Editorial: Competition

01 April 2008

Cases such as Microsoft and the air-cargo cartel have made boards of directors yet more aware of the risks they face, while as our sister publication's annual survey of enforcement agencies shows in Global Competition Review's "Rating Enforcement", governments are still adding to the size of their competition agencies. More officials means a greater demand for competition advice. "Those people don't sit idle," comments one Brussels lawyer. In addition, certain trading zones and individual nations, in particular the European Union and the UK, are stimulating private litigation. There has been a noticeable increase in the amount of High Court competition litigation in the UK, in the past three years, for example.

Perhaps not surprisingly, then, this year we identify more specialists than ever who, in the opinion of their peers, are the cream of the crop for competition expertise. The expansion is helped too by the demographics in some of the leading competition departments. In many, the long-established names, some of whom are charter members of this section of the book, now work alongside leaders of the younger generation. The list has probably been made larger by this period of overlap. The edition covers six more countries than last time and contains 69 more individuals. It can assist a reader to find competition-literate counsel in 45 countries. In all, 583 individuals have made the grade.
As ever, certain firms have more than one representative in the following pages. And since competition law is a practice where the ability to provide a linked-up international service is particularly important, it makes sense to celebrate these firms.

Leading the pack this year is, once again, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, with 29 lawyers included, in 11 jurisdictions. Sources were effusive in their praise for many of the individuals in question.

Frank Montag, who for many years was the head of practice group, was one of the most often nominated lawyers. "Simply spectacular, especially for merger control" was one interviewee's view; "I would take him ahead of any other lawyer," said another. Montag works in Brussels. A further five members of that office are in the book. Rachel Brandenburger is "easy to deal with, smart and articulate" and has "great relations with officials". She divides her time between Brussels and London. John Davies is "superb" and "a star with clients, they love him". Alan Ryan is "up and coming", as are, according to other sources, Andrew Renshaw, David Broomhall, and Laurent Garzaniti. Vanessa Turner had also qualified for the book; she however has recently accepted a senior post in the European competition commissioner's cabinet.
Beyond Belgium, the sections in which Freshfields appears most are the UK and Germany, which each provided five partners apiece. In London, David Aitman and Deirdre Trapp are universally praised, while Nicholas French and Simon Priddis are both "up and coming". and Nicholas Spearing "does a great job".
In Germany, Martin Klusmann, Gerhard Wiedemann, Burkhard Richter, Tobias Klose and Helmut Bergmann appear. Klusmann is "excellent on cartels", Wiedemann is "intellectually super" and "great across the board", Richter is "excellent for merger control analysis" and Tobias Klose is "a rising star". Bergmann is one of the practice group's global co-chairs (with Aitman, of London). Bergmann is respected for the high quality of his analyses and also for "beautiful written work". Elsewhere in Europe the department can call on big names in the national markets in Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. Jérôme Philippe in Paris is "especially strong on economics" and Axel Reidlinger in Vienna "maintains a top-tier reputation". In the Netherlands Onno Brouwer "is indisputably one of the top names", with younger Dutch partner Winfred Knibbler "one of the best of the younger generation".

Freshfields is unusual too in having competition lawyers who are now recognised in markets in Asia and North America. The Washington DC office has Terry Calvani and Robert Schlossberg in the senior age-group. Schlossberg is "a very smart strategic guy" who many regard as a doyen on the HSR process. Calvani has long since earned his name in DC. He has been "doing nice work in the cartel area". Both of the firm's younger DC partners also qualified for the book and were praised for their brainpower: Paul Yde is "very bright" and MJ Moltenbrey "brilliant". In much the same way that the Freshfields practice leaders focused on Washington a few years ago, now they have Asia in their sights. The final two Freshfield's partners reflect those efforts. Freshfields is the only global practice group to have a Japanese competition specialist and one in China included in this chapter. Alex Potter appears now in the China section, while Akinori Uesugi who was for many years a high ranking and well-respected member of Japan's Fair Trade Commission is credited with having made an effective switch to the private-client side.

