Chambers Review
Provided by Chambers
Competition Law - UK
What the Team is Known For
Brick Court Chambers hosts an enviable bench of competition law barristers at all levels of seniority, receiving instructions in the most significant cases of the day. The set is lauded as a "go-to set for high-profile and complex competition disputes", and its individuals act on both sides of major infringement actions involving the CMA or the European Commission, and represent both claimants and defendants in follow-on damages claims. Notably, the barristers have been at the centre of novel attempts to bring large-scale collective actions in the UK courts, through their instruction in cases such as the umbrella interchange proceedings and Gutmann v Apple. Members appeared before the Competition Appeal Tribunal on behalf of both the class representative and the defendant in the McLaren v MOL proceedings, in which the class representative obtained the first ever collective settlement approval order from the CAT. The barristers have also been involved in some of the key FRAND cases of recent years. They act for the CMA, claimants and corporate defendants in the manufacturing, pharmaceutical and financial services sectors.
Tony Burgess and Paul Dennison are the joint senior clerks.
Strengths
I particularly recommend Senior Practice Manager Ben Rippengale, who is both responsive and helpful. His substantive support has been strong.
They are very efficient, and good at anticipating client questions and needs. I would call out Tony Burgess and Paul Dennison, they are excellent - brilliant to deal with and very well connected.
Brick Court is one of the lead clerking teams in the market. They fight for their barristers but are also pragmatic and engage with solicitors in a good way.
The clerking team is first class - they are responsive, understand solicitors and put forward people who are a good fit. They are really commercial.
Deputy Senior Clerk Jo Francis is commercial and a pleasure to deal with. She is also extremely knowledgeable about issues to do with alternative funding arrangements, which is very useful.
Notable practitioners
Daniel Jowell KC is particularly active on the defendant side of follow-on damages cases and collective actions brought before all levels of the UK courts, and has had key roles in the defence of participants in the smartcard chip cartel. He has further experience in challenges to CMA merger control decisions.
His grasp of EU and UK competition law is outstanding. He's a brilliant advocate and an incredibly nice guy to boot.
He's brilliant. He has a very strong economic understanding, and that's really very helpful. He's someone you actively want to get in front of your client, and that can't be said for everyone.
Daniel has a huge brain and is a fantastic strategist. He is definitely someone you want on your side.
He is the strongest cross-examiner at the competition Bar.
Daniel is in the real Premier League of competition barristers. He's one of the go-to silks for the absolute biggest cases. A very sharp advocate with a great brain.
David Bailey is a highly sought-after junior who acts as standing counsel to the CMA and has noteworthy experience defending CMA decisions in appeals heard by the CAT. Bailey often acts on both the defendant and claimant sides of UK private enforcement actions, including high-profile collective actions. He is involved in many of the most high-profile competition cases.
David has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things competition law. He's a quick thinker and strategic - an all-round great person to have on the team.
David combines knowledge of competition law with formidable technical abilities and a collaborative, commercial approach. He's someone you want on your side.
He is the best junior barrister that we are currently working with, an absolute star. He is the man you want on big-ticket, high-stakes litigation.
His cross-examination is really forensic and tight. He's very tough but also really quite likeable; it's almost like he's picking pockets.
He's just fantastic - a new category needs to be created for him. He wrote the book on competition.
Marie Demetriou KC is routinely involved in the biggest competition cases of the day and receives stellar feedback from an array of sources. She is standing counsel to the CMA and has experience in key appeals against the regulator's decisions. She also advises on both sides of cartel damages claims and has appeared on behalf of proposed class representatives for claimant groups.
Marie's advocacy is just next level. I've never seen anybody command a courtroom like that; judges are hanging on her every word. Everything she says is imbued with an extra level of authority.
She is a delight to work with and a really good advocate, very clear and persuasive in court. It's not surprising she's one of the top competition lawyers in the UK.
Marie could charm the birds from the trees. She has a really smooth, really easygoing advocacy style that doesn't wind up the tribunal ever - it's magical to see. She's tremendous.
Marie is not just one of the leading figures at the competition Bar, but a leading figure, full stop. A fantastic advocate, very streetwise in terms of spotting the winning point and executing it.
I couldn't put it highly enough to say she is not just one of my favourite people but probably my number one silk to work with. She is incredibly bright, not just in competition but also public law.
