White & Case LLP

The increasingly complex interface between corporate activity including mergers and acquisitions, business critical operations, and restructurings on the one hand and the laws relating to competition and national security matters on the other can appear to be confusing, even for the most seasoned operators and investors. Our European competition and regulatory team of 135 Lawyers includes experts in London and across Europe, Led by London-based partner Marc Israel, our UK, European and global teams are recognised by the prestigious global law directories, the Legal 500 and Chambers as top tier and market-leading lawyers in the fields of both competition law and national security law.

The team draws on multi-jurisdictional expertise to guide clients through complex regulatory reviews and was recognised last year, in The Legal 500, as being “very quick in understanding our business, despite it being different to anything else in the market. They were also able to bring in expertise from around their business as necessary.”

The Legal 500 describes Marc Israel as “simply great to work with – knowledgeable, dependable, curious and helpful.”

We also represent investors and clients in complex, high value global cartel investigations, alleged abuse of dominance matters and civil proceedings for damages for breach of competition law in additional to international trade, sanctions and export control advice led out of our specialist teams in Brussels, Geneva and London.

As well as competition and antitrust law, Marc and our team are regarded as one of the UK’s pre-eminent practices concerning the new National Security and Investment Act. This Act affects almost every investor into the UK and has to be considered very early in any acquisition, investment or even internal restructuring. We advise on all aspects of the Act and help clients navigate possible sanctions and criminal penalties for non-compliance, as well as on the very broad scope of the Act which may apply even where both the investor and the target entity are outside of the UK, and the UK Government’s retroactive powers to “call-in” transactions for review and how to mitigate those risks.

Our team’s expertise on competition and antitrust law means they are particularly well-qualified and experienced to advise on all aspects of law in this complex area.

As one of the leading global multinational law practices, we have 46 offices across 31 countries including offices in London, Brussels, Paris, Geneva, Frankfurt and Milan. Our substantive depth, global scale, and deep industry knowledge mean that we can swiftly assemble targeted teams to handle our clients’ most significant competition law challenges – whether in defending bet-the-company litigation, securing transaction approvals, or counselling clients to avoid antitrust obstacles that could sidetrack legitimate business objectives. We are acutely aware that in the modern economy, ventures and investments in new activities from even the largest funds and operators can be a major engine for growth.

Merger Control

We advise on all regulatory aspects of M&A transactions and joint ventures, and deal regularly with the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK, the European Commission, and competition authorities throughout the world. Our lawyers regularly co-ordinate merger filings across the globe and act as a focal point to ensure that consistent messages are transmitted to all relevant competition authorities. Our London team works in tandem with more than 80 corporate M&A lawyers in the UK and close to 600 M&A lawyers around the world.

Competition Law Investigations

We advise on a wide variety of competition investigations, including cartels, abuse of dominance, resale price maintenance, market studies and market investigations – both before the UK and European authorities.

We have acted for companies that have been investigated for alleged cartel behavior and have secured significant reductions in the fines that would otherwise have been imposed by the UK and European authorities. We regularly act to mitigate the fines that might be imposed on our clients (including making immunity or leniency applications and negotiating commitments/settlements with the authorities), as well as managing any damage that may attach to their reputations following such investigations.

Competition Litigation

Competition litigation is an increasingly important tool in addressing anti-competitive behaviour. Whilst regulators can impose fines on companies that have infringed the law, such sanctions do not directly benefit private parties that have suffered as a result of such behaviour.

Policymakers in the UK and in Europe are seeking to encourage private parties to take action against anti-competitive behaviour as a complement to the enforcement activities of regulators. Legislative changes have made bringing so-called “private actions” easier and we have advised on a number of cases in this relatively new and exciting area of the law, including defending clients against the UK’s new class action type regime.

Contact information and useful links

• For more information about Marc Israel and his practice, please click on the following link https://www.whitecase.com/people/marc-israel
• For more information about our firm, visit our website at https://www.whitecase.com/
• To arrange a meeting with Marc Israel or a member of their team, please contact in the first instance Sharon Philbey, our Business Development lead by emailing philbey@whitecase.com or calling +44 (0)20 7532 2213

For further advice and assistance please contact:

White & Case LLP
5 Old Broad Street
London
EC2N 1DW
Website: www.whitecase.com