The next most frequent firm to appear is Howrey LLP, which has 18 lawyers selected. Howrey has recently absorbed a Spanish EU-law boutique, and has taken steps to position itself for work under the UK competition laws. So its European hub in Brussels is starting to grow spokes. In Spain, for example, the firm can now call on one of the elder statesmen of that competition law market - Santiago Martínez Lage, the founder of Spain's competition law review, and someone "who really understands how government and officials work", and Helmut Brokelmann. The Spanish merger was the latest in a series of steps Howrey has made in Europe. Of the various US firms to have launched European competition law advice groups, none has been as active in recruitment, often attracting established names. Part of the reason is the leadership provided in Europe by Trevor Soames. Soames is a "leading thinker" and "real Brussels insider". Thanks to Soames's astute moves in the legal transfer market, Howrey now appears eight times in the section that covers Brussels. Götz Drauz was for many years the head of Europe's esteemed merger task force. He has "made the big step to private practice very well" and "is proving to have been a real coup for the firm". "He's just amazing" says one interviewee. Michael Schütte was a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer previously and is "a great lawyer" with a particular reputation for illegal state aid work. Julian Joshua is "extremely effective" and "one of the leaders for cartel defence". Martina Maier, Marc Reysen and Paris Anestis all made the grade, as did "up and coming" Damien Geradin. The European competition group now also has a Who's Who name in London - the "very smart" Tom McQuail. McQuail used to work for Lovells in Brussels. He joined and relocated to London in April 2007.
In the US part of the book, Howrey appears seven times in the guises of James Rill, Roxann Henry, John DeQ Briggs, Mark Schechter, John Taladay, Sean Boland and Alan Wiseman.

The prominence of Boland and Wiseman in the research means that - after a blip - Howrey has both of its practice co-chairs making the cut. That said, four other members of the practice - James Rill, who remains "the dean of deans", John De Q Briggs, who is "a fantastic courtroom lawyer" and "incredibly thoughtful in his approach", Roxanne Henry and Mark Schecter all collected high levels of nominations. Schecter and Henry were especially commended for merger work.

Linklaters appears 16 times in this chapter of the book, through partners listed in the sections on Belgium, England, France, Poland and Sweden. Its largest contingents are in Brussels and London. Gerwin Van Gerven drew glowing reviews - described variously as "an absolute star in Brussels", "phenomenal, whether for criminal or merger work" and "the best lawyer in Brussels". Van Gerven is our Lawyer of the Year for competition. Bernard van de Walle de Ghelcke - "an absolutely top name" - is also selected for Brussels, along with Wolfgang Deseleaers, Johan Ysewyn, Ann Federle and Jonas Koponen - and the "quite superb" Alec Burnside. Nearly as many Linklaters lawyers appear in the England section: readers will find Bill Allan, Gavin Robert, Diana Good, Michael Cutting and Christian Ahlborn - who is "brilliant to work with" - all included. Linklaters partners were also selected in France, Olivier d'Ormesson and Anne Wachsmann, in Poland, in the form of Malgorata Szwaj, and in Sweden, where Kent Karlsson is said to be "growing in stature in the field".

A few years ago, Linklaters lost one of its German partners to Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. And Cleary Gottlieb is the next-most visible firm with 15 partners in the book. Here the numbers may not convey the full picture, though, because what made Cleary Gottlieb stand out was the praise that its lawyers attracted. Phrases such as "star", "brilliant" and "best of the best" abounded. Mario Siragusa, for example, is "still the competition specialist for Italian matters" and "simply the best of the best". He's joined in that section by Giuseppe Scassellati-Sforzolini. Meanwhile Dirk Schroeder, who appears in the Germany list, along with the "excellent" Romina Polley, is "one of the best". François Brunet, in France, is highly thought of. John Temple Lang in Brussels is "sterling" and "enormously respected". Temple Lang is also considered someone to consult on unusual or rare points of European law. Antoine Winckler - a "star" and "someone who truly stands out" - had the highest number of votes among the Cleary Gottlieb lawyers. Nick Levy is "very impressive", and "worthy of his reputation", and similar comments were proferred about Francisco-Enrique González Díaz, Romano Subiotto and Robbert Snelders. In the US, Mark Leddy is "among the best of the best", George Cary is "a fabulous lawyer" who "has a phenomenal reputation", and David Gelfand - a younger partner - "does a great job for his clients".

