International law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) appointed Partner Andrew Hockley as the new Head of its Antitrust and Competition Group

LONDON, 1-5-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — International law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has today (29 April 2015) announced the appointment of Partner Andrew Hockley as the new Head of its Antitrust and Competition Group effective from 1 May 2015.

Andrew joined BLP in 2010 and has extensive experience in the mainstream competition areas of mergers, cartels, abuse of dominance, distribution and other commercial relationships.  He has represented clients on numerous high-profile and complex cases before the European Commission and national competition authorities in the UK and globally.  Andrew also advises some of the UK’s leading utilities, their counterparties and investors on issues of economic regulation.  Prior to joining BLP, Andrew was Competition Counsel at BP plc where he advised the business on competition law and regulatory matters.  Andrew is recognised by Global Competition Review Who’s Who 2015 as one of the UK’s leading competition practitioners.

The news follows the recent strengthening of the Antitrust and Competition Group with the promotion of James Marshall to one of six Partners as of 1 May 2015. James has been at BLP for four years and during this period he spent time on secondment with the UK Competition and Markets Authority where he was part of the team that helped to deliver the policy framework and enforcement guidance for the new UK competition regime.

In further positive news for the team, BLP Consultant and former Chairman of the UK Office of the Rail Regulator, Chris Bolt, has recently been appointed as Chairman of the UK Regulators Network (UKRN) Expert Advisor Group. The Group provides review and challenge to the UKRN which is made up of the CEOs and Senior Representatives of all the UK’s sector regulators. As one of the country’s leading regulatory economists, Chris will continue to work at BLP, supporting its clients and the Antitrust and Competition Group with his insight and experience.

Commenting on his appointment, Andrew said: “This is an exciting time to be working in this field; competition and regulatory risk continues to be high on the corporate agenda, and antitrust litigation is picking up real pace in the UK right now. With our superb team located across London, Brussels and Moscow (and access to best in class preferred firms globally), we are perfectly placed to advise our clients.  I am energised to be leading such a diverse and talented team, and will ensure we continue to work on the most complex transactions and cases, and to put substantive excellence, client commitment and commerciality at the heart of everything we do.”

BLP’s Antitrust and Competition Group is recognised by Global Competition Review as one of the world’s leading competition practices, and consistently ranked by the leading legal directories. The team has worked on some of the largest and most complex matters across the industry including the recent landmark cartel damages claim for National Grid, for which it was awarded Competition and Regulatory Team of the Year at the 2014 British Legal Awards.  BLP’s team in Moscow has also just been recognised as the top tier antitrust and competition team in Russia for the second year running by Legal 500.

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