Competition law disputes
Competition law disputes
We are an international firm of market-leading legal experts specialising in all aspects of commercial law, including all forms of regulatory and commercial litigation, with particular expertise in competition law and competition law disputes.
We deliver expert advice and strategic guidance to businesses and organisations across all sectors to ensure our clients achieve their commercial objectives.
With offices in the UK, mainland Europe and Asia, we are a law firm that provides services across three broad business groups. This allows us to provide a 24/7 full legal service with expertise to provide wrap around advice, whether that be responding to an urgent dawn raid by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), undertaking a full internal investigation and making leniency applications to the CMA or dealing with CMA investigations or pursuing proceedings for damages for EU competition law/competition law infringements.
Compliance with competition law has never been more important with an increased focus on ensuring markets work well for consumers. Competition authorities are continuing to investigate and punish anti-competitive behaviour. In the UK the CMA has substantial enforcement powers under the Competition Act 1998. With a significant increase in the number of ‘follow-on’ damages claims that are being brought, compliance with competition law is one of the biggest issues for many UK businesses.
We provide expert competition law and advice and representation before competition and regulatory authorities, as well as the courts including the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT).
Our teams are ranked highly in the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners for their litigation and regulatory services provided to FTSE100 companies.
How our competition disputes lawyers can help you
We work closely with our clients and aim to build lasting long-term relationships. We understand that competition law issues require a unique approach and a clear devised strategy from the outset, often on an urgent basis. By working together as a trusted adviser and extension to your team, we provide tailored, pro-active advice not only to resolve current legal issues but to assist with the detection and prevention of infringing or anti-competitive activity going forward.
Fines, penalties and damages claims for breaches of competition law can have severe impacts on your business’ cash flow, day-to-day operations and importantly your reputation. We will always seek to deal with the regulators’ implementation of competition policy and resolve disputes quickly, efficiently and where possible try to do so without recourse to legal proceedings. When litigation is unavoidable, our litigation lawyers will protect your rights vigorously.
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Our clients
- Major multinationals
- Privately owned corporates
- Publicly listed corporates
- Retailers
- Higher Education providers
- Contract caterers
- Financial institutions
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Our experience
We have dealt with a range of competition law matters, including:
- Preparing compliance policies and programmes including training
- Advising clients on dawn raids including:
- explaining the investigators’ processes
- challenging investigators’ authority
- supervising the investigation and how to protect your rights eg to claim legal privilege or issues of confidentiality
- handling questioning of individuals by investigators
- providing post-investigation advice on key considerations eg leniency applications
- preventing and mitigating reputational issues - Advising on leniency applications to CMA and subsequent CMA investigations
- Representing clients subject to competition authorities’ investigations
- Acting in competition law disputes before the UK courts including the CAT
- Follow-on damages actions
- Advising clients on the application of competition law to commercial agreements
- Public procurement
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FAQs
What amounts to anti-competitive behaviour?
The most serious types of anti-competitive agreements occur where two or more businesses agree not to compete with each other. This could include agreements to:
- fix prices
- engage in bid rigging (for example, cover pricing)
- share customers or markets
We can help you understand whether there has been any infringing behaviour within your business or provide guidance and training to ensure this does not happen.
What happens if a business is found to have broken competition law?
The consequences can be severe:
- Businesses that are found to have breached competition law can be fined up to 10 per cent of their annual worldwide turnover and ordered to change their behaviour.
- Individuals who engage in cartel activity can be prosecuted and sentenced to up to five years in prison and/or a fine.
- Company directors can be disqualified from managing a company for up to 15 years.
These sanctions can be extremely onerous and damaging for a business.
What if I discover a business has breached competition law – what is the idea behind making a leniency application?
There can be significant benefits if a party self-reports and makes an application for leniency:
- Businesses and individuals that come forward to report their own involvement in a cartel may have their financial penalty reduced or avoid a penalty altogether (under the CMA’s own leniency programme).
- To qualify for leniency, applicants must admit their involvement, co-operate fully with the CMA’s investigation and stop their involvement immediately. Provided they co-operate, the applicant’s directors may also avoid disqualification and its employees and officers may be granted immunity from prosecution.
- The applicant must refrain from further participation in the cartel activity from the time of disclosure to the CMA (of the cartel activity) unless the CMA directs otherwise.
We can help and guide you through the process of making a leniency application and any subsequent CMA investigation.
What is a follow-on damages claim?
What amounts to anti-competitive behaviour?
The most serious types of anti-competitive agreements occur where two or more businesses agree not to compete with each other. This could include agreements to:
• fix prices
• engage in bid rigging (for example, cover pricing)
• share customers or markets
We can help you understand whether there has been any infringing behaviour within your business or provide guidance and training to ensure this does not happen.What happens if a business is found to have broken competition law?
The consequences can be severe:
• Businesses that are found to have breached competition law can be fined up to 10 per cent of their annual worldwide turnover and ordered to change their behaviour.
• Individuals who engage in cartel activity can be prosecuted and sentenced to up to five years in prison and/or a fine.
• Company directors can be disqualified from managing a company for up to 15 years.These sanctions can be extremely onerous and damaging for a business.
What if I discover a business has breached competition law – what is the idea behind making a leniency application?
There can be significant benefits if a party self-reports and makes an application for leniency:
• Businesses and individuals that come forward to report their own involvement in a cartel may have their financial penalty reduced or avoid a penalty altogether (under the CMA’s own leniency programme).
• To qualify for leniency, applicants must admit their involvement, co-operate fully with the CMA’s investigation and stop their involvement immediately. Provided they co-operate, the applicant’s directors may also avoid disqualification and its employees and officers may be granted immunity from prosecution.
• The applicant must refrain from further participation in the cartel activity from the time of disclosure to the CMA (of the cartel activity) unless the CMA directs otherwise.We can help and guide you through the process of making a leniency application and any subsequent CMA investigation.
What is a follow-on damages claim?
- Follow-on cases are claims for damages where the infringement of competition law has already been established by a competition authority (notably the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the European Commission (EC), and some sector regulators). The benefit of follow-on damages claims is that the claimants can rely on the investigative work conducted by the competition regulator which forms the basis of the relevant decision.
- Businesses which have suffered loss as a result of an infringement of competition law can bring a private damages action in the UK courts (including the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)). Those businesses which choose to bring their claim in the CAT will benefit from having their case heard by a specialist tribunal, which is equipped to (i) handle the procedural issues arising during litigation (such as ordering disclosure and granting injunctions); and (ii) understand the complex issues which can arise in competition damages cases. This results in a more efficient litigation process making it easier for claimants to obtain compensation to which they may be entitled.
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Case studies
- Advising one of the main providers of free-to-use cash machines, which is challenging a recent cut in the fees it receives from banks on competition law grounds
- Providing competition law advice to a UK based manufacturing company and drafting a bespoke employee manual explaining the concepts of anti-competitive behaviour, infringing activities, the risks involved and enforcement issues.
- Acting for a number of merchants in the pursuit of competition law damages against Mastercard and Visa arising from interchange fees.
- Advising a client in respect of a substantial follow-on damages claim (at the pre-action stage)
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Testimonials
Iain Campbell is increasingly building a reputation for handling competition disputes
‘Well-respected team providing a reliable offering across the range of contentious mandates, including contractual, shareholder and partnership disputes. Also well placed to advise on cases within areas such as competition, tax and fraud. Represents a broad spectrum of clients, including from the sport, retail and healthcare sectors.’
Chambers & Partners UK 2021
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