Mark Hoskins KC has an outstanding practice in the field of competition damages and has acted in significant claims concerning financial services providers, sporting leagues and telecoms operators. He has experience acting for claimants and defendants in high-profile collective actions.
He does incredible preparation and has an incredible reputation with the courts. He's an all-round effective advocate. He excels in the simplicity of his drafting and conveys very well to the court.
He's one of a kind. He's sees things from a completely different angle than anyone else, just fabulous. He's at the very top of the Bar.
Mark Hoskins is the best of the best. He is an intelligent, no-nonsense advocate who is persuasive, strong and clear in his written and oral submissions.
Mark remains one of the go-to silks for competition law. He exudes calm and is a joy to work with.
Mark is an exceptionally effective lawyer. He is insightful and strategic, with a scarily accurate sixth sense for how the court will see issues.
Helen Davies KC acts on the defendant side of cartel follow-on damages claims, including both collective and standalone actions. She also has experience of competition law issues in the sports sector.
Helen is fantastic - she's such a complete silk with a commercial background.
She's a great KC at the top of her game. She has that gravitas and heavyweight experience. She is a fantastic choice.
As an advocate she's super clear, forceful and nuanced when necessary, and clients always feel she fights their corner.
Helen is one of the best advocates of her generation; she's very sharp, straight to the point and reads the court exceptionally well.
Max Schaefer acts for claimants on allegations of anti-competitive behaviour. He has further experience advising on follow-on damages litigation and appeals against CMA decisions.
Max is very clever and very analytical. He is the best and most elegant drafter I have come across. He is really outstanding.
Max has a very clear understanding of the story that needs to be told and what stands to credibility, which is invaluable.
He is one of the most intelligent people at the Bar. He is a commercial litigator as well as competition, and he is just superb. I would work with him in every case if I could.
Max is extremely bright, diligent and has an ability to cut through to the heart of an issue. His drafting is stellar, some of the best I have seen at the competition Bar.
Robert O'Donoghue KC attracts considerable attention for advising claimants and defendants on standalone and collective action proceedings following cartel investigations, particularly in relation to abuse of dominance. He also regularly advises clients on challenges to CMA decisions, often involving the pharmaceutical sector.
He's a persuasive and fun barrister to work with and not afraid to take his clients case to the furthest extent possible. He is very tenacious.
Robert O'Donoghue combines strong courtroom performance with a high degree of technical skill, particularly in abuse of dominance.
Robert is clearly one of the best competition silks at the Bar and I would not hesitate to use him in any dispute of this nature, whether on the claimant or the defendant side.
He has an excellent track record, particularly in challenging decisions of the CMA, with real expertise in Chapter II/Article 102.
He is the supreme being of abuse of dominance; there is no one who knows more about it than he does.
Sarah Abram KC has a strong focus on representing clients in damages claims following on from cartel investigations. She has experience defending clients in high-profile collective action proceedings and has additional experience on the claimant side. She also assists clients with CMA investigations and often acts on matters in the transport sector.
She is very lively and enthusiastic. She really brings clients with her and gets them excited about their case, yet she is still realistic and has good judgement.
She has superlative case oversight abilities. She is able to truly master a brief, with a real knack for cutting to the heart of an issue without losing sight of the client's commercial position.
Sarah has a lovely advocacy style and builds up good rapport. She has a good sense of the tribunal's approach to issues.
She is a delight to work with, able to see the wood from the trees, and extremely positive and energetic, as well as being a very effective advocate.
She is a total cut above in terms of user-friendliness. She is strategic and clear about case strategy and client management. I have found myself feeling very thankful to her.
Sarah Ford KC represents both claimants and defendants in high-profile follow-on damages claims, including collective proceedings, arising from European Commission cartel investigations. She regularly acts on matters before the CAT and Court of Appeal.
She is an absolute top, top person. She's absolutely fantastic, calm, strategic and organised. Just spectacular.
Sarah is clever and perceptive, with a very good commercial sense.
I rate her very highly. She's a very forensically intelligent barrister who gets to the point quickly and is pragmatic in her approach. She is always very good to work with.
Sarah is a great advocate; she has exceptional skills at handling a court. She stays calm under pressure, knows when to force a point and handles challenging judges exceptionally well.
Sarah Love is well known for her work on the claimant side of abuse of dominance cases. In addition, she defends clients in FRAND investigations and cartel follow-on damages claims. She acts on both collective actions and standalone cases.
