Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)

Canada

The highly reputable competition group at Borden Ladner Gervais has a burgeoning five-star behavioural and cartels practice group. Robert S Russell leads three partners, five associates and five other litigators with whom they work as an integrated team. They currently act for clients in 10 separate ongoing domestic or international cartel investigations, all of which are extremely confidential. They also represent Loblaws and its subsidiary Shoppers Drug Mart in the bureau’s ongoing abuse of dominance investigation into the grocery retailer; the companies’ supplier practices are under scrutiny following their tie-up in 2014, Canada’s largest-ever retail merger, on which the firm acted for Loblaws. Key partner Subrata Bhattacharjee leads the team advising Deutsche Bank in cartel litigation arising from global investigations involving foreign exchange rates and precious metals, while partner Davit Akman defends KEMET and KEMET Electronics in multiple class actions across Canada alleging price fixing of electrolytic and film capacitors. The firm acts for British Airways in three class actions regarding air cargo, and another in which plaintiffs have alleged the airline and Virgin Atlantic fixed the price of air services between England and Quebec. On the mergers front, the firm acted for outdoor gear company Cabela’s when it was sold to Bass Pro Shops, Hollyfrontier when it bought Suncor Energy’s Petro-Canada Lubricants business, and is advising both COSCO Shipping and Orient Overseas International in a deal that would create the world’s third largest shipping company.