Brodies LLP handles the full gamut of EU and competition maters for high-profile clients in the transport and infrastructure, energy, food and drink, tech and public sectors. Well-versed in merger control, the practice also handles antitrust compliance and investigations, competition litigation and public procurement. Under the leadership of Charles Livingstone, the practice handles matters across the UK, EU and internationally. Christine O’Neill is a veteran litigator and solicitor advocate, who has considerable experience in procurement litigation. Roger Cotton runs the state aid practice and has recently been advising on businesses on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
EU and competition in Scotland
Brodies LLP
Practice head(s):
Charles Livingstone
Other key lawyers:
Christine O’Neill; Roger Cotton
Testimonials
‘The team provides valuable and insightful timely advice that is specifically tailored to and anchored by our business’ commercial priorities and circumstances’.
‘The team listen to what I am trying to achieve and work with me to do that’.
‘It’s all very seamless, and they are really on top of the law’.
‘Brodies are excellent.’
‘They combined a keen understanding of the law with a close understanding of the needs of the client’.
‘Brodies went toe-to-toe with a magic circle firm and compared very favourably with them’.
‘The advice set out what we needed to know to make an informed decision, and did not contain a list of caveats or attempt to sit on the fence’.
‘They combined a keen understanding of the law with a close understanding of the needs of the client’.
Key clients
Abellio
The Scotch Whisky Association
Scottish Water Business Stream
AGS Airports Limited
Accel-KKR
Stornoway Port Authority
Kersia
Scottish Government
Highlands & Islands Enterprise
Ian Macleod Distillers
Work highlights
- Advised Kersia on securing approved buyer status from the CMA to allow the purchase of Holchem from Ecolab, following a CMA divestment order imposed on Ecolab.
- Advised the Scotch Whisky Association on complying with competition law while facilitating hand sanitiser production by the whisky industry in response to the COIVD-19 crisis.
- Advised Stornoway Port Authority on the State aid compliance of funding for its deep water port project, part of its 20-year masterplan.
Dentons
Dentons is well regarded in the Scottish market for its broad competition expertise, with key areas of focus including merger control, compliance, competition litigation and dawn raid issues. The team is jointly led by London-based Adrian Magnus and Glasgow’s Michael Dean, who has considerable experience in the full range of EU and UK competition law proceedings. Key practitioner Catriona Munro has notable expertise in cartels and contentious competition law. Senior associate Melanie Martin is recommended for non-contentious competition issues, state aid and Brexit-related matters.
Practice head(s):
Michael Dean; Adrian Magnus
Other key lawyers:
Catriona Munro; David McGowan; Carolyn Burns; Melanie Martin
Testimonials
‘A highly skilled, professional and diverse team who are responsive and diligent on all matters. The wide range of expertise – and access to experts on wider areas of law – gives clients confidence that the team can collaborate to deliver projects of any scale, and that they can meet ambitious deadlines on complex problems. The stand-out feature of the team is their ability to understand the client, their operating environment, and risk appetite’.
‘The team really understand our business and their advice is always on point. They do not get bogged down in the detail but cut through it to give the advice we need. They are flexible and able to discuss concepts at a range of levels’.
‘Michael Dean and David McGowan always give great and easily digestible advice.’
‘Melanie Martin is bright and very easy to deal with.’
‘Catriona Munro gives flexible and helpful strategic guidance in disputes contexts.’
‘Approachable individuals who have good awareness of wider commercial considerations beyond just legal points. Each is an expert in their field, and give confidence that they are applying the most up-to-date thinking to matters.’
‘David McGowan is a notable expert who gives complete confidence in the breadth and thoroughness of his advice.’
‘This is a fast reacting and knowledgeable team who can convey this complex area of law in a way which resonates with the business we operate in.’
Key clients
Standard Life Aberdeen PLC
Daimler AG
Stagecoach Group PLC
Network Rail
The Edrington Group Limited
Aggreko PLC
UK Government (Department for International Development, Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Department for Education)
Alexander Dennis Limited
Work highlights
- Advising Daimler on a follow-on claim brought on behalf of 21 Scottish local authorities in relation to the European Commission’s Trucks decision.
- Successfully defended Highlands and Islands Enterprise against allegations that they gave illegal state aid, both before the European Commission and the Scottish courts.
