Welcome to ThoughtLeaders4 Competition | Law & Litigation

A unique community connecting practitioners from both Competition Law and Litigation. Membership is free. So join now and start benefiting today.

Our Community Partners:
AlixPartners TL4 Circle Competition Litigation Competition Law Competition NextGen Fountain Court Chambers Berkeley Research Group


Become a member of ThoughtLeaders4 Competition and...

  • Join a community of experts, referrers and peers 
  • Attend events in all formats 
  • Interact using our digital Knowledge Hub
  • Learn and share expertise through the Community Magazine
  • Grow your network and business
  • Build relationships through our network of members

 

Members benefit from discounted attendance to all in-person events:

2 Day Summits, 1 Day Conferences, Circle, Residential Events

ONE COMMUNITY - 2 KEY AREAS OF FOCUS:

  1. Competition Law                                             
  2. Competition Litigation

KEY BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP:

Share, Learn and Benchmark

By collaborating with the best in business, the Community delivers exclusive insights, technical knowledge and solutions helping our Members stay ahead of the game.

Position Yourself as a Leader

By ensuring seamless and uninterrupted visibility, we help our Members to raise and promote their personal and corporate profiles.

Generate New Business

By bringing together Thought Leaders from a wide array of jurisdictions we create access to an influential audience, leading to potential cross referral work for our Members.

Membership is free and benefits include:

  • 4Sights - Networking evening panel sessions & breakfast briefings 
  • Digital Content - Unlimited attendance at virtual sessions & online webinars
  • Publications - Authoring articles for our quarterly publications and subject specific supplements
  • Next Gen - Access to our sub-community promoting the career advancement of the next-generation of practitioner 
Community members include Contentious and Non-Contentious Practitioners plus General Counsel...

Who should join?

Lawyers Lawyers
In-House Counsel In-House Counsel
Economists Economists
Legal Funders & Insurers Legal Funders & Insurers
Barristers Barristers
Judges, Arbitrators & Mediators Judges, Arbitrators & Mediators
Claims Managers & Administrators Claims Managers & Administrators
Academics Academics
Legal PR & Reputational Counsel Legal PR & Reputational Counsel
Regulators & Government Representatives Regulators & Government Representatives

Upcoming Events

slide left
1 Day Conference • In-Person Event
06 Jun 2023
The Competition Collective Actions Forum 2023

Specifically focusing on UK 'Collective' Competition Actions, this unique one day conference brings together the competition litigation community to address recent case developments, bringing & defending class actions, the key question of post Certification case management and more..


Find out more
Virtual
17 Apr 2023
Competition Enforcement – Views From Both Sides of the Channel

At this virtual event, we will bring together the CMA and European Commission to discuss recent developments in the enforcement of competition rules in the European Union and the United Kingdom. We will focus on public enforcement but will also touch on private enforcement and the role competition agencies can play in it.


Find out more
Virtual
28 Apr 2023
Big Tech vs. the Regulators: A panel discussion of recent antitrust battles and pending developments in digital markets

The panel will discuss what is it about the large technology companies that have made them a particular focus of investigations by the European Commission and national competition regulators, and the various types of behaviour by those companies that are recurrent issues those investigations.

The panel will also discuss the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act which, depending on your perspective, either provides welcome legislative certainty in relation to some of these behaviours or is an exercise of legislative power by one of the disputants in order to win the argument.


Find out more
Virtual
12 May 2023
Navigating the Intersection of Sustainability and Competition Law

ESG continues to gain prominence as companies look to comply with reporting requirements and increasingly recognise the positive returns to investment in this area. Led by Grant Thornton, our expert panel will discuss a variety of topical issues around ESG and how the Competition Authorities are developing detailed guidance on the interplay between competition law and sustainability agreements / collaborations among competitors on ESG initiatives.


Find out more
Virtual
Jun 2023
Competition Next Gen

Bringing together up-and-coming practitioners specialising in Competition to forge networks, discuss experiences and share knowledge.


