Sarah Houghton > Mishcon de Reya LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Mishcon de Reya LLP Offices
AFRICA HOUSE
70 KINGSWAY
LONDON
WC2B 6AH
England
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Sarah Houghton
Work Department
Dispute Resolution - Competition Law
Position
Sarah is a partner in the firm’s dispute resolution department, specialising in UK & EU competition law.
She is experienced in acting for both claimants and defendants in complex, high-profile cases involving competition law based claims or defences. She advises on both strategic and legal issues associated with litigation, such as choice of forum and reputational issues.
Sarah represented Microsoft in its cartel damages claims against Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Sanyo and LG Chem. Sarah also represented Sainsbury’s in its successful claim against MasterCard, the highest damages recovered in a European competition damages claim.
Sarah has also been advising two former directors of companies involved in separate investigations by the Competition and Markets in the construction and pharmaceuticals sector, for breach of competition warranties and aspects of individual liability. She assists businesses that find themselves under investigation by Competition Regulators, and those concerned about the way their affairs may have been conducted, e.g. attending dawn raids, advising on defence strategies and assessing potential civil liabilities.
Sarah regularly undertakes competition law audits and provides training and compliance materials to businesses. She also advises on the competition law aspects of transactions and commercial agreements, including ways to structure agreements and alter commercial behaviour to minimise competition law risks.
Career
Partner, Mishcon de Reya LLP; Managing Associate, Mishcon de Reya LLP; Associate, DLA Piper UK LLP; Solicitor, Bell Gully
Education
Kings College London (MA, EC Competition Law; University of Auckland, New Zealand (LLB (Hons), B.Com (Economics))
Lawyer Rankings
London > Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
(Leading individuals)With a standout practice for claimant side competition litigation, Mishcon de Reya LLP is the go-to firm for a number of large UK businesses including Asda, John Lewis and Sainsbury’s. Practice head Sarah Houghton is acting in a claim against BT for a Chapter II Competition Act breach that affected over two million customers, and Ben Lasserson, who ‘goes the extra mile’, has been advising on follow-on damages claims in relation to the Trucks Cartel (and is also leading a privacy opt-out representative action on behalf of a class of 1.6 million individuals against Google and DeepMind Technologies regarding the unlawful transfer of medical records). The competition litigation team also provides an excellent ‘quality of service’ and continues to develop, with associates Zachery O’Brien and Gwen Ballin-Reeler praised at the junior end.
London > Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
Proficient in a range of cross-jurisdictional merger control filings and CMA-driven investigations, Mishcon de Reya LLP is noted for its capabilities in the online and fast-growth tech sectors. The practice is headed up by contentious specialist Sarah Houghton , while the prolific transactional partner Neil Baylis is a highly experienced adviser to a range of financial services institutes, gaming companies, and trade associations, to name a few. Managing associate Gwen Ballin-Reeler’s recent instructions encompasses tech, retail, and agriculture.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading individuals - London > Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
- Competition litigation - London > Dispute resolution
- EU and competition - London > Corporate and commercial
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Art and cultural property
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Employment > Employers
- Private client > Family
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Gaming and betting
- Transport > Travel
- Employment > Immigration
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
- Employment > Health and safety
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Real estate > Residential property
- Employment > Senior executives
Firm Rankings
- Public sector > Administrative and public law
- Real estate > Commercial property: investment
- Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
- Public sector > Education: individuals
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)
- Insurance > Insurance litigation: for policyholders
- Corporate and commercial > Partnership
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Private prosecutions
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
- Industry focus > Retail and consumer
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- Risk advisory > Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity
- Employment > Employee share schemes
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Franchising
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Trade mark attorneys
- Real estate > Planning
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- Dispute resolution > Tax litigation and investigations
- Industry focus > TMT
- Public sector > Civil liberties and human rights
- Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Industry focus > Hospitality and leisure
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Industry focus > Life sciences and healthcare
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: lower mid-market deals, £50m-£500m
- Real estate > Property finance
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Real estate > Construction: contentious
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media and entertainment (including media finance)
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions - mid-market deals (up to £250m)
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit