Competition Law

Competition law can affect a wide variety of business practices, ranging from the obvious cartels which attract both public attention, and the possibility of both huge fines and even criminal prosecution, to the detail of permitted restrictions in distribution agreements and joint ventures. We advise on these issues both independently and as part of our wider corporate and commercial teams.

Further issues can arise where an enterprise has a dominant position in a market, whether worldwide or locally, and particular care needs to be taken to avoid falling into abuse of that position.

We also advise on the competition law aspects of joint bids and consortia in procurement where the interface between management of the procurement and ensuring compliance with competition law can be complex.

Working closely with clients drawn from across all sectors, we help put in place the supply chains and skilled partner arrangements that are competition law compliant.

We also advise on the merging of both private and public sector organisations, gaining CMA consent where required.

We advise on the information you should and shouldn’t be sharing with those you are collaborating with. Getting this right is critical to our clients avoiding civil and criminal penalties, this includes advice on when to raise issues direct with the Competition and Markets authority (CMA) or how to respond if they are investigating possible breaches of competition law, or conducting a wider market investigation.

We have extensive experience advising on the Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014 and provide Competition law training to a range of clients which can be tailored to the individual markets. We can also provide support where meetings are being held between organisations which are competitors to manage the risk in relation to breaches of the Competition Act.

The latest Competition Law news and articles can be found at Bevan Brittan's Insight Information Hub