Antitrust Law

Restrictions on competition agreed by companies are not tolerated in most parts of the world and are often sanctioned draconically. This is why you should choose the antitrust strategy for your company with foresight in order to carefully achieve maximum success in business within the framework defined by antitrust and competition law. Our team provides excellent advice when it comes to identifying risks at an early stage, identifying and benefitting from room to manoeuvre in the of the full range of antitrust: distribution and in the cooperation of companies, successfully handling mergers and cartel notifications, as well as developing action plans and defence strategies, in particular when monetary fines or damages are imminent. We combine multidisciplinary expertise and experience, both in the traditional industries as well as in the digital economy.

In close cooperation with you, we can ensure that risks of legal infringements within your company are identified and minimised at an early stage. For this purpose, we provide effective and tailor-made compliance measures that suit your business culture. Should there ever be a suspicion of legal infringements despite such measures, we conduct internal investigations to help you clarify the matter and also provide assistance during inspections and searches if the antitrust authorities have already initiated investigations at your company (so-called dawn raids). Together with you, we can develop the appropriate defence strategy and represent you vis-à-vis the European Commission, the Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt), and the District Attorney’s Office, as well as before German and European courts.

We provide advice on cooperations with other companies, be they competitors, suppliers, purchasers, or project partners. For example, we provide our expertise on how to structure joint ventures in conformity with antitrust law and on drafting distribution, licence and cooperation agreements of whatever kind. If necessary, we also help you enforce these agreements in court.

Together with our litigation/arbitration specialists, we comprehensively advise on the enforcement and defence of civil-law claims that are rooted in antitrust law, for example, claims for (antitrust) damages, cease and desist or supply – also by way of injunctive relief where quick action is needed.

If an acquisition is planned, we can safely navigate you through the required approval procedures with the antitrust authorities and around any other pitfalls that may be encountered prior to implementation. We examine whether the proposed transaction needs to be notified to the antitrust authorities worldwide and whether it is capable of being approved. We do not only carry out the antitrust due diligence, but additionally ensure that the sales or purchase procedure remains within the limits of what is permitted under antitrust and competition law.

Because of our in-depth industry knowledge, in particular in the areas of Energy, Health Care & Life Science, Information Tech & Telecommunications, Mobility & Logistics, and Real Estate & Infrastructure, in addition to our team’s many years of antitrust expertise, we are the ideal partner for your antitrust and competition law issues. This is underlined by the fact that as a full service law firm we can always involve colleagues specialising in other areas of law, such as public subsidies/state aid law, international trade law or litigation.

Our range of advisory services

Setting up an antitrust compliance system
Conducting antitrust audits/internal investigations
Organising in-house workshops for the management, the legal department and for staff
Antitrust & Competition on codes of conduct regarding complying with antitrust and competition law
Advising on measures of “self-cleaning”
Preparing for unannounced inspections and searches by public authorities (“dawn raids”)

Service Compliance & internal investigations >>

On-site support in the event of inspections and searches conducted by the German and European antitrust authorities and the District Attorney’s Office
Defending clients in cartel proceedings at national and European levels
Leniency applications
Settlement procedures in cartel cases handled by the Federal Cartel Office and the European Commission
Appealing cartel/fining decisions by Antitrust authorities in court (EU and Germany)
Providing comprehensive advice on other official and court proceedings (e.g. administrative proceedings)
Advising on how to prepare for unannounced inspections and searches by public authorities (“dawn raids”)

Structuring the cooperation of companies/drafting cooperation agreements (production, R&D, transfer of technology/licence agreements, specialisation)
Advising on the formation of joint ventures and consortia
Drafting and reviewing non-compete agreements
Participating in the activities of associations
Representing clients in administrative procedures before the German and European antitrust authorities

Structuring distribution and licensing systems
Drafting and (judicially) enforcing distribution and licence agreements
Agency privilege (exemption of agreements between principal and sales agent from Art. 101 TFEU § 1 GWB (German Act Against Restraints of Competition))
Legal opinions, in particular as part of self-assessments (individual exemption pursuant to Article 101(3) TFEU)
Competition Law 4.0: platforms, algorithms and exchange of information in the digital age

Regulated markets (electricity, gas, water, local public transport, railways, air transport, waste disposal, etc.)
Representing clients in abuse-of-dominance proceedings before antitrust and regulatory authorities
Special compliance requirements for companies holding a dominant or strong market position
Refusal-to-supply-cases

Antitrust damages
Other antitrust and competition law disputes (in particular regarding supply, cease and desist, and termination agreements, amongst other things)
Advising on antitrust-related post-M&A disputes
Injunctive relief

Service Complex Disputes >>

Merger control proceedings at the Federal Cartel Office and the European Commission
Commitments and requirements
Coordinating foreign filings (multijurisdictional filings)
Antitrust due diligence
Feasibility studies prior to proposed acquisitions
Formation of joint ventures (in particular non-competes)
Post-M&A non-compete agreements
Avoiding gun-jumping (i.e. prohibition of implementing transactions between signing und closing)

Service Corporate / M&A >>

The Luther antitrust team offers a specialized antitrust mediation service. Agreements concluded before the Luther antitrust mediators have the same legally binding effect as judgments by German courts. They can be enforced in the same manner as final judgments rendered by state courts. In Germany, claims for damages or injunctions based on antitrust law may not only be raised in state courts. Rather, the parties can come to agreement with each other in a fast and flexible mediation procedure.

The claimant does not need to prepare a full and elaborate statement of claims. A summary of the facts will suffice.
The procedure is fast.
If the mediation procedure fails and a German court procedure should be initiated, the mediation can replace the so-called conciliation meeting that otherwise may be necessary before the court procedure begins.
The mediation is confidential and not publically disclosed.
The mediation suspends the limitation of the applicant’s claim for the duration of the mediation procedure and for six months thereafter (irrespective of whether or not the opponent agrees to the mediation).
A mediated agreement between the parties has the same effect as a final state court judgment and can be enforced in the same manner as a court judgment.

Your contacts:

Dr. Helmut Janssen, LL.M. (London)
Partner
Brüssel, Belgien, Düsseldorf

Anne Caroline Wegner, LL.M. (European University Institute)
Partnerin
Düsseldorf

Legal opinions on digital business models and contracts, in particular for platform business models
Advising on and implementing compliance systems within companies – how to protect against competition law infringements (“compliance by design”)
Providing merger control advice for transactions in the digital economy
Advising on abuse-of-dominance scenarios
Assessing forms of cooperation, also between competitors
Providing antitrust/distribution law advice on all aspects of e-commerce
Advising on how to prepare for unannounced inspections and searches by public authorities (“dawn raids”)

Advice on all antitrust issues (prohibition of cartels and abuse of a dominant market position), e.g:
- Co-operations with competitors (co-promotion / co-marketing, R&D co-operations, production agreements)
- Information exchange / notification systems / market information systems
- Measures to restrict parallel imports
- Pricing and discounting
- (Late) life cycle management
- Distribution channels (direct-to-pharmacy, direct-to-hospital, exclusive distribution, cooperation with selected wholesalers)
Representation in antitrust investigations and proceedings by the European Commission, the German Federal Cartel Office and the state antitrust authorities
Antitrust compliance and internal investigations
German and EU merger control and coordination of merger control proceedings worldwide
German Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) law
EU state aid law (in particular FSR)