Profile: Jacques-Philippe Gunther

Competition

Biography: Competition

Jacques-Philippe Gunther is a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in Brussels and Paris, and leads the firm's competition and antitrust practice in Europe. Mr Gunther specialises in French and EU competition and distribution law. He acts for a wide range of French and international corporate clients and has specialised experience in French and EU merger control, cartel practices, abuses of dominant position and state aid mainly in the fields of media, defence, energy, sport, finance, banking and pharmaceutical products, and telecom sectors.

Mr Gunther advises on and litigates cases before French and the EU courts and competition authorities for international and French companies. Recently, Mr Gunther advised Gaz de France on all antitrust aspects of its €40 billion mega-merger with Suez. He was also active in the field of cartel cases (financial services, energy, media, sports, pharmaceuticals and chemicals) before the European Commission and French authorities.

Mr Gunther is listed as a "leading individual" in Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession, which noted his "wonderful intellect and wealth of experience in" advising clients on merger filings and disputes before the Commission and domestic antitrust authorities.

Jacques-Philippe Gunther publishes and lectures frequently on competition law. Recent articles have addressed the various issues concerning rescue and restructuring aid, the misuse of patent and drug regulatory approval systems in the pharmaceutical industry, and competition-related issues in the banking sector, following a conference given to the French ministry of economy and finance on this subject. and the application of the recent Microsoft case to the area of EU merger control.

Jacques-Philippe Gunther delivered several speeches on fines and damages in the context of cartel and unilateral conducts.

Mr Gunther is a former member of the board of the National Council of the Bars (Conseil National des Barreaux) and he has taught competition law for several years at Science Po Paris. He studied law at the University of Aix-Marseille, where he obtained a Masters degree in law and postgraduate degrees in business law and international trade law.