Profession
Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales
Experience
Specialist in UK and EC Merger control and anti-trust regulation. Work has included clients from a number of sectors - banking, brewing, general insurance, health insurance, chemicals, publishing, manufacturing - and given him significant experience in dealing with competition authorities in London and Brussels.
Transactions of significance where substantial involvement can be disclosed have included:
- Compagnie Générale de Géophysique – UK merger control aspects of acquisition of competitor, particularly giving rise to vertical issues
- Swiss Re – advising on the EU merger control issues concerning the acquisition of GE UK Life Insurance business
- Schneider Electric SA – advising on the UK merger control aspects of its purchase of GET Group Plc, a UK based designer, developer and distributor of industrial electrical products
- Noble Group – advising on a multi-jurisdictional merger control analysis (EU, member states and global filing requirements) arising from the acquisition of Oxyde Chemicals, a petrochemicals manufacturing and trading company
- Astrazeneca – acquisition of Cambridge Antibodies
- DSG International – acquisitions of businesses in Italy, Greece, UK, and France - both EU and UK merger control
- Royal Bank of Scotland – significant banking competition work, including two Competition Commission investigations into store cards (2004-2006) and the NI personal current account market (2004-2007), advising on the Payment Systems Task Force, European sector reviews into banking and business insurance and advising on the OFT’s review of credit card and current account charges and advising (2007) on the Market Investigation into Payment Protection Insurance by the Competition Commission
- Royal Bank of Scotland Group – acquisitions under UK and EU law, including handling possible reference back to Irish authorities
Professional experience
2009 - to date Partner; Head of Competition/Antitrust, Linklaters London
1996 - 2009 Partner, Competition/Antitrust, Linklaters
1988 - 1996 Assistant Solicitor, Linklaters, including two years in Brussels office
1986 - 1988 Articled Clerk, Linklaters
Education
1985 - 1985 B.A.
1985 - 1986 College of Law, Guildford
1982 - 1985 Magdalen College, Oxford