- Representing Stagecoach South Western Trains Limited (SSWT) in ongoing proposed collective proceedings in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) brought by Justin Gutmann against SSWT and two other rail operators.
Shepherd and Wedderburn
The EU and competition practice at Shepherd and Wedderburn covers all areas of competition law. The practice is experienced in business-critical issues, such as transactional matters, anti-competitive agreements, procurement, state aid and litigation. The team, which is complemented by the firm’s public law and commercial litigation offerings, is headed by Gordon Downie, who founded the Scottish Competition Forum. Downie is recommended for regulatory matters in the food and drink, real estate, energy and tech sectors.
Practice head(s):
Gordon Downie
Other key lawyers:
John Grady; Fiona Parker
Testimonials
‘Gordon Downie leads from the front and has huge experience in competition and regulatory matters, with unparalleled knowledge of the energy markets’.
‘Fiona Parker is second to none on client and case-management, with huge experience in the water sector’.
‘The practice is unique in offering a full service legal firm across the UK, with a unique and unusual position in Scotland and offering services into Northern Ireland, on the utilities sectors’.
‘It has huge experience in EU regulatory issues’.
‘John Grady has an encyclopaedic knowledge of utility regulation in the UK, particularly energy’.
‘John Grady is a first-rate lawyer with good judgement and excellent client handling skills’.
‘Gordon Downie is one of the top competition and regulatory lawyers in Scotland; he has a quietly understated manner but is extremely knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with’.
‘Very knowledgeable about energy regulation issues’.
Key clients
ScottishPower (SP)
Single Electricity Market (SEM) Committee
Water Industry Commission Scotland
City of Edinburgh Council
Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult Ltd.
The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat)
Scottish Enterprise
Miller Homes Limited
Epic Games Inc
Work highlights
- Advised the Water Industry Commission for Scotland on a major emergency intervention programme to support customers and suppliers in the competitive retail market for water services in Scotland, in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
- Advised a major international games developer and publisher on multi-jurisdictional merger control requirements relating to the acquisition of a specialist provider of ad-tech services across PC, mobile and major home console platforms.
- Provided dawn raid response and follow-up support to a food production client subject to a major global investigation by the European Commission into allegations of a price-fixing cartel.
Burness Paull LLP
Burness Paull LLP’s broad bench was bolstered in July 2020 with the arrival of Hazel Moffat from DLA Piper. Moffat is a dispute resolution specialist, who brings considerable public law experience to the practice. The team is jointly headed by Colin Miller and Graeme Palmer, who is well known for procurement and state subsidy law matters. The practice handles merger control in a range of sectors, including food and drink, oil and gas, tech and the public sector.
Practice head(s):
Colin Miller; Graeme Palmer
Other key lawyers:
David Goodbrand; Stephen Phillips; Michael Bryceland; Hazel Moffat
Testimonials
‘Colin Miller is charming; insightful; responsive and I would strongly recommend him’.
‘Excellent lawyers, prompt service and integrity, together with a collaborative approach’.
‘Colin Miller is highly experienced, with a City background and international experience, and very commercial approach’.
Key clients
Highland Spring
Independent News Television (ITN)
Tillicoultry Quarries
Roxburghe Hotel Golf & Spa
Student Loans Company
Scottish Television (STV)
The Weir Group plc
EDF Energy Renewables
Scottish Enterprise
Ingen (UK)
Work highlights
- Advised Tillicoultry Quarries in relation to its proposed acquisitions from Breedon Group plc of 14 businesses in England and Scotland – a mixture of quarries, asphalt and ready mix concrete sites, as well as a cement import terminal at Dundee port.
- Continued to provide competition law advice to Highland Spring in connection with its ongoing distribution arrangements to supermarkets and other major retail outlets in the UK.
- Supported Scottish Enterprise with the notification of one of the last UK State Aid schemes to the European Commission, which supports Covid-19 relief in the form of subordinated debt measures under the Commission’s Temporary Framework to support the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak.
CMS
The competition and trade practice at CMS acts as a UK-wide team, with Edinburgh-based Graeme Young heading up the Scottish offering. The team handles antitrust and market investigations, merger control, state aid, public procurement and regulatory matters. Young is dual-qualified and acts for clients in the energy and utilities, financial services and infrastructure sectors. Judith Aldersey-Williams is recommended for competition matters in the energy sector.
