KA Legal has a strong, long standing and diverse practice in the area of EU and national antitrust rules including both cartels and abuses of dominant positions. Over the years, the practice focused on the energy, media / telecommunications, air transport and pharmaceutical sectors. Set out below are indicative examples of our work.
We review commercial agreements under Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and corresponding EU Member State regulations. We advise on price related issues, distribution/marketing strategies, standardization, trade association membership and all types of exploitative and exclusionary abuses.
We represent clients in proceedings before the European Commission and the national competition authorities in cartel investigations in the areas of air transport, energy, pharmaceuticals, financial services/banking, information technology, media and telecommunications, sports and entertainment. We also advise on leniency applications and settlement agreements.
We advise clients on the application of competition rules to information exchange in sectors such as air transport, chemicals, container liner shipping, sports and entertainment.
We regularly advise clients on the rules on abuses of dominant positions with particular focus on air transport, media and telecommunications, energy, sports and entertainment.
We act as counsel for trade associations within the EU to ensure that their organizations and activities comply with EU competition rules.
We draft and help implement antitrust compliance policies and manuals for our corporate clients (including "Do's and Don'ts") and often prepare and deliver customised training sessions and "mock dawn raids".
Our recent experience includes:
Representing a telecoms company in an antitrust complaint before the European Commission.
Advising and representing a major energy intensive industrial producer on electricity pricing practices of a dominant incumbent electricity supplier.
Advising a member of the international barcode trade association in litigation proceedings before the national courts against the trade association, following its expulsion from membership of the association, in potential breach of EU and national competition rules.
Successfully defending an international sports federation against abuse of dominance allegations relating to the acquisition of media rights to sports broadcasting events in the framework of international arbitration procedures.
Advising and representing a major pharmaceutical company in connection with the European Commission's "pay for delay" antitrust investigation concerning Servier / perindopril.
Successfully advising a major telecommunications provider on EU Competition and regulatory issues, defending it against complaints and delivering a full compliance programme for its management and sales staff.
Representing a major international film distributor in national antitrust procedures.
Representing a major Asian air carrier in the framework of the European Commission antitrust investigation into airline surcharges.
Advising and representing a major international logistics company in the framework of the European Commission antitrust investigation into freight forwarders' surcharge policies.
Advising a major international airline in a major self assessment exercise on compliance under EU antitrust rules of its joint venture with a competing airline.
Providing EU antitrust compliance training to a major multinational container shipping company and two telecommunication operators.