France | EU & Competition

The EU & Competition department of SJ Berwin in Paris is part of the larger EU & Competition Department which has been a core practice area of the firm since its establishment.  The department is widely recognised as one of the leading practices in EU regulatory and competition law and has been named "Competition Team of the Year" by Legal Business Magazine three times.

SJ Berwin's EU & Competition department in Paris has extensive experience in advising on and defending alleged cartel cases before the European competition authorities, including the European Commission and the French Conseil de la concurrence.  This includes advising on compliance programmes, fines, leniency applications and strategy, handling on site inspections, and subsequent investigations by the authorities.

We also assist our clients in obtaining competition clearance before the European Commission, the Competition division of the French Ministry for Economy (DGCCRF) and other national competition authorities around the world.  Our lawyers have excellent working relationships with officials in key departments of the DGCCRF and the European Commission.  They also have extensive experience in co-ordinating large cross-border merger control filings.

Our Competition experts also advise clients in matters relating to French restrictive practices, consumer and distribution laws, in particular in the pharmaceutical and new technology industries.

We advise clients on:

• EU, national and multi-jurisdictional merger, acquisition and joint venture clearances
• Cartel investigations, market enquiries and dominance cases
• Leniency programmes
• Bespoke competition compliance programmes
• Pharmaceutical matters, in particular parallel trade issues
• Distribution and commercial networks, agreements and practices
• French restrictive practice rules
• European Community law developments
• EU, competition and distribution-related litigation
• Representations before the European Commission, Court of First Instance, the European Court of Justice, the Conseil de la concurrence, the DGCCRF and all national courts
• Public procurement matters
• Consumer affairs
• Regulatory matters

Click here to view our EU & Competition brochure.