Tightly intertwined with the economic activity of businesses, competition law aims to ensure a level playing field. SMEs and large companies alike competing on the merits may sometimes encounter insurmountable obstacles due to a market dysfunction, such as an abuse by a dominant player, a cartel, a restrictive business practice, or even a regulatory blockage.

Our role is to assist these market players to restore the balance. The legal strategy we will design with our clients may require starting litigation before the courts, referring the matter to a specific competition or regulatory authority, including the European Commission, or using all these legal avenues at once. We will help the company identify the legal issue, have the perpetrators of the anti-competitive practice sanctioned, or obtain compensation for the damage suffered.

In defense, we will assist with the same involvement and dedication the companies prosecuted in the context of investigations conducted by the competition authorities and, on appeal, before the competent courts.

We are regularly involved in litigation in the regulated sectors (energy, telecom, media, pharma, transport, digital...). Our practice covers common civil and commercial litigation, as well as the more specific competition and sectoral regulation dispute settlement mechanisms. We will systematically assess the opportunity of multiple actions.

Depending on the issues that each case raises, these actions can be brought before the civil, the commercial or the administrative courts, as well as before sectoral dispute settlement bodies (CORDIS, ARCEP, ARCOM, etc.) or competition authorities (French Competition Authority, European Commission). Various judicial tools (interlocutory proceedings, preliminary rulings, priority questions of constitutionality, etc.) may, if necessary, be mobilized.

An important part of our work covers compensation actions to help companies recover damages resulting from anti-competitive or restrictive practices.  Whether autonomously (‘stand-alone’) or following a conviction by a competition authority (‘follow-on’), this type of litigation requires a thorough knowledge of both the procedural rules (collection of evidence, statute of limitations, etc.) and the substantive rules. We will also often work with external economic and financial experts (e.g., to elaborate the damage assessment). In more complex cases, we can set up third-party funding for multiple smaller applicants, whose collective action may be joined alongside medium or larger players.

A good knowledge of the economic sectors is essential to the success of an M&A transaction.

 Regulatory analysis and administrative authorizations

Risk assessment involves anticipating the position of the administrative authorities, identifying the impact on the transaction of the various administrative authorisations required or assessing the public law contracts that fall under a specific regulation often difficult to handle. An M&A transaction will also require an overall compliance assessment with ancillary regulations, including those deriving from EU law. This may include assessing, for example, any subsidies or other forms of public aid likely to impact the valuation of the company.

We will provide expert assistance on all these issues and will advise companies and investors in weighing the potential risks as accurately as possible. Whenever possible, we will propose solutions to minimize or neutralize such risks.

Merger control and foreign investment regulations

Beyond the essential skills required for the analysis and the notification of mergers, acquisitions, or joint ventures (JVs), at national or European level, our firm has developed solid expertise in complex transactions requiring structural or behavioural remedies.

We also assist interested third parties, both in the administrative phase of the merger control process and in litigation before the jurisdictions on appeal (Council of State, General Court of the EU, Court of Justice).

The firm also advises its clients on all matters related to foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations, as well as privatizations or public sector restructurings.

A separate branch of competition law, the field of State aid requires specific knowledge of both public and private economic law. The assessment involves identifying properly the existence of State support for an undertaking that may translate not only in a pure subsidy, but in any kind of measure likely to grant an economic advantage over its competitors. Such measures may be prohibited or benefit from an exemption or an authorisation from the European Commission if justified.

On these aspects, we advise companies, either as beneficiaries of aid or as affected competitors, as well as financial institutions, for example in the case of State guarantees in the context of project financing, or public entities as purveyors of aid. Our work spans from the preliminary analysis to the notification process before the European Commission.

Market regulation does not occur only in formerly monopolistic sectors getting open to competition, it can be anywhere: market access authorisations, certifications of conformity, various types of price regulation, supervision of regulated professions, agricultural quotas…

Understanding these regulations and being able to juggle with them is essential for any economic operator willing to enter a new market, maintain itself and innovate to gain market share.