Her writing is crystal clear; few people write as clearly as she does. She has a very distinctive clarity of thought.
She is a phenomenally hard-working, intelligent lawyer, but also totally charming and a delight to work with.
Sarah is really top of the tree. The quality of the output is out of the world.
Sarah is very flexible, adaptable and has very good instincts from a competition and public law perspective. She's very sensitive to risks and challenges for her clients.
Tony Singla KC has acted for defendants in relation to some of the UK's most important cartel follow-on damages class action claims. He has extensive experience acting in high-profile proceedings at the CAT and the Court of Appeal. His competition practice is bolstered by his broader background as a highly regarded commercial silk.
Tony is just a class act, he's super on his feet. He has a great competition practice and general commercial practice as well.
He's really strong on his feet. He's not afraid to run challenging points and take on challenging judges. He's a very hard worker and really shows commitment to the cause - clients really value that.
Tony is a real star. He is unflappable and provides clear and focused strategic advice as well as excellent advocacy.
He is a real advocate’s advocate.
Victoria Wakefield KC represents claimants in a number of high-profile class action claims, as well as defending clients in standalone actions. She has advised on appeals of EC decisions affecting pharmaceutical companies and challenges to new regulations in the sports sector.
She has a level of brilliance that goes above and beyond; she can turn her hand to anything. She is a brilliant mind and advocate.
An outstanding brain and tactician able to master the most complex of briefs and clearly pull out the salient strengths and weaknesses. Stellar counsel I would want to have on my side on every matter.
She is more than an up-and-coming star at the Bar now; she's a first-rate competition and EU barrister. She is intellectually very able and thinks through complex points with real quality.
Victoria is, to my mind, one of the best KCs in the competition field. She is incredibly switched on, on top of the detail and a phenomenal advocate. In court, she is a first-class cross-examiner.
Aidan Robertson KC acts on both the claimant and defendant sides of cartel damages claims, including representing clients in collective actions. He also has notable experience in appeals against European Commission decisions and in judicial reviews in matters involving possible state aid.
He is my counsel of choice for high-value, complex competition litigation. He is extremely knowledgeable about many aspects, he is an excellent advocate and clients love him.
Aidan is a well-respected and seasoned advocate at the top of his game.
Charlotte Thomas has amassed notable experience covering some of the more visible cases in the competition field. Her practice takes in the representation of claimants, defendants and appellants in damages claims and investigations. Of particular note is her involvement in the forex cartel claim.
Charlotte is seriously smart and excellent at drafting. She sees the case clearly and is fabulous to work with.
She is one of our go-to people. She has incredibly in-depth knowledge of her field, she is extremely charismatic and consistently on point, and her drafting is excellent. She is one to watch.
She is all over the facts. Her drafting is crisp and strategic, and her support during trial is fantastic. She is a powerful advocate with a fantastic knowledge of the law.
She is a fantastic junior - she's hard-working and brings a mix of competition and commercial experience.
Colin West KC has been involved in a number of leading competition law cases, frequently acting for claimants from the technology and financial sectors. He advises on cartel damages cases and the overlap between competition law and IP law, and has experience in standalone claims relating to potential abuse of dominance through the failure to negotiate licences for standard-essential patents.
Colin is prompt in giving advice that is clear and can easily be explained to the client. He is very responsive and very commercial.
I rate Colin incredibly highly. His legal analysis is absolutely top level; he just has an absolute command of the legal issues and good judgement.
Daniel Piccinin KC is highly sought after for his ability to handle varied matters, including defending against individual and collective damages claims following abuse of dominance and cartel decisions. He also acts in appeals against CMA penalty decisions. Piccinin attracts significant attention for his economics background, which enables him to contribute to the economic analysis of complex competition claims.
Absolutely outstanding! Daniel is a clever, sharp mind with a great understanding of the pharma industry. He's my first choice barrister for complex cases with competition, IP and regulatory angles.
Daniel is lightning fast and never makes a mistake - it's extraordinary.
He is an absolutely outstanding advocate, I would instruct him on every competition matter if I could. He can cut through massive information and be very strategic.
He's really stellar. He has enormous energy and a depth of understanding of competition economics that not many people have.
He is exceptionally bright and hard-working, an excellent cross-examiner and extremely good with clients. I would recommend him without any hesitation at all.
