Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP serves an antitrust world without borders with a well-integrated team of competition lawyers in the United States and Europe and with contacts throughout Asia and Latin America.
The leadership and excellence of our Antitrust Practice Group has been recognized by Chambers and Global Counsel for years. “It is a superb team” and a “greatly respected practice,” clients have reported. “The attorneys are conscientious, systematic, hard-working and genuinely committed to winning.” The group has “impressed clients with its depth of antitrust litigation experience” and is “well integrated” across offices and jurisdictions. In Europe, with offices in Brussels, Paris, London and Frankfurt, we are “the name on everyone’s lips,” and are headed by “one of the leading figures” in the area.
Our antitrust team assists clients in expanding their businesses while minimizing legal risks. We have represented a global client base in national and international merger filings, U.S. and European investigations of all forms of anticompetitive activity, class action and private litigation, and business ventures in multiple jurisdictions. We have acted in a host of sectors, including financial services and consulting, business and financial information, media, e-commerce, hedge funds and private equity, pharmaceuticals, transports, energy, telecommunication, retail apparel, industrial and chemical manufacturing, and satellite communications.
Areas of Antitrust Experience
Mergers
Willkie’s merger experience spans a wide range of industries and every stage of the merger-review process. Whether navigating merger clearances in multiple jurisdictions, negotiating remedies, assessing the risk of antitrust enforcement, negotiating risk-sharing provisions, or representing third parties, businesses have relied on Willkie to achieve their objectives.
Litigation
Willkie has litigated in the United States, in Europe, and Canada, in class action and private litigation, or contentious regulatory proceedings, and across a broad spectrum of industries.
Cartels, Joint Conduct, and Other Investigations
Cartel investigations are increasingly conducted by regulators across the globe. Willkie provides multi-jurisdictional representation and has handled all aspects of cartel enforcement.
Our experience includes defending legitimate joint conduct and assisting clients with “dawn raids” and difficult amnesty or leniency decisions.
Monopolization/Unilateral Conduct
Companies with significant market positions often attract antitrust scrutiny that raises complex issues. Willkie has litigated monopolization claims, advocated on behalf of companies excluded by unlawful practices, and counseled clients with industry-leading positions to minimize antitrust risk while achieving business objectives.
Pricing and Distribution
Pricing and distribution are at the center of antitrust analysis and can raise novel issues. Willkie helps clients navigate the antitrust implications of their business arrangements.
Benchmarking
Exchanging information across an industry can be an effective tool for business planning. Willkie can help clients develop frameworks through which companies can share information effectively within the parameters of antitrust law.
Compliance & Training
Willkie’s antitrust team remains ready to help clients assess their businesses and adapt to constant changes in the regulatory environment and commercial landscape. We work closely with clients to formulate compliance and training programs that advance their business models.
State Aids
In Europe, a significant part of the team’s activities relates to state aids for which it enjoys a first-class reputation: it has advised on several undertakings in both administrative and contentious proceedings in the fields of energy, media, and retail banking before both the European Commission and Community courts.