Antitrust and Competition

Competition law is complex, but it shouldn’t hold you back. We give you the clarity to expand, innovate, and grow securely across borders.

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Antitrust and competition issues can define your ability to grow and compete globally. Regulatory scrutiny is intensifying, and enforcement priorities are constantly evolving. We don’t just defend your position – we equip you to thrive through regulatory change, protecting and strengthening your competitive advantage.

With more than 135 lawyers in 18 countries, we offer unmatched geographic reach and strength in depth across Europe, the United States (U.S.), Asia, Latin America, and South Africa. This seamless global platform empowers you to manage multi-jurisdictional matters with confidence, ensuring that strategy and outcomes are aligned worldwide.

We are at the forefront of major enforcement cases worldwide. Our insight into shifting policy and political priorities helps you prepare early, adapt quickly, and move forward with clarity.

We don’t just know the agencies and authorities you face – we’ve been part of them. Many of our lawyers have held senior roles at the European Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the UK competition authority, giving you unrivaled insight into how regulators think and act. It’s this experience that gives us the credibility to engage regulators effectively and the perspective to shape outcomes in your favor.

Abuse of Dominance & Restrictive Practices

Agency Investigations

Antitrust and Competition Litigation

Cartel Investigations

Competition Compliance

Dawn Raids

Leniency Applications

Merger Control

State Aid and Subsidy Control

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation

Regulations around abuse of dominance and restrictive practices affect many aspects of your business, from pricing and product distribution to technology licensing and infrastructure access. At Hogan Lovells, our team provides strategic advice and representation in jurisdictions worldwide, helping companies navigate obligations on how they treat competitors, distribute through networks, and structure reseller or distributor relationships. We advise clients in regulated sectors like technology, life sciences, financial institutions, and transportation. Our deep experience includes managing market power inquiries, defending against claims of discriminatory or exclusionary conduct, and responding to investigations by EU and U.K. competition authorities. With Hogan Lovells, you gain a partner who helps you anticipate challenges, limit compliance risk, and ensure lawful commercial strategy under competition law.

Navigating antitrust investigations across multiple jurisdictions demands precision and speed. At Hogan Lovells, we leverage deep insight in handling investigations initiated by U.S. agencies, the European Commission, and national competition authorities. Our proactive, global approach ensures that early decisions, no matter where made, are aligned to minimize exposure to fines, damages, and criminal liability. We guide clients through complex antitrust enforcement and regulatory compliance matters with strategic insight into cross-border ramifications. Whether faced with dawn raids, dawn of inquiry, or escalating agency scrutiny, our experienced team delivers practical, high-impact solutions. Trust Hogan Lovells to safeguard your business, and global reputation, by anticipating risks and shaping effective outcomes in international competition investigations.

Claims in multiple jurisdictions. Class actions. Treble damages. Injunctions. The stakes in antitrust and competition litigation are sky high and claims are increasingly common.As market leaders with an unmatchable breadth of practice, we advise on the most high-profile antitrust and competition litigation cases. Our experience spans a wide range of contentious antitrust and competition issues across diverse markets and sectors, tackling some of the most complex legal challenges.

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Our cartel team at Hogan Lovells is truly global, including former officials from antitrust agencies. We are uniquely placed to advise clients on major cartel investigations conducted by antitrust authorities around the world. We offer practical advice coupled with unique insights. We can guide you through the storm.

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Effective antitrust compliance begins with prevention. At Hogan Lovells, we design bespoke global competition compliance programs grounded in commercial pragmatism and attuned to jurisdiction-specific risks – from market behavior and regulatory enforcement to local competition laws. Our tailored approach ensures your policies are adaptable, maximizing commercial flexibility while remaining fully compliant. We help organizations embed robust, dynamic compliance frameworks that align with operational realities and evolving regulatory landscapes. Whether addressing cartel risks, pricing conduct, or joint ventures, our competition compliance services emphasize proactive solutions to safeguard your business integrity. Leverage Hogan Lovells’ strength in competition law, risk mitigation, and compliance policy design to minimize enforcement exposure and maintain competitive advantage across jurisdictions.

Dawn raids – unannounced inspections by competition authorities – are becoming more aggressive and complex. They often involve thorough IT searches and may require simultaneous response actions in multiple jurisdictions. Any interference or obstruction during these raids can lead to significant fines. Hogan Lovells offers fast, coordinated global legal assistance to help clients respond effectively. Additionally, the firm provides preventive tools including award-winning e-learning, multijurisdictional guidelines, and simulated dawn-raid training to prepare all staff, from receptionist to CEO, to navigate these risky enforcement encounters. With Hogan Lovells’ insight, businesses can minimize risk and ensure readiness for abrupt regulatory scrutiny.

In cartel enforcement, leniency applications provide a powerful tool for companies to minimize legal exposure. At Hogan Lovells, we stress that timing is crucial: full immunity or amnesty is granted only to the first entity to report cartel conduct to antitrust authorities; subsequent applicants may secure only reduced exposure. A comprehensive, global leniency strategy is essential – applicants often must file in multiple jurisdictions to ensure complete protection. Leveraging deep antitrust experience, we help clients design and execute coordinated filings to maximize legal shield and compliance. Trust Hogan Lovells to deliver agile, cross-border guidance, protecting your business through proactive cartel leniency, antitrust defense, and risk-mitigation strategies.

