Lawyers and economists based in Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and London all working together on the case. This is a truly pan-European team.
Geradin Partners has unrivalled expertise on ad tech. Geradin Partners acted for News Corp as the lead complainant in the French Competition Authority investigation that led to the adoption of the French Competition Authority decision. Geradin Partners also represented the European Publishers Council in the CMA’s investigation into Google’s Privacy Sandbox browser changes, and in filing a formal complaint with the European Commission on Google’s ad tech practices in February 2022. Geradin Partners have authored extensively on ad tech and their papers have been cited by the CMA and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.
Damien Geradin is the founding partner of Geradin Partners. Before founding Geradin Partners, Damien was a partner at Euclid Law, and immediately before that a partner in the Brussels office of Covington & Burling LLP. Damien has assisted clients in many high-stake European Commission investigations, including some of the most complex abuse of dominance cases with a focus on the tech, media, and telecommunications sectors. Damien is also a Professor of competition law and economics at Tilburg University and a visiting Professor at University College London and the University of East Anglia. Over the years, he has held visiting Professorships at leading US law schools including Columbia, Harvard, Michigan and Yale. He was also a visiting Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges, for 15 years. Damien was also recognised by Who’s Who Legal 2018 as a Competition expert.
Stijn Huijts is a partner at Geradin Partners. Before joining the firm, Stijn was Legal Director at the UK Competition & Markets Authority (CMA). Stijn is Dutch-qualified and fluent in Dutch and, prior to joining the CMA, advised clients in relation to Dutch and EU-related issues at a leading independent Dutch firm.
Charles River Associates (CRA) is a leading provider of antitrust economics advice across the globe. CRA is recognised for rigorous economic and empirical analyses accessible to specialists and non-specialists, before agencies and courts. CRA has extensive experience in developing antitrust theories of harm and estimating damages in the technology sector and advised complainants and agencies in multiple matters involving Google.
Oliver Latham is a Vice President in CRA’s European Competition Practice. He specialises in the application of econometric techniques to competition assessments as well as in cases involving multi-sided platforms and innovative industries. He advised the lead complainants in the Google Android, Ad Tech, Shopping, and Local Search cases and has also advised on antitrust issues around digital advertising in the UK, EU, US, Australia and elsewhere.
Mikaël Hervé is a Vice President in CRA’s European Competition Practice. He has deep knowledge of the digital space with a particular focus on competition in ad tech, media markets and platforms involving advertising. He has advised multiple news publishers, ad tech firms, specialized search engines, mass media companies before the European Commission, national courts and agencies in France, Belgium, the UK, Australia, and the US.
Stek is an independent Dutch business law firm based in Amsterdam. Stek helps its clients achieve their legal goals in the areas of Corporate, Finance, Dispute Resolution, and Competition & Regulated Markets. Stek is recognized by the market for having an excellent Competition Litigation team; Stek is known for dealing with complex cases and robust knowledge of EU competition law, superb litigation skills and focus on providing no-nonsense practical and clear advice and communication on smart and effective litigation strategies. Stek provides approachable excellence: personalized, tailor-made legal services to its clients. According to Chambers Europe, “the team is sharp, pragmatic and down to earth”, clients admire the lawyers’ “solid, no-nonsense and quick advice” and appreciate the lawyers’ “think ahead, challenge us on the way we should substantiate our claims and make sure that our submissions are structured and convincing.”
Harbour is a Chambers band 1 rated litigation funder that was founded in 2007. It was a founding member of the Association of Litigation Funders of England and Wales and was involved in drafting its Code of Conduct. The current Chair of the Association is a member of the Harbour team. Harbour was also a founding member of the International Legal Finance Association. Harbour is funding a £600m class action at the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal on behalf of 2.3 million consumers (many old and vulnerable) who BT are alleged to have overcharged for their landlines (Justin le Patourel v BT). It is also funding a competition damages action for several publicly listed UK retailers who suffered harm as a result of the Trucks cartel. Other notable claims it has successfully funded include a claim on behalf of 15,500 Indonesian seaweed farmers who suffered harm as a result of an oil spill in the Timor sea in 2009. Further details of Harbour cases can be found here: Case studies – Harbour Litigation Funding
LitFin is an expert in complex litigation funding, focusing on damages compensation in various antitrust cases, arbitrations, insolvency and related activities. LitFin is one of the major litigation funders in the EU. By offering comprehensive litigation financing services, LitFin enables companies to pursue valuable legal claims while continuing to focus on core operations. Some of the prominent cases LitFin is currently funding include:
- Funding claims of thousands of investors damaged in the Wirecard scandal.
- A group claim of 5 comparison-shopping services damaged in the so called Google Shopping case.
- A claim on behalf of over 2,000 farmers damaged by the pesticide cartel in Germany.