Competition/Antitrust
Asia-Pacific Guide 2024 : Australia
Band 1
Email address
[email protected]Contact number
+61 2 9263 4000About
Provided by Gilbert + Tobin
Gilbert + Tobin’s competition and regulation practice features an enviable collection of star talent across the team of partners and lawyers. The team consistently wins complex and cutting-edge work due to its track record in achieving excellent results for clients on high-stakes transactions and competition litigation. With a sophisticated understanding of the interplay between the law, economics, industry and commercial issues underpinning their clients’ concerns, the team is recognised for providing advice that is holistic, strategic and nimble. The team regularly advises a diverse client base that includes large listed companies, privately-held companies, government entities. They also advise board members and senior management on strategic business and policy issues, and trade practices and competition law advice to legal teams.
Specialist services include advising on:
- M&A transactions, including ACCC clearances
- Competition law issues regarding JVs and strategic alliances
- ACCC investigations, enforcement proceedings and litigation
- Criminal investigations relating to cartel conduct
- Access regimes, economic regulation and pricing decisions for regulators and regulated businesses
- regulatory design and implementation for government entities
- competition policy and legislative reforms, including preparing submissions to governmental regulatory and policy reviews
- misleading and deceptive conduct, consumer protection and unconscionability issues
- compliance systems and providing training
Chambers Review
Gilbert + Tobin offers a universally acclaimed competition practice integrating commercial and regulatory advice, praised for its solutions-focused, commercial pragmatism and maintaining a high cross-border capability through links to similarly independent international firms. The team draws on expertise from across the firm to service competition mandates in a variety of sectors, including the highly regulated energy, financial services, infrastructure and telecommunications spheres, and is particularly noted for its grasp of digital disruption issues. The firm offers market-leading experience in responding to ACCC investigations and defending civil and criminal cartel prosecutions. The practice also offers specialists in niche areas such as digital economy and payments, and is also proficient on third-party access, pricing and economic regulatory issues. Notable clients include NSW Ports, Virgin Australia and Telstra Group.
Work Highlights
- Gilbert + Tobin advised Microsoft on the Australian competition aspects, including ACCC approval, of Microsoft’s proposed AUD96 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Strengths
Provided by Chambers
"They have a really deep team. A key strength is their intimate understanding of the ACCC and the way the ACCC thinks. They have a lot of institutional and strategic knowledge."
"I always receive practical, pragmatic advice. The team has the ability to get across complex facts quickly."
"They have a really deep team. A key strength is their intimate understanding of the ACCC and the way the ACCC thinks. They have a lot of institutional and strategic knowledge."
"I always receive practical, pragmatic advice. The team has the ability to get across complex facts quickly."
Notable Practitioners
Elizabeth Avery heads the Gilbert + Tobin competition team from the law firm's Sydney office. She advises on a range of competition matters, including merger clearance, ACCC inquiries and litigation, and offers particular experience acting for clients in the financial services sector.
"She's a delight to work with and considered and practical in her advice. She's calm under pressure and convincing in the boardroom."
"Elizabeth is a leader in her field."
"Her main strength is to present practical and well-explained solutions to complex situations."
Simon Muys heads the Melbourne competition group while personally operating a highly varied and versatile practice covering transactional, regulatory and contentious issues which often originate in the infrastructure and telecommunications spaces.
"Simon Muys is a good operator."
Charles Coorey wins high praise from clients for his work on ACCC merger clearance and investigations matters.
"He's clear, concise and cuts through to the commercial issues, tailoring the issues to the way the ACCC will think."
"Charles is professional, responsive and commercial in his approach."
"Charles has a client service-oriented approach, ensuring his own availability as needed but also using the depth of resources available to him. He works with his clients to ensure needs are being met and keeps his client appraised of developments so there are no surprises. Charles understands the industries in which his clients work."
"Charles knows the law inside out but his advice is practical. On a recent matter, our legal position was good, but he gave a more realistic assessment of where we might end up in practice."
Louise Klamka is particularly strong at advising clients in the aviation and technology sectors on a wide range of Australian competition and consumer law issues.
"Louise is an exceptional lawyer and our go-to partner for our most important competition and regulatory work. Louise has exceptional technical skills matched with an excellent commercial acumen and unparalleled understanding of our business. She has guided us through our most difficult and complex competition and regulatory matters over the last few years."
"Louise is incredibly smart, knows the area better than anyone, is very engaging and interested in our business and delivers value to our company through multiple other services offered."
"Louise was extremely helpful in the process with her diligence and patience for gathering and processing all the information and providing us with the best ideas in presenting the relevant arguments."
Ranked Lawyers at
Gilbert + Tobin
Australia
Members
Provided by Gilbert + Tobin
Andrew Low
Charles Coorey
Head of Department
Geoff Petersen
Jeremy Jose
Liana Witt
Louise Klamka
Moya Dodd
Rebecca Dollisson
Susan Jones
Tanya Macdonald
Industries
Provided by Gilbert + Tobin
Banks
Chemicals
Construction and Materials
Education
Energy & Resources
FMCG
Financial Services
Government
Health Care
Media
Pharamaceuticals & Life Sciences
Retail
Software & Computer Services
Technology, Hardware & Electronics
Telecommunications
Transportation
Travel & Leisure
Utilities