Biography: Competition

Julie Soloway is a partner in Blakes' competition, antitrust and foreign investment group. She advises both domestic and foreign clients on all aspects of competition law, with a particular emphasis on multinational mergers and acquisitions. She also advises clients on strategic alliances, unilateral conduct matters, as well as criminal and civil investigations and compliance matters.

Julie has secured regulatory clearance on a number of Canada's most complex and high-profile transactions, including The Forzani Group/Canadian Tire; Intact Financial/AXA SA; Caterpillar/Bucyrus; Nestlé/Novartis; Nestlé/Kraft; Biovail/Valeant; Agrium/CF; Bemis/Rio Tinto; Nestlé/Vitality Foodservice; Aluminum Corporation of China/Rio Tinto; and Agrium/UAP.

Julie has advised many foreign investors, including state-owned investors, on the Investment Canada Act (including the State-Owned Enterprise Guidelines), which regulate the acquisition of foreign control of Canadian businesses. She has secured approvals for foreign investors in many of Canada's key industries, including the mining, energy, pharmaceutical, financial services and technology sectors. She is past chair of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) foreign investment review committee, and in that capacity, Julie was invited to testify before the federally appointed competition policy review panel on the Investment Canada Act prior to the adoption of recent amendments.

Julie is recognised as a leading competition lawyer in PLC Which Lawyer? 2012 and Law Business Research's Who's Who Legal: Canada 2011. She has served on the American Bar Association's (ABA) section of antitrust law leadership for six years. She is vice chair of the mergers and acquisitions committee of the ABA's section of antitrust law. She is a past member of the editorial board of the ABA's Antitrust Law Developments Annual Update and past vice chair of the unilateral conduct committee.

She is also past chair of the international competition and trade law committee of the CBA's competition law section (2003 to 2005). Julie serves as an active non-governmental adviser to the International Competition Network.

Julie is on the editorial board of North American Corporate Lawyer and has authored or co-authored numerous articles on competition law, foreign investment and international trade, as well as spoken at many conferences on these topics.

Julie's international background includes a diploma in European competition law from Kings College London, a doctorate in international trade law (Toronto) and a degree in international, European and comparative law (Brussels).