Competition Law, Cartels and Investigations
Protection for your business
What is involved?
Companies can infringe competition law by engaging in cartels or other restrictive business practices, or through behaviour constituting abuse of dominance. This can lead to enforcement action by competition authorities against individual businesses. With competition authorities’ inspection powers and techniques expanding, companies need more than ever to ensure compliance with UK competition law. Infringements carry severe consequences for companies, directors and staff, including huge fines, criminal prosecutions, director disqualification orders, significant reputational damage and exposure to damages claims.
Freeths has considerable experience advising clients subject to competition investigations. Our competition law team has been involved in a number of the CMA’s recent high-profile investigations. During an investigation, businesses need to make difficult decisions very quickly on how best to protect and defend themselves. Companies under investigation need strategic legal advice and expert support to understand the risks they face and protect their rights throughout. We provide strategic and tactical advice and can help clients navigate the process and practicalities of an investigation. We also use our unique in-house regulatory experience to help clients mitigate both financial and reputational exposure.
Why choose Freeths?
- We regularly advise clients on complex issues of competition law, including on large-scale investigation strategy
- We have considerable expertise in advising dominant and non-dominant clients on antitrust risk in relation to their conduct, agreements and business practices
- We have broad experience of acting for clients throughout antitrust and market investigations conducted by competition regulators. This includes advising on Dawn Raids, leniency applications and cartel investigations
Recent Experience
- Representing a client on a CMA cartel investigation in the construction sector and two clients on separate CMA cartel investigations in the music industry
- Advising an internet platform company in relation to most favoured nation (MFN) clauses further to the CMA’s enforcement decision regarding comparethemarket.com
- Advising a myriad of major companies on behavioural competition law issues, including on cartel investigations, and in relation to joint ventures and commercial arrangements with competitors, customers, licensees and suppliers
- Advising a vertically integrated, global business on a leniency application, and on the application of competition law to its dealings with competitors and retailers
- Advising a food sector client on an abuse of dominance claim under competition law and a procurement challenge, involving complex cross-border competition and procurement issues
- Advising and training clients in diverse sectors, including construction, manufacturing and retail, on competition compliance
Contact our expert Competition department to find out how our lawyers can help your business.
Key contacts
Andrew Maxwell
Partner & Head of Competition
Alternatively complete the form below:
Contact Us
Competition Law, Cartels and Investigations Lawyers
James Hartley
Partner
0345 077 9581
Simon Hobbs
Partner
0190 835 0200
Andrew Maxwell
Partner
0345 128 6997
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Articles 18th Jan 2021- Advising a leading construction company on the application of EU and UK competition law to a major rail project.
- Advising and training a myriad of major companies on competition compliance, including on cartel investigations, and in relation to joint ventures and commercial arrangements with competitors, customers, licensees and suppliers.
- Providing rapid first line support in the event of a Dawn Raid, drawing on dedicated on-call Dawn Raid Response Teams from our 11 offices across the country.
- Advising a vertically integrated, global business on a leniency application, and on the application of EU and UK competition law to its dealings with competitors and retailers.
- Advising a food sector client on an abuse of dominance claim under EU and UK competition law alongside a procurement challenge, involving complex cross-border competition and procurement issues.
- Advising a grocery retailer on the implications of including exclusivity arrangements within land agreements.
- Acting for AMEC (in consortium with Washington and Areva) on the competition aspects of their successful bid to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority for the £1.3 billion pa Sellafield contract.
- Assisting a number of businesses and organisations in bringing competition damages claims against the major truck manufacturers following the European Commission’s EU truck cartel infringement decisions.
- Advising a UK company in relation to a high profile cartel/price fixing investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority in the steel tanks market (including on related follow-on damages claim issues).
- Advising a well-known client in relation to a large antitrust damages claim against the major payment systems operators.
- Representing clients throughout CMA investigations, including Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance plc throughout CMA/CC Private Motor Insurance Phase 2 market investigation and OFT Phase 1 market study.
- Advising a well-known fashion retailer on the European Commission’s e-commerce sector inquiry and its implications for a dispute with a large department store.
Client service
‘Doing the right thing’ is at the heart of Freeths. Find out more about our excellent client service and the strong set of values that guide the way we work.
Talk to us
Freeths are a leading national law firm with 13 offices across the UK. If you have a query about our services or just want to find out more, why not give us a call?
Contact: 03301 001 014