David Scannell KC has a strong profile in competition work arising in the pharmaceutical industry, often with an overlap to intellectual property law. He is instructed to act on both regulatory appeals and follow-on claims, including the 'pay for delay' cases.
David is a fierce and fearless advocate. He's incredibly hard-working and approachable, and he wins the most complex cases.
He is one of the most knowledgeable competition silks when it comes to EU law, and he is unflappable under pressure.
David is intellectually extremely strong. You can see this in how he presents the case: he threads the needle extremely effectively. He's an extremely persuasive, eloquent and effective advocate.
The speed with which he grasps the complex facts is impressive, his drafting is crisp and powerful, and his advice on strategy is succinct and commercial.
Emma Mockford has notable experience in the developing area of collective actions on behalf of consumers affected by cartels or other anti-competitive behaviour. She has acted on behalf of the representative claimants in relation to the trucks cartel. She also has ample experience representing defendants in follow-on damages claims, as well as acting for regulatory bodies and appellants on reviews of CMA decisions.
She is a real star to watch. Her written advocacy is of a very high standard; she is a clear and articulate draftsperson. Her tactical judgement is always right on the money.
Emma's drafting is fantastic. She is thoughtful and strategic in the advice she provides. Her former career as a solicitor is a real selling point; she really gets what clients need.
Emma is great! She is very quick to grasp new concepts and digest a voluminous set of facts. She is flexible and makes herself available where possible - a real pleasure to work with.
She is highly intelligent, strategic and practical. She leans on her multidisciplinary practice and her time as a solicitor to great effect.
Emma is the complete package. For someone junior, she has impeccable judgement and a huge capacity for getting through the work with minimum fuss.
Hugo Leith plays a supporting role in many of the UK's most important cartel damages cases, often acting for defendants on high-profile collective damages actions. Leith has additionally acted for the CMA on key challenges to its decisions.
Hugo has a lovely manner: he's very responsive, perceptive and experienced. He can add huge value to competition litigation.
He is brilliant to work with. He has no ego, rolls his sleeves up and gets involved. He becomes a seamless part of the team, and everything he does is quality. He is an absolute safe pair of hands.
Hugo is a very capable, easy-to-work-with junior - a real specialist.
He uses his strength as a commercial lawyer to great effect in the competition area. He's as smart as they come and completely unfazed. A great person to have on your team.
Jennifer MacLeod attracts praise for her contributions to varied matters ranging from high-profile collective damages actions through to smaller commercial disputes that raise competition law arguments. She has further experience in standout cases on behalf of the CMA, defending appeals against decisions on excessive pricing in the pharmaceutical sector.
She is astonishingly hard-working and switched on to a phenomenal degree. She is excellent and a strong performer in court.
Jennifer is a joy to work with. She rolls her sleeves up, and there is no task, big or small, that she does not excel at. I would recommend her without hesitation.
Jennifer is absolutely amazing, she performs like a silk. I would have her in all my cases.
Jennifer is an absolute superstar. She punches well above her year of call. Her drafting is excellent and she's a brilliant advocate.
Mark Howard KC has a strong competition litigation practice and is particularly active in the financial services and technology sectors. He represents clients in follow-on damages claims arising from European Commission cartel investigations. He has also acted in key cases on the issue of standard-essential patents.
The commerciality of his advice is second to none.
Matthew Kennedy is involved in a large number of the leading cases concerning anti-competitive behaviour. He has notable experience acting for both the claimants and the defendants in class action litigation.
Matthew is superb - he is really bright and his drafting is excellent. He is always the engine room of the case. He has a really bright future ahead of him.
He is an absolute pleasure to work with and knows his cases inside out. He is fiercely intelligent, decisive and works exceedingly well with instructing solicitors and clients alike.
Matthew has encyclopedic knowledge of complex limitation rules in competition claims, including interaction with Brexit-related issues. He's the best I've seen, I'm very impressed.
Tim Johnston handles regulatory appeals against CMA decisions on behalf of companies in the pharmaceutical sector. He has further experience on the defendant side of standalone behavioural infringement cases and follow-on actions.
Tim conveys a detailed and vigorous understanding of the case and the issues at hand. He has good expertise and provides both practical and substantive advice on a matter, which is invaluable.
