antitrust lawyer. Issue 5 has contributions from Ana Keri and Piedade Castro e Sousa…

UK and Germany – A new post-Brexit partnership

For decades, Germany has been one of the biggest foreign investors in the UK. While the British love to talk about their ‘special relationship’ with the United States, there is now every chance that, in a post-Brexit world, Germany will become the UK’s new priority…

Amendment to Czech Copyright Act – the effect on businesses

…One of the main purposes of the new legislative framework is to implement Directive 2014/26/EU on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use in the internal market. The amendment also responds to some practical issues in relation to the licensing of copyrighted works, and […]

Big changes to Austrian competition law

On 6 April 2017, the Austrian Parliament adopted significant amendments to Austrian competition law. The amendments concern three main areas: (i) implementation of the EU Damages Directive; (ii) introduction of an additional transaction value test in merger control; and (iii) certain adjustments to strengthen public enforcement of antitrust infringements…

UK trade policy in the New Trump Order

A major plank of Trump’s candidacy was that of trade protection of US industry. Contrast that with the situation in the UK, where the current UK government continues to promote a free and open trade policy. It is not surprising, therefore, that little consideration in post-(hard) Brexit discussions has been given to the future of […]

Enforcing foreign judgments in Switzerland – a Q&A

Dieter A Hofmann and Oliver M Kunz Treaties Is your country party to any bilateral or multilateral treaties for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments? What is the country’s approach to entering into these treaties and what if any amendments or reservations has your country made to such treaties? Switzerland is party to […]