Coming Soon
slide right
slide left
Articles
A List of the Big Technology Companies’ Multiple Antitrust Battles (For Those Who Have Lost Track)

The reasons why large digital technology firms sometimes cause concerns about unfair competition, and a summary of EU and UK investigations and litigation in response to those concerns

 


Read more
Main Issue Featured Article
Call for Articles: Competition Magazine Issue 1

We are looking for contributions towards Issue 1 of Competition Magazine. This edition will feature a Law Chapter, and a Litigation Chapter.

Requirements for articles are 1,000 words of non-promotional, industry content, contributing articles is free of charge.

The deadline for contributions is 10th April 2023.

For more information and how to submit, please email maddi@thoughtleaders4.com


Read more
Articles
CAT Collective Proceedings - February 2023 Update

A new era of consumer-focussed competition class actions is now well underway. It kicked off with the first collective proceedings order (CPO) granted by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in Merricks in the summer of 2021, opening the gates for further collective claims to be certified.


Read more
Articles
Competition and ESG

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) is high on the agenda of corporates, consumers and regulators worldwide. Many large companies now have a regulatory obligation to report on ESG metrics; consumers are increasingly demanding ESG-friendly products; and regulators are paying close attention to ensure companies are meeting ESG targets, and are not falsely disclosing ESG-related information. A less explored area is the interplay between ESG and competition law – this blog, written by Grant Thornton (Schellion Horn, Partner, and Jake Foad, Manager, Economic Consulting) explores how competition authorities may use their existing powers in relation to ESG.


Read more
Articles
The end of retained EU law?

The development and status of EU law within UK domestic law since the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 (so-called “Brexit day”) has been characterised as a process of “hokey cokey”: EU law has consistently been removed from, then restored in some different form into, UK domestic law.


Read more
Articles
Collective actions in England and Wales: Emerging trends and insights for the year ahead

Market volatility, exponential growth in third-party litigation funding, legal reforms and increasing scrutiny of corporates by consumers, investors and activists have all contributed to a proliferation of class actions in England and Wales in recent years. In particular, the collective proceedings regime in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) has seen a surge in cases, with 10 of the 27 applications for a Collective Proceedings Order commenced since 2015 being brought in 2022 alone.


Read more
Articles
Let’s cut to the Race: Antitrust and sustainability initiatives

The tension between antitrust laws and sustainability goals has come into sharp focus through the course of 2022. An ICC paper, published in the run up to COP27, provides an extensive overview of real world examples of sustainability initiatives which had been thwarted by antitrust laws and cites UN Race to Zero initiatives as an area where “(g)reater consistency and clear guidance” from regulators is deemed to be urgently needed. With news breaking last week that Vanguard has opted to pull out of the Net Zero Asset Manager’s Alliance and significant political developments in the US gathering pace (as we explore further below), the increasingly polarised debate looks set to continue.


Read more
Articles
10 Antitrust Trends Financial Services Firms Should be Watching in 2023

In 2022, the financial services sector made the headlines in the competition law community around the world. When the head of Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission stated that it will be "engaging with the banking sector more than ever before", she could also have been expressing a global sentiment. Financial services firms should be looking at the following 10 trends for 2023.


Read more
Articles Featured Article
Uncharted Waters – Emerging Trends in Collective Proceedings Orders

Now, at the beginning of 2023, there are a number of very interesting trends that have emerged from the recent flurry of CPO registrations and certifications that are worth exploring.  This article will explore such developments and examine the precedents they are setting for ongoing and future CPOs. 


Read more
Articles
Time to reap the benefits? The UK’s new subsidy control regime comes into effect

On 4 January 2023, the UK's Subsidy Control Act 2022 ("SCA") came fully into effect. Plans for a new subsidy control regime were first announced in September 2020 as part of the UK's commitment to the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement ("TCA"). The EU State aid rules were seen as too restrictive and a new subsidy regime was considered necessary to bring about significant benefits to protect certain industry sectors and geographic areas of the UK, and not least to help the UK Government pursue its so-called 'Levelling Up' agenda. Since the SCA received Royal Assent in April 2022, we have had something of an interim period where the provisions on subsidy control set out in the TCA agreed between the EU and UK largely continued to apply (bar a few exceptions). Now, however, the provisions of the SCA have come into force in their entirety.

