Competition law aims to ensure that consumers of goods and services have unfettered choice and that suppliers do not overcharge. Competition (or ­antitrust) lawyers advise on a range of matters, ­including ­compliance with EU, UK and other ­national ­competition laws and state aid rules.

Competition lawyers also advise on whether an M&A transaction may require merger control ­approvals from competition authorities. In addition, they handle legal issues arising from companies ­participating in ­illegal cartels – where suppliers or manufacturers agree ­certain things in order to limit supplies or ­competition. In 2007, for example, BA was fined £121.5m by the UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT), and then $300m (£150.7m) by the US ­Department of ­Justice, for its part in a cartel to fix the fuel surcharges charged to long-haul airline ­passengers.

Competition work also includes antitrust-related ­litigation, which arises when customers suffering ­damage due to a cartel sue the cartel participants.

The working culture

The pace of life in a competition department varies. ­Although the tempo can be slower than in a corporate or banking group, colleagues can ask for advice at a moment’s notice on whether a potential merger is likely to be blocked by the authorities. Clients also often request urgent advice on cartel-related issues – especially if they are the subject of a dawn raid (an unannounced visit from a competition authority).

A trainee’s work often focuses on legal and practical research, typically into a market that is potentially ­relevant or the merger control regime under which a transaction may require clearance. Trainees ­commonly gain drafting experience by summarising recent ­developments in a sector relevant to the client. A ­junior competition lawyer gets a reasonable amount of responsibility; indeed, a newly qualified lawyer may be the sole lawyer (under partner supervision) on simple matters. A typical day might be spent drafting a form to notify a potential merger to the European ­Commission – or you could find yourself at a dawn raid. Like trainees, junior competition lawyers spend a lot of time researching aspects such as a company’s market share in a particular sector or region.

Why is this interesting?

A competition lawyer’s workload can be extremely ­varied. This is a dynamic area of law with high media interest, which has grown as regulatory ­investigations have increased and the sanctions for ­anticompetitive conduct have become stiffer. This year, for example, the OFT successfully brought its first criminal ­prosecution against three executives involved in a cartel relating to marine hose products.

Working in competition law often entails getting to know and understand clients’ businesses more closely than lawyers in other departments. For ­example, lawyers advising on Game Group’s acquisition of Game Station – recently cleared by the ­Competition Commission – needed to understand something about PC and video games and how they are sold in the UK. A competition lawyer can gain quickly an overview of how various sectors operate and in some cases develop industry-specific ­regulatory ­knowledge.

Another attractive aspect is its international ­transferability, especially in Europe, where many ­national competition regimes mirror closely the ­concepts of EU competition law. Broadly speaking, competition regimes across the world are beginning to converge; learning one country’s substantive ­competition law can thus ­provide a good base for working in another.

Skills required

Competition lawyers need to maintain up-to-date knowledge of the competition regimes in both the UK and the EU. General commercial awareness and/or industry-specific knowledge will help you to ­understand how competition works in a given sector.

Project management skills may prove handy too – ­especially, for example, when obtaining merger ­clearances or regulatory investigations, where statutory timetables may apply. Competition lawyers may also need to ­coordinate counsel in many different countries if a deal requires approvals in several jurisdictions.

Competition lawyers should also have some interest in economics, as they often need to evaluate the impact of a merger or takeover on a company’s market share.

Although foreign languages are not a prerequisite, they can certainly make a competition lawyer’s job ­easier – by facilitating, for example, research into ­precedent cases from across Europe and ­communication with counsel in different jurisdictions.

Recent developments

Competition authorities are launching an increasing number of investigations into specific markets where competition does not appear to function as well as it could. This year alone, for example, the OFT has launched investigations into the UK retail prices for ­tobacco products and, reportedly, a range of groceries and health and beauty and detergent products.

Simon Deeble, associate, Clifford Chance