Thomas Elkins

Thomas is a partner in Linklaters’ Antitrust and Foreign Investment Group.

He has expertise in all aspects of competition law, including merger control (before the European Commission and the French Competition Authority as well as coordinating multi-jurisdictional clearances), behavioural practices (cartel and abuse of dominance cases) and private damages claims.

Thomas is a longstanding advisor to clients in the automotive, healthcare, tech and retail sectors.

Work highlights

Thomas has been involved in several major transactions and landmark cases. Highlights include advising:

• PSA Group on its 50/50 merger with FCA to become Stellantis, the n°1 player in Europe and the 4th largest global car manufacturer, which was notified in 22 jurisdictions around the world and cleared in Phase 2 after an in-depth investigation in 7 jurisdictions including the European Commission, and subject to remedies in 6 jurisdictions
• Energizer on its worldwide acquisition of Varta, cleared by the European Commission subject to remedies, and on its subsequent divestment of the European Varta business which was eventually approved by the European Commission subject to further remedies
• Peugeot on its acquisition of Opel, creating the second largest player in Europe, which was notified and cleared by the European Commission as well as in more than a dozen jurisdictions around the world; this transaction included the acquisition, together with BNP, of Opel’s banking business, which triggered separate merger filings in a number of jurisdictions including the European Commission
• Successfully defending Sanofi in a preliminary ruling reference to the European Court of Justice and the Paris Court of Appeal, in the context of a dispute against Genentech concerning a €169m arbitration award
• Nestlé in the creation up of a €3bn joint venture with R&R (owned by PAI Partners) resulting in the combining of their ice cream businesses on a worldwide level, and in complaints before the EC against the merger between two competitors in the coffee sector, DEMB and Mondelez
• A leading pharmaceutical company in the context of an abuse of dominance investigation before the French Competition Authority and follow-on damage claims
• Peugeot and Gefco in the context of an investigation into the delivery services sector
• Adecco in the context of two investigations into the temporary work sector

Thomas was elected one of the 40 best competition lawyers in the world under 40 by Global Competition Review in May 2020. Before that, he was also nominated by Global Competition Review for “Lawyer of the Year under 40” in 2018.

Thomas is ranked as National Leader for France by Who’s Who Legal and Chambers Europe:

“Thomas Elkins is an “excellent” lawyer, hailed as “great to work with” and “fantastic on litigation matters” in the competition space” (Who’s Who Legal)

"I was so impressed by his expertise and efficiency that he has become the only antitrust lawyer I solicit when I happen to need some advice" Chambers Europe)

He is also recommended by Legal 500 and the Rising Stars Guide.

Thomas teaches at Sciences Po Paris. He is also an active member of the competition community in France, being a member of APDC (Association des Praticiens du Droit de la Concurrence) and AFEC (Association Française d’Etude de la Concurrence).

He is a regular contributor to the European Cartel Digest published by Kluwer.

Thomas is admitted both to the Paris and the New York bars. He graduated from the University of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne, the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and Cornell Law School (New York). He was a laureate of the Fulbright Commission’s Georges Lurcy fellowship.

Thomas regularly publishes in reputable journals. He is also repeatedly quoted by Global Competition Review, in particular in articles on Big Data and on French investigations. Thomas’ recent publications and public interventions include:

• Teacher at Sciences Po Paris, Competition Law course

• Speaker at the Center for International Intellectual Property Studies, seminar on Standard Essential Patent and FRAND Licensing: The interplay between IP, competition and contract law, 2021.

• European Cartel Digest, National contributor for the French chapter, Kluwer Law International, 2007-2021

• Legal 500 Competition Litigation Guide, French chapter, 2020