In a nutshell
On 1 April 2014, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was established as the UK government’s main competition regulatory body, taking over many of the former functions of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission. The CMA works closely with industry-specific regulatory bodies, such as Ofcom for the media and telecoms industry. With a higher budget and greater resources available than ever before, the CMA was created in order to strengthen business competition in the UK and crack down on anti-competitive activities.
It is the job of the UK regulatory authorities to ensure that markets function effectively on the basis of fair and open competition. Following Brexit, the rules in the UK and EU remain substantially similar, since out of all areas of law in the UK, competition law has been most closely intertwined with the law of the EU. While most competition rules are enshrined into domestic law, the changing relationship between domestic and European competition authorities as Brexit takes effect is likely to cause much head-scratching among businesspeople, Eurocrats and lawyers alike. Allen & Overy’s article on antitrust and Brexit suggests that companies operating in both the UK and the EU are “subject to parallel regimes, with the CMA having the ability to review (potentially identical) transactions and behaviour alongside the European Commission.”
Competition authorities have extensive investigative powers – including the ability to carry out dawn raids – and can impose hefty fines. The CMA continues to become more proactive and litigation-minded, while the European Commission – the regulator dealing with matters affecting EU countries – readily doles out big fines where necessary.
What lawyers do
- Negotiate clearance for acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures.
- Advise on the structure of commercial or co-operation agreements to ensure they can withstand a competition challenge.
- Deal with investigations into the way a client conducts business.
- Bring or defend claims in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).
- Advise on cross-border trade or anti-dumping measures (preventing companies exporting products at a lower price than normally charged in the home market).
- Regulators investigate companies, bring prosecutions and advise on the application of new laws and regulations.
Realities of the job
- You won’t get much independence; junior lawyers work under the close supervision of experienced partners. In the early days, the job involves a great deal of research into particular markets and how the authorities have approached different types of agreements in the past.
- You need to be interested in economics and politics.
- The work demands serious academic brainpower twinned with commercial acumen.
- As a popular area of practice it’s hard to break into. Work experience with a regulator or at the European Commission in Brussels will enhance your prospects.
- Advocacy is a relatively small part of the job, though you could end up appearing in the High Court or the CAT.
- Working an at international law firm you will travel abroad and may even work in an overseas office for a while, perhaps in Brussels. Fluency in another language can be useful. There is also a trend for lawyers to switch between private practice and working for the regulators.