Freshfields snaps up former FTC commissioner to bolster US antitrust offering

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Freshfields snaps up former FTC commissioner to bolster US antitrust offering

In a boost to its Washington DC presence, Freshfields has hired former Federal Trade Commissioner, Christine Wilson, as a senior adviser in its antitrust practice.

The firm has made a concerted effort to build out its antitrust offering in both the US and Europe over the last year. In October 2023, it appointed former senior director of mergers at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, Colin Raftery, to the firm’s London office. While in June 2023, antitrust litigators Heather Lamberg and Justina Sessions joined the firm’s Washington DC and Silicon Valley antitrust practices. Antitrust and foreign investment practitioner Charlotte Colin-Dubuisson also joined the firm’s Paris office in January 2024. Continue reading “Freshfields snaps up former FTC commissioner to bolster US antitrust offering”

CC wins out as Google’s record fine in landmark antitrust case heralds new era

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CC wins out as Google’s record fine in landmark antitrust case heralds new era

In a case that has put antitrust law on the front pages, the European Commission (EC) has fined Google a record €4.34bn for breaching competition rules after Clifford Chance (CC)’s client FairSearch triggered a long-running investigation.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Allen & Overy (A&O) were on the losing side as the EC found Google had illegally required manufacturers of smartphones running its Android operating system to pre-install its internet browsing and search engine apps. Continue reading “CC wins out as Google’s record fine in landmark antitrust case heralds new era”

Practice Area Spotlight: Competition and regulatory – leading experts and high-profile cases

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Practice Area Spotlight: Competition and regulatory – leading experts and high-profile cases

Business transactions regularly require a careful analysis from a competition law point of view. We at Prager Dreifuss have excellent expertise in advising and representing companies – small and large, local and global – as well as public entities in all aspects of competition law. With profound knowledge of Swiss and EU competition law, we regularly advise clients before the Swiss competition authorities, and frequently collaborate with foreign law firms in multi-jurisdictional cartel and merger proceedings, be it as team members or co-ordinators of international teams. Public procurement and state aid law also belong to our preferred areas of practice. Continue reading “Practice Area Spotlight: Competition and regulatory – leading experts and high-profile cases”

Cleary, CC and Covington lead as EC fines Google €2.4bn for online shopping abuse of dominance

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Cleary, CC and Covington lead as EC fines Google €2.4bn for online shopping abuse of dominance

Google illegally favoured own online shopping comparison service, demoting rivals

On 27 June, the European Commission (EC) fined Google a record €2.4bn for abuse of dominance in online shopping comparison search, paving the way for a raft of damages claims.

Continue reading “Cleary, CC and Covington lead as EC fines Google €2.4bn for online shopping abuse of dominance”

Cleary defends Google in face of potential €1bn EC antitrust shopping market abuse fine

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Cleary defends Google in face of potential €1bn EC antitrust shopping market abuse fine

The European Commission’s (EC) probe of Google’s online shopping practices is reported to be closing in coming months with a potential €1bn (£875m) fine, in a case in which Clifford Chance (CC), Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Covington & Burling all act. 

Continue reading “Cleary defends Google in face of potential €1bn EC antitrust shopping market abuse fine”

‘Fundamentally different’: MasterCard and Visa to face new £300m UK retailers’ interchange fee claims

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‘Fundamentally different’: MasterCard and Visa to face new £300m UK retailers’ interchange fee claims

Humphries Kerstetter has launched a series of new £300m competition damages claims against MasterCard and Visa, on behalf of a group of 27 UK high street companies including betting firms, online retailers and a major supermarket.

Continue reading “‘Fundamentally different’: MasterCard and Visa to face new £300m UK retailers’ interchange fee claims”