Juhani Jokinen, head of Finland’s Competition Authority, is gearing up for the passage of a new Competition Act. Faaez Samadi sat down with him in Helsinki to discuss what the reforms will mean for the authority’s enforcement agenda

In Finland, the success of a competition group is defined by its level of involvement in a handful of high-profile cases monopolising both public and private enforcement. Faaez Samadi meets the competition teams leading the work

By David Laing and John Fedele of Baker & McKenzie in Washington, DC, and Grant Murray of Baker & McKenzie in London

Title: Senior vice president, legal & government affairsCompany: NYSE EuronextPrevious employment: US Department of Treasury; AUSA; partner, Heller Ehrman LLP  

When Joel Klein took the job of executive vice president at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, he could scarcely have imagined that six months later he’d be sitting in front of the world’s media at a UK parliamentary committee hearing. Yet the former head of the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division has become the key figure responsible for guiding his new employer through a phone hacking scandal. Rachel Bull reports

A string of recent court decisions has established a US region with a decidedly pro-defendant reputation as a place where antitrust plaintiffs can prevail. Ron Knox explains

Over the past few years, Chicago’s federal court has become one of the busiest antitrust litigation forums in the country. Ron Knox meets the Windy City’s leading competition lawyers

Title: Legal director Company: Coca-Cola Enterprises Age: 38 Previous employment: Private practice in London

Reforms to Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Law have criminalised antitrust violations and allowed for the imposition of much greater fines. But critics question whether the country is ready for such draconian measures. Emiliano Mellino asks Willliam Blumenthal what to expect from the new law. Blumenthal chairs the US antitrust group at Clifford Chance LLP and is a former general counsel at the US Federal Trade Commission. He works closely with the International Competition Network, the OECD and the international and US Chambers of Commerce

Economic strife has stripped resources from Greece’s Competition Commission and prompted a slump in transactions. But the dearth in merger filings has allowed staff to concentrate on cartel and abuse of dominance cases. Meanwhile, a tough new law has introduced harsher penalties for antitrust violations. Emily Gray, Rachel Bull and Faaez Samadi meet the firms handling the raft of behavioural cases

Greece’s Competition Commission is operating with a reduced budget and fewer staff thanks to stiff austerity measures introduced by the government. But the agency has proved resilient, maintaining an active enforcement profile and lobbying successfully for changes to the country’s competition law. GCR talks to commission president Dimitrios Kyritsakis

Greece is fighting for its economic life. Its survival depends on a multi-billion euro loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Without it, Greece will default on its debts, placing severe strain on the resources of the European Central Bank and driving up the cost of borrowing. But to secure the bailout, Greece must pass punishing austerity measures that will strip public services bare. In the face of such turmoil, the country’s Competition Commission is in danger of becoming an irrelevance.

The competition team at Martínez-Lage has operated under several guises in its 25 years at the forefront of Spanish antitrust enforcement. Emily Gray looks at the firm’s latest incarnation.

International competition groups are making headway in the Spanish market, which was traditionally dominated by domestic firms. Emily Gray looks at three antitrust practices winning plaudits – and cases – in Madrid. Baker & McKenzie, Hogan Lovells and Linklaters LLP are all new entrants to GCR’s Spain survey.

The US Department of Justice’s antitrust division is unforgiving in its fight against international cartels. Jason Brown, Mark S Popofsky and Anthony Biagioli of Ropes & Gray LLP, take an in-depth look at United States v AU Optronics Corp and the DoJ’s broader policy of imposing travel restrictions in international cartel cases.