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP finishes with 14 representatives on our list, putting it in fifth position overall. Like Cleary Gottlieb, it has individuals of note on both sides of the Atlantic. In DC William Kolasky and Douglas Melamed are "the pillars" of the practice and regarded as influential thinkers by others in the US antitrust bar. Kolasky is "exceptional" and his articles on the state of the law and its policy underpinnings are eagerly consumed by peers. Melamed is "an intellectual powerhouse" who is regarded as "one of the best for very compex matters". Thomas Mueller, a younger partner, is "outstanding" while James Lowe, of the same generation in the firm, is "great, especially on the merger side". In Brussels, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann is "a real thinker" and "leads a really good team that they've built up". At the senior end of that team is John Ratliff, who is "great" and "in the top stratum in Brussels". Jacques Bourgeois is "very good", as is Marco Bronkers - though he "also focuses on trade". Sven Völcker too is "very sharp". Yves Van Gerven and Frédéric Louis were also popular with those who took part in the research. In Germany, Ulrich Quack is "sharp and very active in the field". Suyong Kim appears in the section on England.

All the firms so far mentioned have a European element and a US element (and in Freshfields' case an Asian element) - apart from Linklaters. And Linklaters, according to recent reports, is looking to build a competition capability in the US.
Allen & Overy's appearance in this book is similar to Linklaters - in that it appears chiefly in the European section. Allen & Overy appears 12 times, with a footprint across six countries. The largest concentration of A&O lawyers is in England. Philip Mansfield garnered the most votes among these: "Brilliant, very solid and still young", said one source. Alistair Lindsay was praised too, with one source mentioning "his amazing merger control book". John Wooton and Mark Friend were also mentioned regularly as among the UK's best. In Brussels, Michael Reynolds is "one of the major guys", who "has been doing the biggest stuff for a long time". Martin Bechtold, whom the firm coaxed away from Clifford Chance a few years ago, is "great with the German officials and authorities". Dirk Arts is "a true litigator". Meanwhile nobody in the Netherlands has any doubt that the duo of Tom Ottervanger and Paul Glazener from the firm's Amsterdam office are among the best in the jurisdiction. Sources thought it would be "impossible to leave either out". Ellen Braun in Hamburg, Silvia d'Alberti in Rome and Marta Sendrowicz in Warsaw also give the firm a presence in Germany, Italy and Poland.

Latham & Watkins LLP has 10 representatives in the book, as does Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Arnold & Porter LLP has nine but support for some of those was as vociferous as it was for some of the Cleary Gottlieb candidates. All the firms are represented on both sides of the Atlantic. Latham & Watkins has Andreas Weitbrecht - "a big player" - and the "very active" Marc Hansen, who many connect with work in state aid but whose practice has long included a large element of cartel defence. In DC, the trio of Tad Lipsky, Magaret Zwisler, and Michael Egge receive strong peer approval. Lipsky is "super smart" with "an ability to go deep on issues". He is also seen as the person in Washington to ask about China's antimonopoly law. Zwisler is "outstanding" and "excellent" while one person describes Michael Egge as "a ball of fire on cases". On the West Coast, Dan Wall is regarded as "a leading litigator" who is "at the top of the pile".

Gibson Dunn, like Latham & Watkins, traces its origins to the US West Coast, though today it is a full-blown international firm. Its antitrust centre of gravity appears to remain on that side of the US. That said, it appears the teams in DC and Brussels are gaining better reviews with every edition of this publication. Peter Alexiadis, for example, in Brussels is "great" and is pre-eminent for telecoms. David Wood is "up and coming". Jarrett Arp of the DC office is "a serious up-and-comer". Arp's DC colleagues command respect for their intellectual horsepower. Michael Denger is a "deep thinker" and "top-notch" and Joseph Kattan is "a brainiac" with a "phenomenal intellect". And then there are the three partners who appear in the California section of the book. Gary Spratling is the former chief of anti-cartel enforcement whose transfer to private practice was so successful that he is "a key name in the US" and "a superstar in criminal matters". Daniel Swanson meanwhile is "quite exceptional". Robert Cooper is one of the state's more respected litigators: "just fabulous". The firm now appears - once - in the New York section. Sean Royall "a really smart guy with a successful practice" works out of Texas and DC.

