Herbert Smith Freehills LLP sits at the centre of the bourgeoning area of competition class actions. Regarded by one client as 'one of the best competition firms in the UK', the team handles every statge of the claim lifecycle, from application through to follow-on damages or case mergers. In recent months, the firm has been entrusted by multiple blue-chip clients to defend collective claims in the CAT. As well as regularly defending private actions, the team has notable experience challenging the antitrust and merger decisions of the competition authorities. Stephen Wisking currently acts as a solicitor advocate in a number of high-profile competition disputes. Kim Dietzel is noted for her numerous precedent-setting victories in follow-on and stand-alone damages cases. Rachel Lidgate's capabilities span litigation, arbitration, expert determination, and mediation. Gregg Rowan specialises in complex commercial disputes within the aviation and energy sectors. Joe Williams‘ broad experience includes the full extent of UK and EU competition law.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘One of the best competition firms in the UK.'
‘Stephen Wisking remains top of his game.'
‘Very strong team, especially on the defence side of class actions in the tech space. They are pragmatic and measured with advise, but also pursue the case aggressively.’
‘Kim Dietzel and Stephen Wisking are both very experienced and good.'
‘I would entrust any of our high value competition litigation to this team, as they have fantastic depth and breadth of expertise across all levels.’
‘Kim Dietzel and Stephen Wisking are incredible. They are running most of the important cases currently in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, and that real world experience is invaluable. They are also commercial, practical and have a good understanding of the most complex of our products.'
‘Stephen Wisking - absolute class. Understated canny practical. Kim Dietzel - committed clever and hardworking.'
‘Best competition law litigators in the UK. Exceptional strength in depth. Intellectual power, huge experience and well-organised.’
Key clients
- Meta
- Amazon
- Iveco Group
- Roland Corporation
- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
- Virgin Atlantic Airways
- Severn Trent Water
Work highlights
- Acting for Meta in an application for a CPO brought by a proposed class representative on behalf of an alleged 45m Facebook users.
- Advising Amazon on its defence of a CPO application brought on behalf of an alleged class of 50m Amazon customers.
- Advising Google concerning two applications for CPOs brought on behalf of an online publisher class.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Stephen Wisking
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Joe Williams
Practice head
Stephen Wisking; Kim Dietzel
Other key lawyers
Rachel Lidgate; Gregg Rowan; Natalia Rodriguez; Helen Bignall; Suzy Campbell; Joe Williams