The Legal 500

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has an excellent pedigree advising on EU and Austria merger control and cartel cases, with the media and energy sectors a particular focus. Standout transactions included advising two publishing groups, Styria Meida Group and Moser Holding, in Austrian merger control proceedings. Practice head Axel Reidlinger has ‘wide knowledge’ in this area.

Schoenherr has a top-notch market reputation for its merger control and antitrust work. In 2010 the team advised ENI in merger control proceedings at the European Commission regarding the purchase of Exxon Mobil Austria’s retail outlets, and also advised the Austrian government on the nationalisation of Kommunalkredit. Hanno Wollmann heads the three-partner practice, and is singled out for praise by clients. Franz Urlesberger and Volker Weiss are also recommended.

The ‘smooth and efficient’ team at Wolf Theiss is ‘excellent on all points’ and had a strong year, picking up big-name new clients such as Daimler, Amazon, Dell and Chanel. It is advising and representing McArthurGlen, a leading operator of factory outlet centres, before the competition authorities and the Cartel Court. Günter Bauer is highly recommended for his merger control experience; he ‘will never let you down’ and is ‘very responsive and analytically strong’. In 2010 the team was bolstered by the hire of competition specialist Jochen Anweiler from O’Melveny & Myers LLP in Brussels.

bpv Hügel Rechtsanwälte OG has a good reputation for its cartel defence and cartel litigation work. The team advised a group of freight forwarding companies on antitrust issues in the carrier industry. The practice is also experienced in advising on EU energy regulation and EU internal market law and treaty infringement procedures. In 2010 the firm advised the Austrian Ministry of Economic Affairs in relation to the EU oil minimum stocks directive. Astrid Ablasser-Neuhuber heads the competition practice, while Christian Schneider is the name to note for EU law.

Baker & McKenzie Diwok Hermann Petsche Rechtsanwälte GmbH ‘is highly reliable; you don’t need to push them to get results’. The team advised on three of the largest competition matters in Austria in 2010, including the freight forwarding and elevator cartels and the Cemex/Strabag merger. Andreas Traugott is a favourite with clients: ‘He is an outstanding antitrust expert with excellent business know-how, a hands-on and pragmatic approach and a very good strategic view on long-term matters’. Stefan Riegler is also recommended, for his litigation experience.

Binder Grösswang Rechtsanwälte continues to attract some complex mandates particularly on the antitrust side. Standout transactions included advising UniCredit Bank Austria in competition law proceedings against Erste Bank before the Austrian cartel court, and representing DCC Energy in merger proceedings before the European Commission. Raoul Hoffer heads the team, which features Johannes Barbist (‘quick, interested in practical solutions, industry orientated and great to work with’).

The excellent Claudine Vartian leads the 11-lawyer competition practice at DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach. Standout transactions for 2010 included advising UGI Corporation on a potential claim of abuse of market dominance. The group has a broad client base that includes Bank Austria/Unicredit Group, T-Mobile, ArcelorMittal and WMF.

Dorda Brugger Jordis has good experience in cartel cases at all levels of the court system, and in 2010 advised Austrian chemical manufacturer Donau Chemie in the ‘calcium carbide’ cartel case before the European Commisssion, which is now being appealed at the European Court of First Instance. The team has also developed its expertise in unfair competition cases, including representing pharmaceutical retailer Kwizda in a €15m dispute over the hiring of former employees and market share. Stephan Polster is strong on the competition side and now heads up the team following the departure in 2010 of Philippe Kiehl to Hengeler Mueller. Axel Anderl is recommended for unfair competition work.

The competition team at Siemer-Siegl-Füreder & Partner, Rechtsanwälte is ‘very competent’, and ‘the overall level of service is excellent’. The practice advised a gas grid company in respect of state aid from environmental targets, as well as advising an Austrian publisher in an abuse of market power claim in the Austrian Supreme Court. Markus Fellner leads on the antitrust, merger control and distribution law side, while Robert Ertl is noted for state aid work.

Barnert Egermann Illigasch Rechtsanwälte GmbH delivers ‘competent, friendly’ and ‘pragmatic’ service coupled with ‘strong enthusiasm and curiosity, which is necessary in this field of work’. The strong practice is led by the well-respected Isabella Hartung, who is a favourite among clients; she is praised for her ‘keen perception and ability to quickly find the core of a problem’. The team advised Cinema Paradiso in proceedings bought by an Austrian competitor alleging contravention of EU state aid rules.

CHSH Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati has a broad range of EU and competition law experience including advising on abuse of dominant position and state aid cases both at national and EU level. The well-respected Peter Lewisch and Bernhard Kofler-Senoner lead the five-partner team, which represented CEE construction giant Strabag in merger control proceedings before the European Commission and the Austrian competition authorities relating to its €1bn merger with Cemex. The team remains active in unfair competition proceedings, with recent work including representing Yves Rocher in a case referred to the European Court of Justice.

CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz Rechtsanwälte GmbH had a busy 2010, particularly with competition and antitrust litigation matters. The team advised UK private equity group BC Partners on merger control issues in connection with its acquisition of the laboratory chains FutureLab and SynLab. Bernt Elsner heads the team, which also features Egon Engin-Deniz, Daniela Karollus-Bruner and Robert Keisler; all are highly rated in the market.

Martin Eckel leads the team at enwc Natlacen Walderdorff Cancola Attorneys at Law, which advised Lafarge in merger control notification and consultation proceedings at the European Commission, and was also involved in merger control notifications for Nestlé, Rupp and ADEG in 2010.

At Fiebinger Polak Leon Rechtsanwälte, Peter Polak, Gerhard Kienast and Christian Mayer are ‘first-rate advocates and advisers: well grounded in Austrian law and savvy to its interplay with US law’. 2010 saw the firm advise a natural gas consortium on gaining an exemption to EU law during the building of a new pipeline through Austria.

The ‘excellent people’ at Brauneis Klauser Prändl Rechtsanwälte GmbH regularly advise on distribution agreements and appear before the EU competition authorities.

Graf & Pitkowitz Rechtsanwälte GmbH has a well-developed practice that continues to attract top-notch international clients. Ferdinand Graf heads the practice, which advised Coca-Cola Bottling in a merger clearance case after the sale of one of its water brands.

At Karasek Wietrzyk Rechtsanwälte GmbH, Jörg Zehetner and Thomas Rabl lead a practice with good experience in cartel litigation and compliance. The team has developed a niche white-collar crime practice, and has particular expertise in conducting dawn raids.

Markus Fellner is the name to note at Fellner Wratzfeld & Partners. The firm is recommended for advising national and international companies in merger control, antitrust and abuse of market position proceedings before the Austrian authorities and the European Commission.

Griss & Partner is well placed to advise on merger control and competition issues, with good connections to the EU authorities.

At Höhne, In der Maur & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH, Georg Streit and Thomas Höhne are rated for their knowledge of antitrust issues.

Lansky, Ganzger & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH had an active year advising on a number of antitrust cases, including representing a regional hospital in a cartel case. Gerald Ganzger is highly rated.