Webinar – Dutch Competition Law: A Year in Review & What’s Ahead

Webinar – Dutch Competition Law: A Year in Review & What’s Ahead

On 31 March 2026, Geradin Partners hosted the second edition of its webinar on Dutch competition law.

In this 60-minute session, experts from the firm’s Amsterdam office, Ruben Elkerbout, Mattijs Baneke and Philine Wassenaar discussed the key developments that shaped competition law in the Netherlands in 2025 and shared their outlook for 2026. The discussion covered, in particular, competition litigation, merger control and the enforcement priorities of the ACM.

A recording of the webinar is available below for those who were unable to attend or would like to revisit the discussion.

Geradin launches campaign to protect UK opt-out collective action regime

Today, Geradin Partners launched the Competitive Britain campaign to protect the UK’s opt-out collective action regime, ahead of a potential Government consultation.

We were pleased to be joined by politicians, civil society organisations, lawyers, economists and class representatives in calling on the Government to safeguard this vital regime – which underpins competitive markets and access to justice.

Thank you to our excellent panellists, Damian Collins OBE, Sir Robert Buckland, Tom Smith and Alex Neill.

To support our campaign, we have published a new report setting out the case for protecting the regime here.

To learn more about the campaign, visit: https://competitivebritain.org/

Geradin Partners supports The Economist’s second annual Antitrust Summit

London-based partner Tom Smith spoke on the topic of competition in the AI stack on a panel with two heads of agencies, Cani Fernández, President of the Spanish National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) and Nuno Cunha Rodrigues, President of the Autoridade da Concorrência in Portugal, together with representatives of Google and the UK’s consumer watchdog, Which?.

Other speakers included Andrew Ferguson, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Sarah Cardell, CEO of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, and Guillaume Loriot, Deputy director-general of the Directorate-General for Competition at the European Commission, Benoît Cœuré, President of the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence), Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, Germany, and Saverio Valentino, Commissioner of the Italian Antitrust Authority.

DMCC drinks reception in London

Geradin Partners hosted its second annual reception at The Ned in London for all those involved in the digital markets regime under the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.  The new regime came into force in January 2025 and the CMA was quick to launch its first designation investigations into Google and Apple, all of which contained a comprehensive list of potential remedies.  The third designation investigation is expected to be launched in the coming months.  The first conduct requirements could be in force in early 2026.  

There were speeches from Jambu Palaniappan (CEO, Checkatrade), Chris Prevett (General Counsel, Competition and Markets Authority), Tami Hoffman (Director of Public Policy, The Guardian), and Tom Smith (Geradin Partners).  Attendees from the worlds of business, law, economics, regulation, and politics discussed the changed political environment since the legislation was passed just over a year ago, and the progress made by the CMA in fulfilling its new statutory objectives.

Geradin Partners Sponsors ‘More Than Just a Game’ Conference in London for the Second Year

Geradin Partners is proud to sponsor the More Than Just A Game 2025 conference for the second time. Organised by Queen Mary University in London, the event explores the intersection of video games, law, and regulation.

As video games have become a central part of the global economy, the industry is facing increasing competition law and regulatory scrutiny. Geradin Partners advises game developers and publishers on these complex legal challenges across both the UK and EU, and is pleased to support events like MTJG, which bring together academics and legal professionals active in the sector.

Partner Stijn Huijts will speak at the conference on the topic:

Competition Law as a Great Equaliser
A discussion on how competition law can ensure fairness in the video game industry, from platform dominance to in-game economies, while promoting innovation, accessibility, and player choice.

Link to the event here

Geradin Partners sponsors The Economist’s Antitrust Summit in London

27 February 2025

Geradin Partners is pleased to have taken part in The Economist magazine’s first competition law conference in London.  

At this high-profile event, London partner, Tom Smith, spoke on a panel with Will Hayter (head of the Digital Markets Unit) and others about the state of play under the UK and EU’s new digital markets regimes, and how these regimes are likely to develop. The conference featured contributions by Olivier Guersent (Director-General, European Commission), Sarah Cardell (CEO, Competition and Markets Authority), Cani Fernández (President, Spanish National Commission on Markets and Competition), Christine Wilson (Former commissioner, US Federal Trade Commission), and Philip Williams (Commissioner, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission).

Speakers included business leaders, regulators, economists and lawyers.  A key theme of the conference was the evolving political backdrop and the debate about the relationship between regulation and growth.  As America and Europe debate the purpose and scope of competition rules, the rapid rise of AI introduces new complexities, with regulators grappling to address the competitive dynamics of emerging technologies. The elections of 2024 have brought upheavals in the political landscape, notably if the second Trump administration brings a lighter regulatory touch.

