Freshfields secures key DoJ hire to expand US antitrust group
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has added a new antitrust partner to its Washington DC office from the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
Abrupt end to spectrum case as Linklaters challenge to Ofcom thrown out
Ofcom can press ahead with the auction of spectrum for 4G and 5G services after the Court of Appeal dismissed a challenge by Three and BT on the first day of a two-day appeal.
Ofcom challenge: Court of Appeal hears EE and BT’s spectrum case
The Court of Appeal is gearing up to hear Hutchinson 3G, EE and BT’s challenge to Ofcom’s auction of spectrum for 4G and 5G services.
Ashurst hires DLA office head to boost Frankfurt base
DLA Piper Frankfurt managing partner Michael Holzhäuser is to join Ashurst’s competition team in Germany.
Four firms on call for CMA probe into “unfair” gambling promotions
A quartet of firms won roles for Ladbrokes Coral, William Hill and PT Entertainment on the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) investigation into online betting and gambling companies.
Closing in China won’t solve Cadwalader’s problems
Cadwalader’s decision to close its Beijing and Hong Kong offices will provide short-term relief to the firm’s financial results, but it won’t solve the real problems the firm has in the US.
The Lawyer Awards 2016: transactional teams
Slaughter and MayCompetition 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 electricity […]
Star legal writers: Regulatory/competition
The complexities of sleeping on the job and the perils of loose talk are among the subjects tackled by this week’s experts.
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.
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It’s all go in Silicon Wadi: Israel’s lawyers get busy
A hi-tech sector on a roll, growing Chinese investor interest, rows over competition law and booming M&A – things are buzzing for Israel’s lawyers.
Competition: what lawyers really think about changes to the UK’s regulatory regime
UK competition lawyers have a new regulator and new rules to follow when handling mergers. Is it ‘business as usual’ as the old OFT and CC promised? April 2014 marked the beginning of a new era for the UK’s competition lawyers. Partly due to the Government’s drastic programme of spending cuts, the UK scrapped its […]
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 […]
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 […]
Brussels flexes its muscles and stalls draft directive on competition law
US-style class actions have been avoided… for the time being, says Kit Chellel
Slovenia: Food supply chain – changes to the menu
Following an examination by the Competition Protection Agency regarding unfair trading practices in the food supply chain (for further information please see “Unfair trading practices in food supply chain examined”), the government drafted a proposal to amend and supplement the Agriculture Act. The proposal contained some major changes to the food supply sector. Parliament accepted […]
Proposal to ban unfair trading practices in the food supply chain
On 12 April 2018, the European Commission published its proposal for a Directive on unfair trading practices (UTP) in business-to-business relationships in the food supply chain. The aim of the proposal is to reduce the occurrence of UTPs in the food supply chain by introducing a minimum common standard of protection across the EU…
Competition body secures real estate agent director disqualifications
By Simon Barnes, Angela Gregson and Louisa Mottaz On Tuesday 10 April, the UK competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it secured the disqualification of two directors of the Abbott and Frost Estate Agents Ltd in Burnham-on-Sea for breaching competition law. The disqualification follows the investigation into anticompetitive agreements between six real […]
CMA to be appointed as post-Brexit UK State aid regulator
The Government has indicated that it intends to appoint the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as a newly appointed regulator to monitor State aid enforcement following Brexit. The appointment was detailed in a letter from the Minister for Small Businesses, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility, Andrew Griffiths, to Lord Whitty, the Chair of the House of Lord’s EU […]
Poland: Competition authority’s first decision on unfair use of contractual advantage in food sector
In July 2017 the Act on Counteracting the Unfair Use of Contractual Advantage in Trade of Agricultural and Food Products entered into force. The act aims to protect small farmers and grocery suppliers against the abuse of power by large supermarkets and chain stores. Almost eight months after the act came into effect, the Office […]
European Competition Law Review issue 12
Updates from Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden…
Montenegrin Competition Agency takes over state aid control
As of recently, state aid control is a part of the Montenegrin Competition Agency’s (the “Agency”) scope of authority. The Montenegrin Parliament enacted a new State Aid Control Law (the “State Aid Law”), largely aligned with the EU legal framework – especially with Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU…
Bulgaria: Commission recommends amendments to the energy act
On 8 February 2018, the Bulgarian Competition Protection Commission (“CPC”) issued a Decision in a Competition Advocacy proceeding initiated in 2017 for the assessment of conformity with Competition law of the legal framework applicable to heat energy supply legislation. The Competition Advocacy proceeding analyzed the respective sections of the Energy Act (“EA”), the Heat Energy […]
Portugal: Competition law review 2018
A review of anti-competitive practices; dawn raids; and national competition authorities in Portugal and Slovenia…
Croatian gas market reform continues in 2018
The new Gas Market Act came into force on 3 March 2018 (Zakon o tržištu plina, with the primary aim of regulating the rights and obligations of participants in the Croatian gas market pursuant to the Third Gas Directive (2009/73/EC). In short, the Croatian gas market was legally liberalised in 2008, and de facto opened in the […]
Croatia: New unfair trading act
Over the past few years, European and national institutions have warned about the negative effects of unfair trading practices in the supply chain. In order to tackle these and regulate the risk of abuse, several countries have enacted distinct trade laws. Croatia recently followed suit by adopting a new Act on the Prohibition of Unfair […]
Bulgarian Competition commission banking sector inquiry
The Competition Protection Commission (CPC) sector inquiry will focus on the competitiveness and transparency in the banking sector and the conditions of banking services in Bulgaria. The CPC will review any existing barriers preventing customers to switch to another bank for provision of a specific service, the possible product tying (i.e. binding / bundled sales), and other […]