For strength in DC it is hard to better Arnold & Porter LLP. No other firm quite matches its combination of six appearances with superlative comments. William Baer again stood out. "Analytical, great with clients, good at focusing on the key problem, and has super relations with agencies", said one of Baer. "The top guy in our field" and "cream of the crop" agreed others. Arnold & Porter is also home in a loose sense to Robert Pitofsky, a fomer chair of the Federal Trade Commission (a well-liked chair) who is "one of the deans of the antitrust bar". Arnold & Porter can also offer the "first class" Michael Sohn in DC, or Deborah Feinstein - "bright and very good", Richard Rosen (who worked as part of the team serving as co-counsel to AT&T in its $67 billion acquisition of BellSouth) and the "terrific" Donna Patterson. Three other Arnold & Porter attorneys appear, two in Brussels and one listed in England. In Brussels, Marleen Van Kerckhove is "doing a terrific job". She is someone who "will go the extra mile for a client". Luc Gyselen "has adapted fast to private practice" and is "an amazing competition lawyer". Tim Frazer features from the London office and is "a pleasure to work with" according to sources.

Clifford Chance also has nine specialists. Its footprint is largely European - with three names apiece under England and Belgium, and one in each of Spain, Italy, and France. Thomas Vinje polled particularly well - "He's excellent on anything IT or IP related," said one; "He is great with clients" thought another. In London Oliver Bretz was singled out as a rising star. Similarly, in Spain Miguel Odrioloza was described as "young but already one of the best".

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Jones Day and Baker & McKenzie also appear numerous times and have international footprints. Skadden Arps can point to the "formidable" and "heavyweight" James Venit plus two other partners in the Brussels section. In New York we identify Barry Hawk, who has done as much as any individual lawyer in the field to advance common understanding between different national competition regimes. Hawk has "a brilliant mind" and is "one of the deans of the bar". Two other partners from the firm appear in the New York section. Skadden Arps now also appears in our DC list, thanks to the lateral hiring of Steven Sunshine. He is "outstanding with a particular strength in merger clearance" according to some reports, although others note that he has also in the past been a key adviser for DeBeers in what began as a criminal matter. Skadden Arps has two partners in the DC section, in all. Jones Day for its part can point to the much-lauded Bernard Amory in Brussels among its appearances in the European section. Amory - who attracted comments such as "one of the greats" and who is particularly identified with telecoms is accompanied by two other Jones Day partners from Europe: one in Brussels and one in Paris. The firm is also strong on the other side of the Atlantic.

Baker & McKenzie boasts a similar number of partners on our list. The development here is the better performance during research of the US market - several of firm's lawyers now appear in the US section, giving a more conventional backbone to what in past editions was quite an eclectic combination of nationalities. As in editions gone-by, Samantha Mobley, now the global practice group's leader, draws rave reviews - "sensible, smart and delightfully easy to deal with", she "gets results" leading by example. Lynda Martin Alegi also features prominently. Zoltán Hegymegi-Barakonyi and Péter Vörös mean the firm appears twice in the Hungary section. It is also represented under Brazil by Tulio Freitas do Egito Coelho from Trench Rossi & Watanabe/Baker & McKenzie who "gets excellent results" and "does very solid work". And it appears in the section on Indonesia in the guise of a member firm. Baker & McKenzie appears twice in the US section, under Illinois. The "very good" Roxanne Busey is regarded as a sage on health care and antitrust.

Hogan & Hartson finished with seven appearances. As always Janet McDavid in Washington, DC, garnered strong approval with sources referring to her as "the queen of the DC bar" and "someone who truly represents the top of the profession". A former Federal Trade Commission senior official Joseph Krauss, "who's made the switch to private practice very smoothly" is also admired - "Joe is absolutely terrific," confirmed one interviewee. Three members of the European antitrust team also appear: John Pheasant ("experienced and highly effective"), Catrionna Hatton ("a pleasure to work with", "very skilful") and Michel Debroux. Bruno Ciuffetelli is now a partner at Hogan & Hartson. "He is the first person you'd think of on any issue in Venezuela," says one source.

Lovells has a six-strong contingent, in the European section of the chapter. Half of those appear in the list for England, with Simon Polito rated as "right up there" among the leading individuals in London. His colleague in London Lesley Ainsworth has a reputation for advising private equity clients on merger issues, while Susan Bright - who leads the firm's competition practice - has been advising the MasterCard UK Members Forum in one of the UK's longest running and hardest fought competition cases. In Brussels, Jacques Derenne is "excellent for state aid work". Lovells also appears twice in the German section, thanks to two lawyers who work in Düsseldorf; Martin Sura and Christian Bahr were both praised as "very good".

