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Competition and Antitrust Disputes

If your business has been accused of breaching UK or EU competition rules by adopting anti-competitive practices or through abuse of your market position then immediate legal advice is absolutely critical, particularly where competition regulators have swooped in without warning.

Urgent advice is also needed where competition rules are being used to block a proposed merger or acquisition or where antitrust legislation is being cited by suppliers or competitiors in an attempt to challenge commercial arrangements. 

Why is urgent advice necessary?

Where concerns are raised about anti-competitive behaviour there are a lot of things that you will need to think about, and fast. Should you bow to pressure and cease your activities to avoid any further action? What do you do if a regulator launches a dawn raid on your premises? What are your rights and obligations while an investigations is being carried out? What sort of penalties are you likely to face where infringement is confirmed and what are the chances of affected rivals then resorting to litigation to claim compensation?

You will need answers to these questions and more before you make further decisions.

How can IMD Solicitors help?

Our experienced dispute resolution lawyer can help by providing you with access to a range of support services designed to inform your decisions and hopefully shut down competition concerns before they have a chance to escalate.

These services include:

  • working alongside our corporate team to scrutinise proposed mergers and acquisitions to determine, in advance of those proposals being published, whether any restructuring is needed to overcome or alleviate potential competition concerns;
  • working alongside our commercial law team to review current contract arrangements to identify and tone down potentially anti-competitive provisions;
  • supporting you in pre-investigation process and providing advice on what you do and do not need to disclose;
  • negotiating penalties and leniency applications where infringement is found to have occurred, particularly where you have been implicated in a cartel or monopolisation of a market;
  • working alongside our employment law team to deal with disciplinary proceedings arising our wrongdoing by individual directors or employees and in effecting redundancies where your business needs to be broken up to address competition concerns; and
  • representing you in court proceedings, whether you a business accused of anti-competitive behaviour on the receiving end of a claim or an affected rival pursuing monetary damages or seeking an injunction to prevent further harm to your commercial interests.

We can also help to resolve:

  • contractual disputes, where antitrust legislation is being used to try to void a contract or to excuse a contact breach;
  • intellectual property disputes, where competition rules are being deployed to challenge the fairness or licensing terms, particularly around patent rights; and 
  • franchise, agency and distribution disputes, where the terms of an arrangement are said to be unfairly restrictive.

Marcin Durlak

Managing Partner View profile
Key contact

Olexandr Kyrychenko

Partner View profile

Zoya Burbeza

Senior Consultant Solicitor View profile

Do you have a legal issue you need resolved?

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Why choose IMD Solicitors?

Our team of dispute resolution are specialists in competition and antitrust disputes and have particular expertise in cross-border matters involving alleged breaches of EU competition law.

We have an excellent track record in achieving great results, even in cases of immense difficulty.

We are particularly valued for our ability to work collaboratively with other members of the IMD team and with external professionals, including tax advisors, to deliver advice that not only takes account of the problems at hand but any wider commercial considerations.

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London

IMD Solicitors LLP,
1st Floor,
63 St Mary Axe,
London ,
EC3A 8AA
(meetings by appointment only)

(0044) 203 195 8499

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Manchester,
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(0044) 330 107 0107

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IMD Solicitors LLP,
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B1 1BD
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(0044) 121 366 8789