This article will provide an overview of the new SCA and the subsidy control regime it has introduced in the UK, explore the key takeaways and consider the extent to which this new regime differs from the previous EU State aid rules.


Read more
Articles
The Class System: Recent Developments in Mechanisms and Manageability for Group Litigation

Recent years have seen the expansion of group claims in England across a variety of areas of law, including competition, securities, data misuse, and mass torts. The increased volume of group claims has lead to developments in how such claims can be brought by claimants (the procedural ‘mechanism’ for the claims) and how they should be subsequently managed by the courts (the ‘management’ of the claims).   

This article addresses recent developments on these issues across the aforementioned areas of law and how they may develop in 2023.   


Read more
Articles
Litigation funding paving the way for access to justice in the CAT

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Walter Hugh Merricks CBE v Mastercard Incorporated and Others in 2019, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has experienced a significantly increased workload in 2022 that will continue to rise next year.


Read more
Articles
Voss Report: Recommendations to the Commission on Responsible Private Funding of Litigation

The potential for regulation is a key consideration for any emerging asset class as it reaches a level of maturity, and legal assets are no exception. Indeed, appropriate and well-informed regulation can promote stability within an asset class, potentially enabling new market opportunities. Over- or heavy-handed regulation can have the opposite effect.


Read more
slide right

What we say

Twitter

What our members say

“Having been involved in a number of ThoughtLeaders4 Disputes events, I have always been impressed by the quality and range of knowledgeable speakers they are able to assemble for their conferences. This makes for a lively and informative discussion. Their decision to now expand in to Competition Collective Actions is therefore very exciting. The subject matter is highly topical, with competition collective actions taking off in the last couple years and now representing some of the most high profile and largest disputes before the English Courts. There is much learning to be shared, and ThoughtLeaders4Competition will no doubt bring together an impressive array of speakers to their events.”

Boris Bronfentrinker - Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK)

“The ThoughtLeaders4 Competition conferences always draw the really key players from the various stakeholders (lawyers, funders, insurers, class representatives) involved in the most interesting cases.  It is one of the few conference organisers where you consistently leave their events having learned something genuinely useful.”

Andrew Leitch - BRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER LLP

"Building on BRG’s partnership with the Thought Leaders 4 Disputes community – which we’ve been proud to be an active part of for several years – we are delighted to be joining  the new competition-focused community from its launch. Each Thought Leaders 4 community provides a platform for collaboration and connection which we very much value and we are confident that the new competition community will play an important role in our exciting growth plans in the European and global competition policy space."

Amy Kingdon - BRG

What our
members say

“Having been involved in a number of ThoughtLeaders4 Disputes events, I have always been impressed by the quality and range of knowledgeable speakers they are able to assemble for their conferences. This makes for a lively and informative discussion. Their decision to now expand in to Competition Collective Actions is therefore very exciting. The subject matter is highly topical, with competition collective actions taking off in the last couple years and now representing some of the most high profile and largest disputes before the English Courts. There is much learning to be shared, and ThoughtLeaders4Competition will no doubt bring together an impressive array of speakers to their events.”

Boris Bronfentrinker - Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK)

“The ThoughtLeaders4 Competition conferences always draw the really key players from the various stakeholders (lawyers, funders, insurers, class representatives) involved in the most interesting cases.  It is one of the few conference organisers where you consistently leave their events having learned something genuinely useful.”

Andrew Leitch - BRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER LLP

"Building on BRG’s partnership with the Thought Leaders 4 Disputes community – which we’ve been proud to be an active part of for several years – we are delighted to be joining  the new competition-focused community from its launch. Each Thought Leaders 4 community provides a platform for collaboration and connection which we very much value and we are confident that the new competition community will play an important role in our exciting growth plans in the European and global competition policy space."

Amy Kingdon - BRG
slide left
Our Competition Community Partners:
slide right

For Partnership enquiries contact:


Helen Berwick

+44 (0) 20 7101 4901
email Helen

For Membership enquires contact:


Danushka De Alwis

+44 (0) 7101 4191
email Danushka

For Programme enquiries contact:


Peter Miles

+44 (0) 20 7101 4154
email Peter

Join the community