Competition & EU

Competition and regulatory authorities now possess far-reaching powers to investigate companies and commercial arrangements, prohibit M&A deals, force divestment of merged businesses, review markets and impose penalties. There is the additional risk of private enforcement such as substantial (follow-on) antitrust damages claims. Being compliant and implementing effective risk mitigation strategies is key.  We focus not only on problem solving but also on how you can avoid problems in the first place. Our large team of competition lawyers has extensive experience in helping navigate these difficult paths so that you can focus on your business. We have in-depth knowledge of competition rules across different countries and markets.

The CMS Competition & EU Group has more than 170 competition lawyers in 48 cities in 33 countries, making it one of the largest competition teams in Europe. Our widespread local presence - complemented by the CMS EU Law Office in Brussels is unique in Europe.

Our team has hands-on experience in dealing with the European Commission and all national competition authorities as well as European and national courts.  We act for clients in all areas of competition law: cartels, distribution agreements and other agreements comprising horizontal and vertical restraints, abuse of dominance, merger control, private enforcement, state aid, investigations and compliance. Our sector approach helps us understand your business environment and get to grips with your issues.

The group has recently launched the CMS Dawn Raid Assistant, ensuring that clients can benefit from real-time dawn raid assistance via their smartphone in 27 countries where CMS operates.