Likewise, public entities, professional organisations or local authorities need to constantly adjust to make sure that they meet market needs and prevent risks.

To respond adequately to these needs, our firm has developed a double expertise, allowing a 360° perspective and a full-range advice.

On the one hand, we regularly assist businesses in all aspects of their activities, including pricing negotiations with the administrative authorities, support in the implementation of their projects to obtain marketing authorizations, representation before the regulatory authorities in the context of sanction or dispute settlement procedures.

On the other hand, we also advise public authorities, professional organisations, or State-owned entities, particularly in the context of major reforms in their sector, such as opening markets to competition, adoption of legislative and regulatory provisions or changing the scope of public prerogatives to help develop a reliable doctrine in accordance with the interests at stake. Our work in this context includes assisting the public authorities in defining the scope of their regulatory power, approval of operations, implementation of their power to impose sanctions.

Public procurement is an incredible opportunity for companies to enter new markets or strengthen their position in an existing market.

In an increasingly competitive environment and navigating across an increasingly complex subject, companies must stand out and make attractive offers. Symmetrically, public or private persons must define their contractual requirements in an innovative way to best meet their needs.

Each of them must know how to control the risks of irregularity and incurring liability, in particular to avoid collateral impact under criminal law.  

Unanimously recognized for our expertise in these areas, we assist our clients in the upstream and downstream phases of their projects: from the procurement procedure (definition of contractual arrangements and procurement procedures, structuring of offers and support in the negotiation phases, etc.) to the end of the contract (removal of property from the public domain, etc.), including all the issues related to its execution.

We seek to break away from conventional ways of thinking or the established practices in the field of public procurement by drawing on related sectors such as competition law, sectoral regulation or European regulation. This is because the positions of the Competition Authority, the regulatory authorities or the European Commission provide valuable keys that can be integrated as a leverage in the context of public procurement negotiations or allow to rethink a project from a different perspective.

Because public procurement often includes a litigation component, our firm also acts for clients in all types of litigation (pre-contractual and contractual interlocutory proceedings, challenges of the contract validity of the or actions for the resumption of contractual relations, actions in liability, challenges of the amount of the contractual fees, etc.).

Public financial law is largely unknown, particularly by private operators who may not be aware in which circumstances they fall in its scope, whereas the consequences of breaching the rules are potentially serious in terms of individual, criminal and reputational liability.

The Court of Auditors is increasingly active in all areas of business and its reports are increasingly critical. Its positions are taken up by the public authorities and lead to major reforms. The reports are also used in judicial or administrative disputes. Similarly, a financial irregularity or a management error even perceived as minor or innocuous can trigger a review by the Court of Budgetary Discipline and undermine the interests of a company or a manager.

Our firm has developed cutting-edge expertise in these areas, for example in terms of de facto management, financial irregularities. We advise public entities as well as businesses.

Renowned for its unparalleled expertise in this area, our firm also assists State-owned and private companies in structuring their activities and financial processes to ensure compliance of their operations. We assist them during the audits carried out by the Court of Auditors and the Regional Chambers of Auditors and in the event of litigation before the Court of Budgetary and Financial Discipline.

No litigation can be envisaged without integrating a constitutional dimension.

To introduce litigation without questioning the relevance of a priority question of constitutionality (QPC) is to deprive oneself of a chance to win.

Any legislation can potentially be challenged on the constitutional ground because of its disproportionate nature, its lack of public interest or the breaches of equality that it may entail, for example. We have developed cutting-edge expertise in this field and we know how to identify the best and most relevant angles to challenge legislation which constitutes for our clients a barrier to their development: economic and criminal offences, price regulations, new taxes, the prerogatives of administrative authorities, etc.

Our firm also intervenes ahead of any litigation, assisting with the so-called practice of the ‘narrow door’ before the Constitutional Council that provides an opportunity to censor or amend an unconstitutional law.