Geradin Partners célèbre l’ouverture de son bureau à Paris avec succès

Geradin Partners a récemment organisé un événement pour marquer l’ouverture de notre bureau à Paris, célébrée lors d’une soirée mémorable au Pavilion Etoile.

Notre bureau de Paris, ouvert au printemps dernier, dispose d’une offre très riche et diversifiée en droit de la concurrence, dont il couvre tous les aspects : la conformité et les audits, l’antitrust M&A, les enquêtes devant l’Autorité de la concurrence ou la Commission européenne et le contentieux y relatif devant les juridictions françaises et européennes, ainsi que le contentieux en réparation. Sur ce dernier aspect, le cabinet se positionne aussi bien du côté de la demande que de la défense. Le bureau accompagne également les clients en lien avec des problématiques d’aides d’Etat et de FSR, avec le contrôle des investissements étrangers et les différentes réglementations européennes, en particulier celles relatives à la sphère numérique (DMA, DSA, AI Act, etc.). 

Marc Barennes, ancien de la Commission européenne et de la Cour de Justice de l’UE, dispose d’une expérience significative en matière de contentieux et conseil en droits de la concurrence UE et français, et en particulier en droit des cartels, des abus de position dominante et des aides d’Etat. Il est en outre le précurseur des actions en réparation collectives financées par des tiers en France. 

Marie-Laure Combet dispose de près de 20 ans de pratique en droit de la concurrence, aides d’Etat, droit européen et contrôle en France des investissements étrangers, acquise auprès de grands cabinets d’avocats internationaux. Elle intervient dans des enquêtes de cartels ou d’abus de position dominante tant devant la Commission européenne que devant l’Autorité de la concurrence, ainsi qu’en matière de contentieux de la concurrence. 

Le fondateur du cabinet Geradin Partners en Europe, Damien Geradin, accompagne également les clients français du cabinet à partir des bureaux de Paris, Bruxelles et Londres. Il intervient dans tous les domaines de la concurrence et de la régulation, et plus particulièrement dans le secteur numérique qu’il pratique depuis 25 ans. 

Avec leurs associés et équipes d’Amsterdam, Bruxelles, Helsinki et Londres, Damien, Marc et Marie-Laure forment une équipe totalement intégrée, ce qui leur permet d’offrir à leurs clients français des solutions d’expertise de haut-niveau et sur-mesure pour toutes les problématiques complexes que ces derniers rencontrent tant au niveau européen qu’au Royaume-Uni. Pour les juridictions où Geradin Partners n’est pas présent, Geradin Partners peut compter sur le réseau étendu de conseils locaux de ses associés.

Pour plus d’informations, veuillez consulter notre brochure.

Geradin Partners’ DMCC Reception

Geradin Partners hosted an event to mark the passage of the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act at the Ned in London. We were pleased to bring together the new DMCC community after its six year journey towards becoming law.  Attendees included large and small tech companies, media companies, telecoms companies, politicians, civil servants, regulators, lawyers, economists, academics, and journalists.

We had speeches from key figures in the development of the new regime: Baroness Tina Stowell, chair of the House of Lords communications and digital select committee, Nigel Newton CBE, founder and CEO of Bloomsbury Publishing, Amelia Fletcher CBE, recently on the Board of the Competition and Markets Authority and Financial Conduct Authority and a member of the Furman panel, Owen Meredith, CEO of the News Media Association, and Dustee Jenkins, Chief Public Affairs Officer and member of the Board of Spotify.

For ten talking points on the new DMCC regime, please see our blog post on The Platform Law Blog: https://theplatformlaw.blog/2024/05/24/digital-markets-competition-and-consumers-act/.

Geradin Partners sponsors More Than Just a Game conference in London

Geradin Partners is proud to sponsor the More Than Just A Game 2024 conference organised by Queen Mary University in London. Video games have become a central part of our economy and this has come with significant competition law and regulatory scrutiny. Geradin Partners advises video game developers and publishers in this complex legal landscape in both the UK and the EU, and proudly supports events such as the MTJG conference which brings together academics and legal professionals in the industry. Partner Tom Smith will speak at the conference on IP and Competition Law.

Geradin Partners Amsterdam opening event – 23rd April 

HOT TOPICS IN COMPETITION LAW AND DIGITAL MARKETS

Join us for an exciting afternoon where leading speakers will discuss a variety of hot competition law and regulatory topics, including the growing complexities of merger control, whether the effects-based approach in dominance cases is still relevant and the burgeoning digital regulatory regimes. We will also discuss with in-house counsel how the relationship with their law firms is evolving and the growing importance of government affairs. The event will be followed by a cocktail reception.

Click HERE to RSVP