‘Julian Ellison provides creatively pragmatic and distinctive, clear quality business-focused and client-friendly advice. In the last year Julian, based on his intimate knowledge of the internal workings of the commission and our business, has proposed and delivered on creative options that other leading competitors never even identified‘
Legal 500 EMEA/Belgium 2020

Overview

Julian is senior counsel in the Antitrust & Competition practice of the Brussels office. He focuses on EU and UK competition law. Julian's practice breaks down into a number of distinct categories: mergers, state aid, public procurement, cartels and other behavioural offences.

According to Chambers Europe, Julian is "always mindful of deadlines, Ellison has the ability to gain timely access to key decision makers within the authorities."

Areas of Focus

Practices
Industries
Key Issues
Regional Capabilities

Experience

Mergers

Julian has been involved in a large number of leading EU and UK merger cases stretching back over 20 years and is regularly consulted in relation to "difficult mergers". His merger CV includes:

OFT/Competition Commission/CMA

  • Full references: Eurotunnel/My Ferry link, Terra/Kemira-GrowHow, P&O/Stena English Channel, P&O/Stena Irish Sea and P&O/Brittany Ferries; and
    Edmundson/Electric Centre – one of the longest running and most complex first phase with remedies cases in the OFT's history.

EU Merger Control cases

  • Second stage cases: Olympic Airways/Aegean Airways, BHP/Rio Tinto, Guinness/GrandMet, Skanska/Scancem, Kvaerner/Ahlstrom, Metso/Svedala, Telia/Telenor, Metso/Kvaerner, Shell/Dea, BP/Veba,
  • First stage cases with remedies: Arsenal/DSM, Cookson/Foseco, Manitowoc/Enodis, Apax/Capio, Yara/Kemira, Case/New Holland, Vodafone/Air Touch, Kuraray/Dupont.

State aid
Julian has advised extensively in relation to state aid:

  • Northern Rock (bank restructuring)
  • Bradford and Bingley (bank restructuring)
  • Newquay Airport
  • Luton Airport
  • Birmingham Airport
  • Cardiff Airport
  • Newcastle Airport
  • New London Airport
  • Crossrail
  • DLR
  • High speed broadband
  • Dublin Waste Project

Public Procurement

  • Tate Museums (Modern, St Ives, Britain)
  • British Museum
  • Connect Plus M25
  • Crossrail
  • DLR
  • Department for Education/Priority Schools Building Programme ("PSBP")
  • Thames Tideway Tunnel
  • Skanska
  • SGHambros/PIDG trust
  • Various rail franchises
  • The Dublin Waste Project

Cartels

  • Ferries/Shipping
  • Cement
  • Household Removals
  • Port Handling
  • Construction
  • LIBOR/TIBOR

Behavioural

  • Patent hold-up
  • Patent ambush and FRAND
  • Patent trolls
  • Orange Book
  • Distribution issues (agency, resale price maintenance, online)
  • Confidentiality/ring-fencing
  • Compliance

Perspectives

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Events

News

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Education

Westminster School

University of Cambridge, Trinity College, MA (Law)

Scholarship: Open exhibitioner, Trinity College

Admissions

  • England and Wales
  • Brussels Bar (Ordre Français des Avocats au Barreau de Bruxelles)
  • ‘Julian Ellison provides creatively pragmatic and distinctive, clear quality business-focused and client-friendly advice. In the last year Julian, based on his intimate knowledge of the internal workings of the commission and our business, has proposed and delivered on creative options that other leading competitors never even identified‘ Legal 500 EMEA/Belgium 2020.
  • Interviewees highlight his "analytical and communication skills" and add that he is "razor sharp on content and good at staying focused on the objective." Chambers & Partners Global 2018 -Competition/European Law - Belgium.
  • Julian Ellison displays a "thorough understanding of the relationship between procurement law and state aid", and is praised by clients for his "dedication and professionalism" Who's Who Legal.
  • "has a range and depth of experience that helps formulate a strategy and challenge the opinion of the competition authorities when necessary" Chambers Europe 2010.
  • "Always mindful of deadlines, Ellison has the ability to gain timely access to key decision makers within the authorities" Chambers Europe 2010.
  • Julian Ellison and his team were awarded the Legal Business Competition Team of the Year (1999) for the Case/New Holland merger clearance.