He gets to the point quickly, cuts through the noise and nails the key points. He is never afraid to argue a point.
Tim is a fantastic team player. His drafting is excellent, and he is responsive and incredibly industrious. He knows the law in this area inside out and brings his wider public law experience to bear.
Tom Pascoe acts predominantly for companies accused of anti-competitive behaviour on appeals of CMA investigations and on high-profile follow-on damages claims, such as the trucks cartel litigation.
He's a dream to work with - super clever, organised and a great drafter.
Tom is a great junior. His written and oral advocacy is excellent - clear, concise and persuasive. He also works really well with instructing solicitors.
Tom is a fantastic junior. He is super-bright, a strategic thinker and always gets right to the heart of the issue. A star in the making.
Andrew McIntyre has an impressive competition practice and acts in several highly complex commercial trials and international commercial disputes.
He is really brilliant at identifying the heart of an issue and getting to the bottom of it. He is a totally reliable pair of hands.
Andrew is extremely competent at running big cases with minimal supervision.
Andrew demonstrates strong advocacy and meticulous preparation.
Emily MacKenzie operates a busy practice in competition. She has strong expertise in a variety of areas including FRAND, cartels and merger control.
Emily is a model junior. You get everything you want from her, she's practically perfect in every way.
She's everything you'd want in a competition junior.
Emily is a very solid barrister who provides clear and helpful advice and sets the client at ease.
She is very clever, very switched on and knowledgeable about competition law. She's a very effective operator, I'm very happy with her.
Fergus Randolph KC acts for claimants in follow-on damages actions and also handles standalone competition claims for injured parties seeking to block anti-competitive conduct by commercial partners. He also assists appellants with the review of CMA decisions.
Fergus knows a lot of the much more technical competition law stuff; he's very steeped in EU case law, which is still very important.
He's excellent on his feet. He's one of the more experienced KCs at the Bar.
Gerard Rothschild has represented claimants and appellants in a number of significant competition matters, including merger investigations and follow-on damages claims. He has additional experience of complex state aid cases.
He is very precise and one of the best technical lawyers I've worked with. He is unshowy, measured, and judges trust him.
Gerard is extremely bright and authoritative. When he speaks people listen.
He is a highly skilled technical barrister for substantive and procedural law. He is very tight with his drafting and an absolute core part of the case.
Jemima Stratford KC is well recognised for her strong competition practice, in particular, in relation to FRAND disputes and abuse of dominance proceedings within regulated sectors. She has wide-ranging experience acting before the CAT, the Commercial Court and the Patents Court, as well as the General Court and the Court of Justice in Luxembourg while using her status as an Irish barrister.
She is incredibly knowledgeable on the competition side. She's user-friendly and adds a lot of expertise.
Maya Lester KC acts for key financial services clients seeking to overturn EC cartel decisions. She also defends follow-on damages claims, as well as acting for claimants in standalone and collective action claims. Lester also has a number of clients in the pharmaceutical, energy and technology industries.
She has really good judgement, is very sensible and gives very user-friendly advice and guidance.
She's a terrific person to work with, and she's a competent and excellent advocate.
Nicholas Saunders KC has an impressive practice at the intersection between intellectual property and competition law. He is highly experienced in high-profile FRAND disputes, as well as pharmaceutical overpricing and follow-on damages proceedings.
Nick has a unique combination of competition and IP expertise, and is an extremely persuasive advocate. He is calm in a crisis and always provides clear strategic direction.
He is absolutely charming, the gentleman of the Bar.
Michael Quayle is a junior building a notable competition practice, particularly in high-profile class action proceedings. His previous experience as a solicitor benefits his advisory work for clients in the energy, water and pharmaceutical industries in complex regulatory proceedings.
He is an extremely able competition junior. He has a terrific understanding of competition law and economics, and has a very analytical approach to each.
His drafting is absolutely fantastic - clear, eloquent and gets to point while still being persuasive and thoughtful. He has a background as a solicitor, so he is very user-friendly and responsive.
Michael is absolutely terrific. He's very creative and a good team player. He's also very commercial and has a good idea of what clients' objectives are.
He is intellectually very agile, quick to come to grips with the salient points of law and fact, and not afraid to really roll up his sleeves and get to grips with the evidence.
Michael is incredibly knowledgeable, has deep technical expertise and is extremely analytical. I would absolutely recommend him.