A number of firms had five members selected for this edition of the competition list. Others did particularly well in their national context. Davis Polk & Wardwell is a good example. It appears five times, with Ronan Harty finishing on the highest score. Harty comes recommended as a "hugely knowledgeable" and "brilliant" lawyer that displays "excellent judgement". Harty focuses on merger work. The competition group as a whole, however, is described as particularly strong for antitrust litigation. Paul Bartel was described as the "cream of the crop of antitrust litigation in NYC". Joel Cohen's contentious practice means he is someone who, as one very prominent source says, "deserves his reputation and is held in very high regard". In addition, the firm can call on "elder statesman" Arthur Golden. Davis Polk also appears in the Californian section for a first time in the competition chapter of this book, in the person of Arthur Burke in Menlo Park. Burke is rated as "one of the smartest guys in the state" and his work relating to merger defence is said to be particularly noteworthy, as are his litigation credentials.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP once again puts in a strong performance. Among other things, its competition lawyers have recently helped to steward the regulatory clearance of the US$13 billion merger between two significant forces in broadcasting - Sirius Satellite and XM Satellite Radio. They have also gained an FTC-approval for Google/DoubleClick, working for DoubleClick. The "really smart" Kevin Arquit is "one of the leaders of the bar" and "very gifted", while Kenneth Logan is highly recommended, particularly as counsel in litigation. Joseph Tringali and Aimee Goldstein were much mentioned. Simpson Thacher also appears in the England section through David Vann - who is now recognised by London's competition community as an increasingly influential figure. He is "a US lawyer who developed European competition skills very easily".

Mayer Brown LLP appears six times in this edition, exclusively in our US lists. The recent hiring of Donald Klawiter from Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP brought to the firm "the premier person for individuals in cartel matters". He is joined in the DC section by the "outstanding" Robert Bloch and the "first-rate" Richard Favretto. Richard Steuer, in New York, is respected for his litigation credentials. In Chicago Andrew Marovitz is reported to be good for cartel cases while Lee Abrams is rated by one corporate source as "one of the bedrock guys for antitrust in Illinois".

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP has five nominees divided between two offices: New York and Washington, DC offices. Helen Jaffe and Steven Newborn co-head the firm's global antitrust/competition practice from New York and DC. Newborn is a "top figure" in the field and "really good at engaging the agency, fulfilling the big picture leader role and running the file. He's very impressive". Ann Malester who also works from DC is praised for her energy and industry on cases, with one source saying she's "one of the go-to people for pharmaceutical mergers and antitrust litigation in that sector". In New York as well as the respected Jaffe, the firm has Debra Pearlstein - "I think very highly of her" - and the "experienced" Irving Scher.

O'Melveny & Myers LLP is global competition counsel to Advanced Micro Devices and has been representing the company in its long-running antitrust battle with Intel. Five of its antitrust and competition specialists are included,. Timothy Muris in DC is the former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and a "super smart guy". "It's hard to go wrong using him," said one source. Richard Parker, who co-chairs the antitrust/competition group with Muris, "has the ability to make antitrust more real world", according to one interviewee. Michael Antalics is another strong performer in DC, causing one interviewee to comment on the strength of the DC office: "Anybody would want to mimic this practice." The firm is also active in the all-important Brussels market, with two members included.

White & Case LLP fields five practitioners divided between Europe and the US. In Brussels, Ian Forrester QC drew many accolades. A source for example called him "the king of Brussels antitrust", while another rated him "one of the leaders" in the jurisdiction. Peers were also "very impressed with the work" of Mark Powell. In Paris, Jean Patrice de la Laurencie heads the office's competition team. He was noted in particular for his merger control work. Across the pond, Mark Gidley "is probably becoming one of the deans of our antitrust bar", according to one well placed source in Washington, DC. Several other sources mentioned his success representing Stolt-Nielsen, the immunity-programme applicant that was removed from the Department of Justice's amnesty programme (a decision that Gidley and colleagues helped to reverse). The "excellent" Elaine Johnston also appears in our New York list. She was described as"great for deals".

