GCR December 2008 / January 2009

Capitol Gains: DC's leading firms for government antitrust

Country survey: Brazil - Global briefing - Indian cartels - Corporate counsel: BP PLC

Journal Feature

A memorandum to the new assistant attorney general in charge of the Antitrust Division

Donald I Baker, partner at Baker & Miller PLLC in Washington, DC and a former assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, has some suggestions for the Obama administration's antitrust division head

Cartel busting in India: The elephant in the room?

Warsha Kalé, associate director at Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP in London, has been closely monitoring the proposed new Indian competition regime. Here, she looks at how India’s new competition authority will tackle cartel enforcement when the country’s new laws come into force

Tom Barnett: 'I'm proud of the many division accomplishments during my tenure'

For Tom Barnett, it has been a successful and controversial three-and-a-half years at the top of antitrust enforcement in America. Ron Knox talks to the former assistant attorney general at the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division

Country Survey: USA

Capitol gains: DC's leading firms for government antitrust

US antitrust lawyers are anticipating the dawn of a new era, after president-elect Obama pledged to return the US antitrust agencies to the forefront of international enforcement. Emily Gray reports on Washington, DC’s leading firms as they gear up for the change

Country Survey: Brazil

Brazil's competition bar

David Vascott profiles the leading players in Brazil’s rapidly evolving competition bar

An interview with Antonio Henrique Pinheiro Silveira

Antônio Henrique Pinheiro Silveira, Secretary of Economic Monitoring at Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, speaks to David Vascott about the radical change in Brazil’s competition regime he hopes to see soon

An interview with Mariana Tavares de Araujo

Mariana Tavares de Araújo, Brazil’s secretary of economic law, talks to David Vascott

An interview with Arthur Badin

Arthur Badin, president of CADE, talks to David Vascott, offering an insight into Brazil’s developing competition authorities

The prizefighter

Brazil’s antitrust attorney general Arthur Badin has been appointed chairman of CADE, following a protracted battle with Brazilian politicians and businessmen. But he’s used to fighting, writes David Vascott

Corporate Counsel

Andrew Hockley: 'Developing a deep understanding of a business and sector is valuable'

Title: Legal adviser - EC competition law

Age: 32
Company: BP plc
Previous employment: Associate, Allen & Overy LLP in Brussels and London

Community News

Badin elected new CADE chief

Arthur Badin has been voted the new president of Brazil’s Council for Economic Defence, CADE.

Oxera bolsters competition practice

Economics consultancy Oxera has promoted two of its competition specialists to managing consultants.

Bingham poaches three from Clifford Chance

Bingham McCutchen LLP has recruited three antitrust and intellectual property litigation lawyers from Clifford Chance LLP.

Deborah Garza steps in at DoJ

Deborah Garza has been named by President George Bush as the new head of the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division, replacing Thomas Barnett.

Hausfeld expelled from firm he co-founded

Michael Hausfeld, a founding partner of Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll LLP, has left the firm and launched a rival, Hausfeld LLP.

OFT - Collins remains, while Pritchard leaves

Simon Pritchard, senior director of mergers at the UK’s Office of Fair Trading, is leaving for private practice. The news comes the day after Peter Mandelson, UK secretary of state for business, announced the re-appointment of Philip Collins as chairman of the OFT.

Agencywatch

Remedies revision to address DG Comp failures

The European Commission’s new merger remedies package is intended to shore up a divestiture programme that has failed to solve competition problems in more than one-third of its cases, a senior DG Comp official says.

Poland loses interchange appeal

Poland’s Office of Consumer and Competition Protection has lost an appeal against its 2006 decision on interchange fees.

LCD firms get bumper US fine

Asian electronics manufacturers LG Display, Sharp and Chunghwa Picture Tubes have been fined a total of US$585 million for fixing the price of liquid crystal display panels, the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division announced on 13 November.

Canada charges construction companies

Three construction companies and their presidents have been charged with bid rigging following an investigation by Canada’s Competition Bureau.

OFT ends five-year dominance hiatus

The UK’s Office of Fair Trading has issued its first dominance decision since 2003, finding that a Welsh bus company allegedly used predatory practices when attempting to squeeze a start-up competitor out of the market.

Behind the Headlines

Vitamin C lawsuit could affect US-China relations

If a US antitrust lawsuit against four Chinese vitamin companies is successful, it could prove dangerous for US-China trade relations and put Chinese companies in a regulatory no-win situation, antitrust specialists say.

DG Comp glass cartel fine crushes record

The European Commission has for the first time broken the e1 billion barrier for cartel fines, ordering four car glass manufacturers to pay more than e1.3 billion for their roles in an alleged cartel.

Court shrinks sentences of marine hose three

The UK Court of Appeals has reduced the jail terms of three men who pleaded guilty to organising and running a cartel in the UK’s marine hose industry.

China puts conditions on InBev deal

Chinese antitrust officials have released their first-ever decision under the country’s Anti-Monopoly Law, placing restrictions on the US$52 billion merger of brewers InBev and Anheuser- Busch.

Europe reacts to new Microsoft investigations

Competition specialists say the European Commission’s latest round of antitrust investigations into Microsoft’s business practices signals the start of a fight the company might not be able to win.

Global Briefing

US: Federal Circuit holds that courts need not consider the validity of a patent at issue

Two drug companies, Bayer and Barr, reach a settlement which is challenged by consumers as anti-competitive

Ronan Harty and Crystal McKellar
Davis Polk & Wardwell
New York

Portugal: Concerns over lack of competition in electricity market mount

The Portuguese Competition Authority is conducting an analysis of price formation in the wholesale market for electricity during the second half of 2007

Alexandra Dias Henriques and Ricardo Filipe Costa
Marques Mendes & Associados
Lisbon

Poland: Dawn raid at the premises of Poland's largest telecom

Telekomunikacja Polska, the largest operator of stationary telecommunications in Poland as well as the shareholder in Poland’s major mobile telecom, has again been the target of competition authorities’ concern. This time, however, the case involved the European Commission, which inspected the company

Aleksander Stawicki and Andrzej Nentwig
Wiercinski Kwiecinski Baehr
Warsaw

Poland: Banking sector continues to consolidate

With the world’s financial markets tumbling, banks worldwide seek opportunities to counteract the negative market tendencies. At the moment, it seems that the quickest route to safety exit consolidation

Andrzej Nentwig
Wiercinski Kwiecinski Baehr
Warsaw

Israel: District Court again convicts Tambour's former Chief Executive Officer

CEO held responsible for the cartel activities which the company took part in

D Ziv Abramovich
Lapidot Melchior Abramovich & Co
Jerusalem

Denmark: Appeals Commitee confirms grocery exclusivity in Copenhagen

Tribunal finds customers have access to a number of alternative grocery suppliers, and so confirms the Competition Council’s decision

Jan-Erik Svensson
Gorrissen Federspiel Kierkegaard
Copenhagen

Canada: Possible changes to the conspiracy and unilateral conduct regimes

The new Conservative government is proposing amendmentsto the Competition Act based on the Wilson Recommendations

D Martin Low QC and Sorcha O’Carroll
McMillan LLP
Toronto

Canada: New guidance published for companies

Corporate compliance programmes and trade associations are covered in recently released bulletins

John F Clifford and Sorcha O’Carroll
McMillan LLP
Toronto

Australia: Draft bil to criminalise cartel conduct released

Cartel conduct in Australia looks set to become a criminal offence punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, with the new cartel offences extending beyond existing price-fixing and exclusionary arrangement prohibitions

Wendy Peter and Tim Maxwell
Allens Arthur Robinson
Melbourne

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