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)Predominantly acting on the claimant side, the ‘smart, agile, and user friendly’ team at Mishcon de Reya LLP
acts in a variety of claims before the Competition Appeal Tribunal, including collective opt-out claims, and also represents a number of notable companies, including Creditfix Limited, Asda, and Ocado. Practice head Sarah Houghton is ‘extremely hardworking’, and handles a wide-range of collective and follow-on claims; and Ben Lasserson regularly appears before the High Court, among others, in abuse of dominance disputes concerning big tech companies. ‘Excellent‘ and ‘knowledgeable‘ managing associate Zachery O’Brien has a great deal of expertise in public procurement, often advising online and high street retailers; whilst managing associate Gwen Ballin-Reeler frequently represents class representatives and property development companies.
London > Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
The competition group at Mishcon de Reya LLP handles cross-jurisdictional merger control filings and investigations, with a specific focus on the online markets and emerging technologies sectors. Recently, the team has been advising a number of companies in the Electric Vehicles market including providing competition law advice to the International Lithium Association. Practice head Sarah Houghton is recommended for her experience in contentious and transactional competition matters. Neil Baylis left the firm to join CMS in August 2023.
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
- Employment > Immigration
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
- 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
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- 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
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
- Industry focus > Retail and consumer
- Industry focus > TMT
- Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
- Risk advisory > Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity
- Public sector > Education: individuals
- Employment > Employee share schemes
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Franchising
- Industry focus > Hospitality and leisure
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Film & TV
- Real estate > Planning
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Dispute resolution > Tax litigation and investigations
- Public sector > Civil liberties and human rights
- Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Employment > Health and safety
- Industry focus > Life sciences and healthcare
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Lower Mid-Market Deals, £100m-£750m
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Trade mark attorneys
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions - mid-market deals (up to £250m)
- Real estate > Property finance
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Real estate > Construction: contentious
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Crime: general
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Private client > Court of protection