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's expanding competition practice is attracting attention from peers. Five of its US-based practitioners appear in this edition and the group has a reputation for both deal work and litigation expertise. Wilson Sonsini's reputation for representing technology, life science and growth enterprises is borne out in its client list, which includes Pixar, Autodesk and Clear Channel. At the firm's birthplace in Silicon Valley, Chris Compton was highly nominated and noted for his experience of merger regulatory and intellectual property issues. The practice's tallest tree, though, is Jonathan Jacobson in New York. Jacobson, who was on the US antitrust modernisation commission, and has been one of Coca Cola's preferred external antitrust advisers is "a whiz" and "one of the guys to watch", and often praised for his "thoughtful" approach. His litigation prowess and experience of investigations and appeals even prompted one contributor to say: "It's said that some antitrust lawyers have an extra lobe of brain - he's definitely in that category." Charles Biggio is "a star", whose merger work drew praise from competitors. Both lawyers joined the firm in 2005 from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. In Washington, DC, Susan Creighton features. Creighton joined the firm after many years as a senior agency official, with the Federal Trade Commission. She co-chairs the practice group and is "a superb lawyer" with "lots of FTC experience". Scott Sher is picked by many as a leader in the under 45 generation. He focuses on technology clients and is "definitely one to watch".

McDermott Will & Emery LLP appears in the sections of the book on Washington, DC, England and Belgium. In the US capital, Joseph Winterscheid proved the member of the firm who polled the most votes. Sources described him as "a wonderful lawyer" with "a lot of wisdom and a great touch on cases", while others praised his "great manner and good reputation". Raymond Jacobsen was noted for his expertise on complex mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. He continues to be thought of as "one of the go-to guys for defence industries work". In London, the head of the European competition group and co-head of the Brussels office, Scott Megregian, was consistently nominated by peers who have "always found him to be very good". He divides his time between the London and Brussels offices now. Ian Rose and Clive Stanbrook QC also appear.

Competition law is especially important in Canada, where a combination of the country's size and the nature of its markets - which in many instances now comprise three or fewer players - conspire to make competition law a populist issue. So it has been a feature of The International Who's Who of Competition Lawyers over the years that Canadian firms have appeared in great number. And this edition is no exception.
One of the most visible firms in the Canada section is Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP. In all, five members of the firm appear; all work in Toronto. The practice is chaired by the "great" Calvin Goldman QC. Considered "one of the best in Canada", Goldman is credited with having "built a real momentum for the group". One respondent to the survey estimated that "Cal has been in almost every major matter to take place in Canada." Brian Facey, whom Goldman persuaded to join (from Ogilvy Renault, although he and Goldman had before that worked at a third Canadian firm) is also seeing his personal stock rise. He is "one of the top lawyers in the country at the moment" said one source, and recently secured a "massive victory" for the Labatt Brewing Company. Facey and colleagues established, with litigation, the company's right to buy Lakeport Brewing Income Fund. Neil Finkelstien who assists or leads on much of the Blake Cassels competition litigation is a "great litigator" with an unrivalled record of winning against the Competition Bureau. One source said he is "among the top counsel I've ever seen in court". Robert Kwinter's "good, solid advice" in litigation, class action and merger and acquisition fields won him positive comments and his expertise in the misleading advertising arena was also praised. Jack Quinn completes the contingent. He provides regulatory and compliance counsel, as well as Competition Tribunal expertise.

McCarthy Tétrault is also prominent in the Canadian section, with five nominees. It is the only firm able to provide several leading competition names in Montreal. Indeed its nominees are split between Toronto and Montreal. In Toronto, Randal Hughes, who joined as a lateral hire relatively recently, is "excellent on the litigation side", while Donald Houston who joined around the same time as Hughes produces "sterling work under difficult circumstances". The cornerstone of the firm's competition group in Toronto though is the "really fantastic" Oliver Borgers. Borgers focuses on merger work. He also "focuses on the right things" and "and is great at finding a way to get the deal done". In Montreal, Madeleine Renaud's "excellent relations with competition agencies" and "fantastic judgement" found favour with competitors and Yves Bériault is considered "one of the grand old men of competition law in Canada" and "a definite for a list of this nature".

