Mark Sansom had a groundbreaking year in 2023. As of May, he has been double-hatting as London managing partner at Freshfields, while practising full-time as a competition/antitrust litigation partner. His defence-side practice is a leading one, and he has acted on many key UK competition damage cases. Sansom is in the midst of defending Mastercard before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal against Merricks in one of the largest civil damages claims in the UK. Another case to watch out for this year is London and South Eastern Railway and Govia Thameslink Railway vs Gutmann and Boyle collective proceedings concerning train tickets. The coming year, Sansom anticipates almost every judgement case will have a novel verdict.
The Freshfields partner has the fascinating task of managing the firm’s London practice. It’s safe to say that the firm is in growth mode and will be adding partners. Following A&O Shearman’s merger, the size and shape of the firm will be under scrutiny, although Sansom feels confident in the strategy. He will be homing in on interactions between the UK and the USA.
The impact of AI and large language models is also top on Sansom’s 2024 watchlist, aiming to improve efficiency by mechanising routine tasks. Diversity and inclusion is another big issue, with Sansom turning his focus to social mobility.