Competition/Antitrust

Ashurst provides coverage on behalf of a largely blue-chip clientele across the full range of competition issues, including cross-jurisdictional merger clearances and complex ACCC-related litigation, seamlessly coordinated with the work of other practice groups. The firm is noted for specialised advice on both contentious and non-contentious infrastructure access issues and services a host of prominent clients from major retailers and global electronics companies to banks and financial institutions. The practice is in addition well placed to advise on major international mandates through the support of the firm's global network. Its clients include ANZ, Aurizon and Woolworths.

"They have a strong team and went above and beyond to draw information out of the business and finesse our response, which ultimately delivered an excellent result."

"The Ashurst team have a good understanding of the relevant legal framework and demonstrated experience in handling larger matters and ACCC interactions. They have a wide spectrum of team members, ranging from very experienced partners to capable juniors."

Ashurst advised nbn on obtaining ACCC authorisation for amendments to definitive agreements with Telstra required to facilitate Telstra's restructure.

Peter Armitage is based in the Sydney office and is noted for his handling of high-stakes mandates in both the transactional and contentious spheres. "Peter has vast experience, great judgement and strategy to respond to particular challenges effectively." "Peter's up there as one of the top competition lawyers in the company." "He's very experienced and knows how to run this sort of case."

Alyssa Phillips provides competition law guidance during major cross-border M&A transactions, in addition to advising on Federal Court litigation. Based in Brisbane, she is active across a wide variety of sectors, acting for clients across the transport, retail and industrial sectors. "She is super organised, responsive, very thoughtful and great to work with, with a lot of experience in merger clearance."

Melissa Fraser is based in Sydney and specialises in competition and antitrust matters, with experience handling merger clearances, enforcement litigation and strategic advisory and regulatory work. "She offers adaptability and is unflappable, very quick and very interested in our business. She is very strategic and puts a lot of effort into knowing the business." "She's terrific to work with, with great relationship management."

Ross Zaurrini is based in Sydney and maintains a versatile competition law practice, both advising on sensitive ACCC and internal investigations and assisting leading international clients to secure merger and joint venture clearances.

Tihana Zuk is a recently promoted competition law partner in Ashurst's Sydney office who advises extensively on clients' engagement with the ACCC in both regulatory and transactional contexts. "She was very impressive for ability and client service. Tihana is very bright and great to work with. She's very personable and effective in her communication." "She's very responsive and very easy to work with. She is happy to make a call and doesn’t sit on the fence. She is good to bounce ideas off and calls on the resources she has."