Antitrust & Competition

With over 70 lawyers worldwide, Mayer Brown is recognized as a leading antitrust practice by Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Global Competition Review. Our lawyers are dedicated to delivering the highest quality service in meeting clients' needs. We fully understand today's complex competition issues, as well as the increasingly complex relationships among corporations in a global economy.

"Clients applauded this group for its 'phenomenally high' standard of work. Attorneys here combine 'excellent negotiation and litigation skills,' which contribute toward 'a formidable service.' The practice encompasses regulatory, counseling, M&A and litigation matters, in addition to a 'brilliant appellate practice.'" - Chambers

With offices located in key business centers across the Americas, Europe and Asia, our practitioners are leaders in analyzing and applying antitrust law principles to numerous business practices in a wide variety of industries. Our antitrust practice provides advice on the full range of issues, including:

Mergers, Acquisitions, Joint Ventures, Collaborations, Distribution & Licensing
 
Government Criminal and Civil Non-Merger Investigations, Particularly Cartels and Abuse of Dominance

Litigation, Including Trial and Appellate Matters

Mergers, Acquisitions, Joint Ventures, Collaborations, Distribution & Licensing 
We represent clients in a broad variety of industries with respect to mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and collaborations. We advise on compliance with premerger notification requirements, and counsel and analyze proposed transactions. We represent clients in merger investigations before the US Department of Justice (DOJ), US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the European Commission, EU national competition authorities, and China's Ministry of Commerce, as well as many other national antitrust authorities. Our group frequently manages multi-jurisdictional filings, as well as advises on the application of national merger control regulations and secures merger control clearances throughout the world.

We provide counseling on all aspects of the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) merger review process in the United States, all aspects of the EU and national merger regimes in Europe, and the developing merger review process in China. Whenever necessary, we represent clients whose filings have triggered substantive antitrust investigations in proceedings before the FTC and DOJ, the European Commission and the national merger authorities of individual EU Member States and applicable Asian countries. We have helped our clients with complex US “second request” merger investigations and complex second phase EU and other European merger investigations, and in litigation with various government regulatory agencies. This work has contributed to our reputation as the “law practice of choice” for companies with complicated antitrust issues or litigation.

A significant part of our work involves advising clients on issues such as distribution restrictions, price discrimination under the Robinson-Patman Act, resale price maintenance and franchising. We actively review legal developments and proposed legislative changes, which is particularly relevant in the EU, and advise clients on the business impact of such changes. Given our strength in competition dispute resolution, we are better able to work with clients to develop and implement antitrust compliance programs, including drafting policies and conducting training programs that help educate client employees regarding business conduct that conforms to the law in our clients' many geographic locations. 

We are skilled at integrating antitrust counsel with other essential disciplines. For example, we advise on the regulatory and antitrust implications of a transaction in conjunction with the patent or trademark application issues. Our firm has a great deal of experience helping clients navigate the increasingly complex intersection between antitrust and intellectual property law, both in the US and Europe. One of our lawyers was involved in drafting the 1995 DOJ and FTC Guidelines on the Licensing of Intellectual Property, which also influenced EU antitrust policies.

Government Criminal and Civil Non-Merger Investigations, Particularly Cartels and Abuse of Dominance
In the US, our lawyers have extensive experience representing parties in non-merger civil investigations and criminal investigations. We have advised numerous corporations and individuals in federal grand jury investigations related to price fixing charges. On the civil side, we have represented clients before both the FTC and the DOJ in investigations related to pricing matters, marketing policies, and contracting practices.

We also have dealt with a number of parallel investigations conducted by the US enforcement agencies and the European Commission including the implications for our clients of EU antitrust investigations related to the energy and financial services sectors. The experience of our group, including those lawyers who served in government, enables us to thoroughly understand the decision-making processes of the enforcement agencies, and is critical to our ability to achieve the best possible outcomes for our clients.

Given the increased coordination among competition regulators in all major countries, and the new competition law regime in China, Mayer Brown’s multi-jurisdictional focus is invaluable in helping global companies deal with their competition regulators around the world. As the DOJ, FTC and European Commission pursue action under mutual legal assistance treaties such as that signed by many members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), our breadth of experience can be invaluable in successful cross-border transactions.

Litigation, Including Trial and Appellate Matters
In the US, our lawyers have extensive litigation experience handling a broad variety of antitrust matters in trial and appellate courts. Over the past dozen or so years, we have successfully tried and/or handled on appeal some of the most significant antitrust cases. The opinions in many of these cases stand among the leading authorities on subjects such as the extraterritorial scope of US antitrust law (Hartford Fire, Empagran, and Angus Chemical), the appropriate test for predatory buying (Weyerhaeuser), market power in tying cases (Independent Ink), proving an agreement (Twombly, Blomkest, and Citric Acid), bundling and exclusive dealing (LePage’s and Concord Boat), and other claims. Our lawyers also have been at the forefront of the intersection of securities and antitrust law (Billing), telecommunications and antitrust law (Trinko, Covad Communications Co., South Austin Coalition Community Council, and Goldwasser), defining the proper role of expert testimony (Daubert, Kuhmo Tire, and Concord Boat), and the standard for class certification (AmChem Products, In re IPO Securities Litigation, and Gariety). Our antitrust appellate lawyers are widely recognized as the best in the United States, having argued or briefed nearly every significant antitrust case to reach the US Supreme Court during the past decade.

In Europe, our lawyers have significant experience litigating EU issues in the European Court of Justice and Court of First Instance in Luxembourg, and in the emerging private antitrust litigation in Europe our lawyers have acquired leading experience before the courts in Germany, the UK and other EU jurisdictions.

Mayer Brown has the global experience and resources to effectively handle multi-jurisdictional litigation before Asian, European and North American national courts and regulatory agencies. This depth of experience, combined with our global network, enables us to deliver the best, most current counseling and advice to our clients wherever they do business around the world.