Profile: John Davies

Competition

Biography: Competition

John Davies is a UK lawyer and a partner in Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's antitrust, competition and trade (ACT) practice group. He served as managing partner of the firm's Brussels office for more than 10 years, having founded the office in 1989. Before joining the firm, he worked as a case officer in the European Commission's Competition Directorate General. He now divides his time between the Brussels and London offices and heads one of the firm's global sector groups.

John focuses on competition and regulatory matters at both European and national levels (including the coordination of cases before several different competition authorities in major international transactions). He has particular experience of mergers and joint ventures and of defending (and bringing) complaints against anti-competitive behaviour.

His recent experience includes representing Alcan in its response to a bid by Alcoa, and subsequent merger with Rio Tinto; Suez/Distrigas in the Commission's inquiry into long-term gas supply contracts; PepsiCo in the European Commission's investigation into abuse of dominance by Coca-Cola; and Nestlé in the EC clearance of its acquisition of Novartis' medical nutrition business.

John is a non-governmental adviser to the European Commission at the International Competition Network and is recognised as a leading competition law practitioner in a number of guides and directories.

He is a visiting senior fellow and a member of the executive council of the Centre for European Law at London University (King's College). He is also a member of the Antitrust Steering Committee of the international section of the American Bar Association. John speaks English and French.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is a leading international law firm with a network of 26 offices across Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East providing a full range of legal services worldwide. Members of the firm's 250-strong ACT group are based in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Bratislava, Brussels, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Tokyo, Vienna and Washington, DC.