Effective merger control requires careful legal strategy, early planning, and cross-border coordination. Hogan Lovells offers clients market-leading advice on navigating merger filings, investigations, and remedies across jurisdictions. Whether your deal triggers review thresholds in the EU, the UK, the U.S., or emerging markets, we help anticipate regulatory objections, design mitigation strategies, and defend approval applications. Our team supports clients of all sizes – corporates, private equity, financial institutions – through mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and other transactions that implicate competition law. With Hogan Lovells, you gain depth of experience in managing evolving enforcement trends with precision and commercial awareness.

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Our lawyers will guide you through the jungle of EU State aid law and the UK Subsidy Control regime – regardless of whether your company is incorporated in the EU, the UK, or abroad. We help you understand the implications of State aid and Subsidy Control for your business and how you can benefit from government funding in a compliant way. We also represent clients in EU Commission investigations and national and EU Court proceedings, both as beneficiaries and as complainants regarding aid/subsidy for competitors.

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We help clients navigate the increasing complexity of FDI filings globally. We analyse where a M&A transaction might require FDI filings and where notifications may otherwise be warranted. We structure deals so that they allow for the quickest path to closing from an FDI perspective, and we prepare and coordinate such filings with our own offices across the world and with a tried and tested network of local partner firms.

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The FSR is reshaping the regulatory landscape, and early preparation is essential. Our clients worldwide trust us to guide them through these challenges and ensure FSR-readiness on all fronts. Whether you are engaging in M&A or public procurement procedures, defending against FSR investigations, or dealing with subsidized competitors, we are here to help.We bring together a multidisciplinary team with deep expertise in EU competition law, state aid, public procurement, and trade regulations. With our deep understanding of the FSR gained through our early involvement in some of the key cases in this area, we deliver practical, actionable solutions tailored to your needs.

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Hear from our clients and industry leaders

Hogan Lovells is well-sourced in competition law.. and equipped to deal with both complex and sophisticated matters in an organized and pragmatic way.

Chambers & Partners, Global Guide, 2025

Hogan Lovells is strong on cross-border issues. They are the best for antitrust litigation and the lawyers are top-notch, very practical, smart in and out of the courtroom and very hardworking.

Chambers & Partners, Global Guide, 2025

Key contacts

Logan M. Breed

Partner

Logan M. Breed

Partner

Washington, D.C.

Dr. Christoph Wünschmann, LL.M. (University College London)

Partner

Dr. Christoph Wünschmann, LL.M. (University College London)

Partner

Munich

Christopher Thomas

Office Managing Partner

Christopher Thomas

Office Managing Partner

Brussels

Meet the Antitrust and Competition team

Representative experience

Acting for DFDS in successfully opposing Eurotunnel's acquisition of SeaFrance ferry business, one of the most high-profile and controversial merger cases in the UK and France.

Advised IBM on the successful global antitrust review in the US$1.5bn acquisition of its microelectronics business by GlobalFoundries.

Advised MHI on its entry into a US$2bn global JV between Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery, Inc., and Siemens, in the field of metals machinery technology.

Advised ZTE in a landmark case decided by the ECJ resolving critical issues involving the relationship between competition law and standard essential patents (SEPs).

Advised a major automotive manufacturer in recovering US$100m from a cartel among polyurethane foam manufacturers.

Defending more than a dozen BCBS health plans in a multidistrict antitrust litigation brought by separate putative classes of both health-insurance purchasers and healthcare providers.

Represented Air Canada on its successful appeal of the EU Commission's air cargo cartel decision and in damages litigation in the U.S., UK, Germany, and The Netherlands.

Represented Orbital in the Second Request investigation by the DOJ Antitrust Division in its US$4.5bn merger with ATK.

Representing Credit Suisse in multidistrict antitrust litigation.

Representing Daimler Trucks North America in its successful defense of two class actions alleging a conspiracy between the major manufacturers of heavy duty trucks and Eaton.

Representing Fiat and Chrysler in proceedings by the Spanish Competition Commission involving an alleged information-sharing cartel among automobile manufacturers/distributors.

Representing MHI in a cartel investigation involving the Japanese, U.S., European, Mexican, and Korean authorities and related private damages claims.

Representing a defendant company in the German beer cartel investigation in which the Federal Cartel Office fined the targets €340m.

Representing container shipping giant Maersk Line in the European Commission's investigation into price signalling in the container shipping sector.

Served as global antitrust counsel to ALSTOM in the sale of its power businesses to GE for €12.4bn and its €700m acquisition of GE’s transportation signaling business.

Serving as U.S. and EU antitrust counsel to SABMiller in its US$106bn deal with AB InBev.

Serving as global antitrust counsel to ARRIS in its US$2.1bn acquisition of Pace

Successfully advised IBM on the US$2.3bn sale of its x86 server business to Lenovo.