Practice head(s):
Graeme Young
Other key lawyers:
Judith Aldersey-Williams
Testimonials
‘Graeme Young is very knowledgeable on the more challenging aspects of state aid’.
‘Graeme Young takes a commercial view, which is rare amongst procurement lawyers’.
Key clients
BP Plc
Braid Logistics
David Macbrayne Limited
Scottish Water
South of Scotland Enterprise
Gridserve
Highland and Islands Enterprise
Scottish Financial Enterprise
University of Glasgow
SSE Plc
Opportunity North East Limited
The City of Edinburgh Council
NatWest Group Plc (NWG)
Scottish Futures Trust
Northern Ireland Water
Centrica Plc
Places for People Leisure Management Limited (PfP)
ISS UK
NeuConnect
Atos UK
Stagecoach Plc
Work highlights
- Advising David MacBrayne Limited (DML) on complex competition and procurement issues in the transport and infrastructure sectors.
- Advising Braid on the competition and merger control aspects of the sale of its bulk logistics business to competitor, Hillebrand.
- Advising Scottish Water on competition, procurement and state aid issues including on the introduction of measures by the Scottish Government to support the water market and business customers in light of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anderson Strathern
Anderson Strathern’s EU and competition law group specialises in litigation, state aid and advice on general competition issues. Katrina Lumsdaine heads the team and focuses on high-value competition disputes, acting for a number of public sector clients. Douglas McLachlan is recommended for compliance, competition investigations and competition enforcement.
Practice head(s):
Katrina Lumsdaine
Other key lawyers:
Douglas McLachlan; Simon Brown
Testimonials
‘Anderson Strathern are a class act for EU and competition, particularly competition litigation’.
‘Katrina Lumsdaine is a fantastic litigator and has brilliant strategic and tactical instincts’.
‘Katrina Lumsdaine is well able to weave her enormous commercial litigation experience into competition litigation’.
‘Katrina Lumsdaine has a wonderful, deft touch with clients and she will be a major force in years to come in competition litigation in Scotland’.
Key clients
22 Scottish local authorities and Scottish Water
INEOS Chemicals Grangemouth Limited
Petroineos Europe Limited
Allied Vehicles Limited
John Martin Group Limited
Superfeet Worldwide Inc
Work highlights
- Pursuing damages on behalf of 22 public bodies, in an action arising out of the high-profile truck cartel case.
- Advising INEOS and Petroineos on strategically important procurement and supply contracts, including competition law issues.
- Advising Allied Vehicles Limited on competition law and Brexit matters in a highly specialised sector.
Harper Macleod LLP
Harper Macleod LLP has considerable experience in providing state aid advice to local councils across Scotland; it also acts for private sector clients on a broad range of competition matters. Specific areas of expertise include public procurement, merger control, anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance. James McMorrow heads the practice and is recommended for post-Brexit advice around the UK's new subsidy control regime.
Practice head(s):
James McMorrow
Other key lawyers:
Jill Fryer; Jennifer Jack; Jamie Watt
Testimonials
‘Jennifer Jack is extremely capable and exceptionally good at dealing with complexity, whether legal or practical’.
‘Jennifer Jack really understands clients’ needs and is a highly talented lawyer’.
‘Harper Macleod have always provided a good service and are able to tackle anything we ask for’.
Key clients
Glasgow City Council
City of Edinburgh Council
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council)
Inverclyde Council
The Capital City Partnership
East Renfrewshire Council
Creative Scotland
Energy Saving Trust
Forestry and Land Scotland
Work highlights
- Advising Glasgow City Council in relation to its procurement of a complex alliance contracting solution to prevent and alleviate homelessness in Glasgow under the competitive dialogue procedure.
- Advised UEFA in relation to the Scottish aspects of the 2020-21 European Championships.
- Successfully defending Creative Scotland in a challenge, brought in the Competition Appeals Tribunal, in relation to decision-making on awards/refusal of grant funding.
MacRoberts LLP
MacRoberts LLP acts for public and private sector clients on compliance and investigation matters. Particular areas of focus include the competition aspects of corporate transactions, anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance issues. Practice head Robin Fallas is well versed in EU law, procurement and state aid matters.
Practice head(s):
Robin Fallas
Other key lawyers:
Duncan Osler
Testimonials
‘A good, common sense and cost-effective approach’.