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RPC

TOWER BRIDGE HOUSE, ST KATHARINE'S WAY, LONDON, E1W 1AA, ENGLAND

Tel:: Work 020 3060 6000
Fax:: Fax 020 3060 7000
DX:: 600 LONDON/CITY

Web:: www.rpc.co.uk
Email:

Singapore, London, Hong Kong, Bristol

Stephen Smith

Tel:: Work +44 20 3060 6527
Email:

Work Department

Antitrust/competition.

Position

Stephen is a competition lawyer with extensive experience across a broad range of EU and UK competition law matters, including merger control, cartels and behavioural antitrust advice on anticompetitive agreements and abuse of dominance. In addition, Stephen has valuable experience working within a competition regulator, having spent time as a senior legal adviser at Ofcom, the specialist competition regulator for the media, telecoms, postal and broadcasting sectors. Examples of recent work include: advising RSA in respect of the OFT's ongoing market study into private motor insurance in the UK: advising a digital media company before the OFT in respect of its acquisition of a political communications business; advising Independent News and Media on the merger control and media plurality issues arising out of the sale of The Independent newspaper and website; advising Global Infrastructure Partners on its acquisition of Gatwick Airport, advising GlaxoSmithKline on its ViiV Healthcare HIV medicines joint venture with Pfizer; advising British Airways in respect of cartel investigations into alleged price fixing of fuel surcharges of both air cargo (before the European Commission) and passenger flights (before the OFT); and advising Thermo Fisher Scientific before the Competition Commission in respect of its completed acquisition of GV instruments.

Career

Trained Slaughter and May, London and Brussels 2001-05, 2006-09; senior legal adviser Ofcom 2004-05; Mayer Brown 2009; partner RPC 2011. Recent publications include: Premier League football cases: linguistic tactics, non-naked match feeds and the away goals rule (Computer and Telecommunications Law Review ([2012]) 18 C.T.L.R., Issue 2)); Media Plurality and Fitness for Purpose (Entertainment Law Review (Ent. L.R. 2011, 22(8), 224- 228)); Agency or distribution? The struggle for mastery in e-book pricing (Competition Law Insight, 3 May 2011).

Languages

French.

Education

Aylesbury Grammar School; University of Cambridge, Churchill College (1997 MA Hons); College of Law, Guildford (1998 Postgraduate Diploma in Law; 1999 Diploma in Legal Practice).

Leisure

Family, watching sport (football, rugby, cricket), reading, cinema.

Practice Areas

EU and competition

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