More than ever, organisations must comply with competition law to ensure effective risk management.  Failing to abide by the rules can result in substantial fines - up to 10% of worldwide turnover - reversed merger deals, adverse publicity and subsequent third-party damages claims.

Osborne Clarke's Competition team provides the clear, timely and strategic advice your business needs in order to maximise your opportunities within the competition law framework.  We strive to understand your business' needs and will act decisively to address them - whether this means negotiating with third parties or handling competition authorities on your behalf.  The result is a commercially-focused offering that provides commonsense, proactive support in complex situations. 

We advise on the full range of competition and regulatory issues.  These include mergers, joint ventures, trading arrangements, competition investigations, dawn raids, public procurement and state aid.  In addition, our team has specialist expertise in the telecoms/IT, transport, manufacturing and automotive sectors.

We also advise regularly on competition litigation (private enforcement actions and follow-on damages claims).  Our cartels team is adept in providing straightforward yet effective advice that can help avoid or reduce multi-million pound fines.  

Osborne Clarke's alliance of European law firms offers a seamless service in the UK and the EU, helping you to stay compliant wherever you operate.  This network of competition law expertise also enables us to deliver timely advice on legal developments affecting our clients on an EU-wide basis. 

This, together with our active participation in leading competition law organisations such as the Law Society's European Group, enables us to stay at the forefront of developments in the field of competition law. 

• obtaining unconditional OFT clearance for Arriva Trains on its acquisition of the Cross Country rail franchise - the first OFT clearance under the new "de minimis" exception;
• advising Vodafone on its proposed Radio Access Network joint venture with Orange;
• representing the RMI National Franchised Dealers Association before the European Commission in lobbying for a new motor vehicle block exemption.

Simon Neill
t +44 20 7105 7028
simon.neill@osborneclarke.com