In the section on England, Slaughter and May is a name that regularly appears - five of its partners made the grade. Two members are also listed for Belgium. Lawyers from the firm have recently advised clients such as INEOS, the world's third-largest chemicals company, Bertelsmann, General Electric and UK house builder Taylor Woodrow in a range of matters in this area. In London, Philippe Chappatte emerged as the highest-polling individual. He is "outstanding" and "someone of the highest calibre". Malcolm Nicholson, the practice's leader and elder statesman, is "very, very experienced and energetic". Another interviewee commended his "unusually good grasp of economics". Meanwhile the "fantastic" Michael Rowe has re-established himself in London after many years working in Brussels. William Sibree and Bertrand Louveaux generate similar praise, and round-out the five. In Belgium, John Boyce is regarded as "one of the best". His colleague manning the Brussels office these days is Claire Jeffs. She has "more than proved herself" and is a "pleasure to deal with".

Ashurst LLP also appears five times, on the strength of lawyers it has in England and Belgium. Belgian institution Denis Waelbroeck gained the highest approval rating with peers describing him as a "premier litigator" and someone who has "an impressive reputation". The "brilliant" Alexandre Vandencasteele and Julian Ellison join Waelbroeck in the Belgium section. Nigel Parr leads the EU and competition practice from London. He appears in the section on England. Parr is recognised for his ability across the spectrum of competition cases, at EU and national level. The London team's practice is particularly strong on single-firm conduct. The firm now also appears in the French section, in the form of Chantal Momège.
Herbert Smith LLP is sometimes grouped with Ashurst as the dominant players for single firm-conduct cases in the UK. Five of the firm's lawyers in three countries appear here. This total ignores lawyers who work at its alliance partners Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe. Herbert Smith's competition clients include Time Warner, London Stock Exchange, Coca-Cola, Yell, Provident Financial, WH Smith, Vodafone and Lloyds TSB. The head of its competition practice, Jonathan Scott appears in the England section. He was the firm's most highly nominated individual on this occasion, described as a "really excellent, highly responsive lawyer". Alongside him, Dorothy Livingston is "simply a guru" while Elizabeth McKnight is also "fully deserving of her reputation" and "someone that you can't help but rate highly". Jacques Buhart remains a player in France and at the EU level. He is "excellent" and "clients are always very happy with his work". In Brussels, there is stronger-than-ever praise for Craig Pouncey.

Foreign lawyers sometimes complain about the lack of recognised competition specialists at independent firms. Hengeler Mueller goes some way towards rectifying the situation. It appears four times in the German section and also once for Belgium. The group is regularly found working on behalf of the cream of German industry. For example its competition lawyers assisted E.On on its acquisition of €10 billion of assets from Endesa and Enel in France. It has also recently worked for RWE as well as T-Mobile and the German arms of Vodafone and O2 which have together created a common platform to enable the broadcasting of television on mobile phones. Jochen Burrichter in Düsseldorf leads the practice and by the end of research had emerged as the most highly regarded Hengeler Mueller individual: "He is my go-to guy," said one source, simply. Burrichter is "someone who gets the job done every time". Thorsten Mäger is rated as "excellent", and "top-tier" and Christoph Stadler drew similar comments. Frankfurt-based Horst Satzky gives clients the benefit of his experience as a former case handler at the German Federal Cartel Office, during which time he was seconded to the Federal Economics Ministry, and he worked on the proposed acquisition by Deutsche Börse of the London Stock Exchange. Hengeler Mueller also has a presence in Brussels in the form of Hans-Jörg Niemeyer, who was repeatedly recommended. He's considered particularly strong on state aid matters.

A host of firms finished with three or four practitioners included. Two deserve special mention.
All of Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP's three nominees to the New York section generated tremendous numbers of nominations. Robert Joffe is back in full-time practice having served as the firm's presiding partner from 1999 until the end of 2006. He is "an outstanding litigator and counsellor" with a particular focus on antitrust. Evan Chesler, who has replaced Joffe as presiding partner, is an "overall fantastic litigator". Katherine Forrest completes the trio. At Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz the same effect occurred, Ilene Knable Gotts was right at the top of the research, looking at the number of individual nominations. She has "so much energy for her clients and the issues"; she also "stays very focused on the key issues" and "has a style that works very well with the agencies". She is joined by the "very smart" Michael Byowitz in the section on New York. Byowitz is a former chair of the American Bar Association's antitrust section. He's advising Schering-Plough Corporation at present on a $14 billion acquisition of Organon BioSciences NV that is pending. David Neill also features prominently on the following pages. Interviewees regularly mentioned his near monopoly of the merger filing aspect of recent banking mergers.

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