Professional notice
Australia
Gilbert + Tobin is well-recognised as a leading competition practice in Australia. The firm comprises nine partners and 26 additional lawyers, including Who’s Who Legal nominees Gina Cass-Gottlieb, practice head Luke Woodward and Elizabeth Avery. Catherine Dermody, previously a partner, left Gilbert + Tobin in June to join the Victorian Bar.
The firm has established a reputation as a “game changer”, continuing to expand its cutting-edge instructions for a range of significant corporate clients including Caltex, Rio Tinto, Nine Entertainment, Samsung, Telstra and Wesfarmers. Peter Waters, Simon Muys and Moya Dodd serve as Telstra’s lead external competition and regulatory advisers on the National Broadband Network, the most significant competition restructuring in Australia.
The firm has advised on several complex and high-profile transactions in the past year, including advising Westpac in its A$1.45 billion acquisition of assets from rival bank Lloyds, and acteing for Rio Tinto and two other companies on the design, joint development and eventual ACCC authorisation of a major new coal supply chain. The firm has significant experience in the airline industry, having advised Virgin Australia in its acquisition of Tiger Australia and in the re-authorisation of its alliance with Air New Zealand, and represented Thai Airways and Malaysian Airlines in successfully settling Federal Court proceedings commenced by the ACCC in relation to alleged cartel conduct relating to air cargo surcharges and in follow-on class action damages, which were eventually settled for A$38 million.
Gilbert + Tobin is a leading corporate law firm and a key player in the Australian legal market. From our Sydney, Melbourne and Perth offices, we provide innovative, relevant and commercial legal solutions to major corporate and government clients across Australia and internationally, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. With a focus on dynamic and evolving market sectors, we work on transactions and cases that define and direct the market.
Our Competition + Regulation team has earned a reputation for successfully representing clients facing challenging competition law matters. With eight partners, one special counsel and more than 25 lawyers, our team works on some of the most complex transactions, investigations and disputes in Australia.
Our team combines:
- A strong working relationship with the ACCC and other industry regulators arising from extensive representation and negotiation on behalf of clients.
- A high-level of technical expertise and extensive experience in assisting businesses to understand the implications of all facets of competition law and minimise risk.
- The experience of some of the region's leading practitioners in the areas of commercial competition advice, enforcement and economic regulation.
- A focus on industry sectors including health, energy and utilities, financial services, broadcasting and telecommunications
- A multi-disciplinary approach, integrating legal analysis, economic skills and specialist industry knowledge.
Our services include:
- Representing and advising in connection with ACCC investigations, enforcement proceedings and litigation, including representing cartel leniency applicants in Australia and Asia Pacific and representing parties in civil damages proceedings.
- Advising organisations and individuals on criminal investigations now that criminal sanctions apply for cartel conduct.
- Advising on misleading and deceptive conduct, consumer protection and unconscionability issues.
- Advising on mergers and acquisitions, including ACCC clearances.
- Advising on competition law issues arising from joint ventures and strategic alliances
- Advising on compliance systems and providing training.
- Representing regulators and regulated businesses in access regimes, and advising on issues such as economic regulation and pricing decisions.
- Advising government entities in the Asia Pacific region on regulatory design and implementation, particularly in infrastructure industries such as rail, ports (sea and air), telecommunications and water.
For more information, visit our Competition + Regulation microsite.