Max Schaefer

Max has been instructed in many of the most significant recent commercial and competition disputes, often involving complex financial, economic and technology issues. Recent and ongoing instructions include acting for Hewlett-Packard in its successful fraud claims against former Autonomy executives (described by the Court as “amongst the longest and most complex [trials] in English legal history”); for leading football agencies in their successful challenge to FIFA and the FA’s proposed cap on agents’ fees; for the Premier League in Manchester City’s challenges to its rules; for Google in the Ad Tech collective proceedings; for Apple in proposed collective proceedings concerning iCloud; for ValueLicensing in competition damages claims against Microsoft; for Asda and other high-street retailers in competition damages claims against Mastercard (and, previously, Visa) concerning multilateral interchange fees (succeeding in the Court of Appeal and in the Supreme Court); and in other major competition matters including FDIC, FX and Occupant Safety Systems.

Max acted for the successful defendant in the leading recent professional negligence case of McLean v Thornhill (HC; CA), and has advised in numerous other professional negligence matters. He frequently handles complex questions of jurisdiction and proper law, including those determined by the Court of Appeal in Celgard v Shenzhen Senior Technology Material (a Managing IP “Impact Case of the Year” in 2021) and by the Supreme Court in Goldman Sachs International v Novo Banco.