Samuel Beighton > Gowling WLG > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Samuel Beighton

+44 (0)20 3636 7972 samuel.beighton@gowlingwlg.com

Work Department

Automotive; Life Sciences; EU, Trade & Competition; Competition Compliance; Competition Investigations & Dawn Raids; Competition Law/IP Interface; Competition Litigation; Healthcare & Competition; Merger Control

Position

Partner

Career

Samuel draws upon his expertise in EU and UK competition law to achieve commercial solutions for clients.

His practice addresses all aspects of EU and UK competition law, including defending complaints and investigations by competition authorities into suspected competition law infringements; securing merger control clearances; and resolving disputes in respect of actual or alleged competition law infringements. In addition, Samuel has a specific interest in the interface between competition law and IP rights, particularly as regards issues arising in relation to patents declared essential to standards.

Samuel speaks and writes regularly on EU and UK competition law, and has contributed to, as well as edited, publications including:

• Cartels (1st edition), published by Chambers & Partners – contributing author
• Merger Control – Jurisdictional Comparisons (1st and 2nd editions), published by Sweet & Maxwell – contributing author
• Private Antitrust Litigation – Jurisdictional Comparisons (1st and 2nd editions), published by Sweet & Maxwell (1st ed.) and Thomson Reuters (2nd ed.) – contributing author and general editor.

Samuel is a member of the Competition Policy Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union, and a member of the Competition Section of the Law Society of England and Wales.

A graduate of the University of Birmingham (BA Hons, First Class, 2004), Samuel has obtained post-graduate qualifications from King’s College London in EU competition law (PgDip, Merit, 2009), and in economics for competition law (PgDip, Distinction, 2016).

In addition to being admitted to practise as a solicitor of the senior courts of England and Wales, Samuel is admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Ireland.

Experience

Anti-competitive practices

• Representing a manufacturer of galvanised steel tanks in relation to the UK competition authority’s investigation into suspected breaches of competition law, with this civil investigation running in parallel to a criminal prosecution brought by the authority.
• Representing Thomas Vale Construction plc in relation to the largest ever competition law investigation undertaken by the UK competition authority, including acting on the successful appeal of the magnitude of the financial penalty imposed, overcoming previous case law to secure a reduction of approximately 85%
• Representing a trade association within the UK energy sector in relation toan investigation by the UK sector regulator into suspected breaches of competition law within the energy sector.  The investigation was closed without any finding of infringement.
• Representing a manufacturer of fast moving consumer goods in relation to an investigation by the UK competition authority into suspected “hub and spoke” cartels within the UK grocery sector. The investigation was closed without any finding of infringement.

Merger control

• Acting for Alere Inc. (previously Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc.) on various planned competitor acquisitions, including the acquisitions of Biosite Inc. for $1.8 billion, and Axis-Shield plc for £235 million, which were cleared at Phase 1 in Portugal and Germany respectively, and upon acquisitions cleared at Phase 1 in Brazil and South Korea.
• Acting for ProStrakan Group plc (now Kyowa Kirin international plc) on its £230 million acquisition of Archimedes Pharma Limited, a competing pharmaceutical company. The deal was cleared at Phase 1 in the UK and in Germany.
• A…

Languages

English