Antitrust and Competition

European Competition Economics

NERA’s European Competition Economics Practice provides rigorous and independent expert analysis of the full range of economic issues that can arise in the context of national or European competition law, international trade, and commercial disputes. 

Our experts provide economic advice to clients in matters before the European Commission, national competition authorities, European courts, and the courts of member states across the EU, as well as in national and international arbitrations. NERA has advised on many of the highest profile and most complex cases across Europe. The practice draws, as needed, on the talents of more than 100 competition experts employed by NERA across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Our team also draws on highly specialized industry expertise of dozens of additional NERA economists and academic affiliates working in other practice areas of the firm.

NERA experts work with clients, legal advisers, and further professional consultants at all stages of a case, from the initial assessment of the relevant competition (and trade) aspects through the preparation of economic reports, supported by strong conceptual analyses and empirical evidence.

Areas of Expertise:
 

  • Damage Quantification

    NERA experts advise clients in defending against damages claims as well as in supporting such claims in connection with breaches of European or national competition rules, in particular Articles 101 or 102 TFEU and corresponding national legislation. In determining possible damage, NERA employs state-of-the-art economic and econometric methods to build realistic counterfactual scenarios. Our reports and testimony are submitted in proceedings before national courts in the context of follow-on actions for damages, and are used for out-of-court settlements or for informal assessments of claims for damages.

  • Mergers and Acquisitions

    NERA economists provide advisory services at all stages of the merger process, from pre-notification merger planning through Phase 1 and, if necessary, Phase 2 of European or national merger review processes. NERA’s experts provide robust market definition analysis; address questions related to horizontal and non-horizontal theories of harm, coordinated and non-coordinated effects, and conglomerate effects; and analyze the likelihood of merger-specific efficiencies.

  • Abuse of Dominance & Monopolization

    Firms with a dominant position in a market face certain restrictions under competition law with respect to their business practices. NERA advises clients in abuse of dominance investigations begun by national competition authorities or the European Commission, and on how to structure their business practices and strategies in order to pre-empt violations of competition law. NERA’s competition experts provide advice regarding the full range of possible abuses, including excessive prices, predatory pricing, price discrimination, margin squeeze, refusal to supply, discounts and rebates, and tying and bundling.

  • Market Definition

    A robust (product and geographic) market definition is often key for subsequent legal and economic analysis, be it in merger cases, for cartels, in assessing dominance, or in state aid cases. In analysing the relevant market, NERA experts employ the SSNIP test in the context of the industry in question, and draw on their substantial expertise in econometric analysis to employ accepted methods for market definition, including critical loss analysis, price correlation analysis, price concentration analysis, trade flow and transport cost analysis, and assessment of price and cross-price elasticities.

  • Cartels & Horizontal Agreements

    NERA has extensive experience evaluating allegations of price fixing, bid rigging, customer and geographic allocation, buyer cartels, parallel pricing, information exchanges, and other collusive behaviour. Our competition experts conduct economic analysis of horizontal business agreements and joint ventures, assess whether these are likely to be found to materially restrict competition and, if so, whether they are instrumental in creating efficiencies that are subsequently passed on to consumers.

  • Vertical Agreements

    Economics plays a central role in the assessment of vertical agreements between firms at different levels of the supply chain. NERA experts have experience in assessing non-linear pricing, resale price maintenance, territorial restrictions, exclusive dealing, and refusal to deal, as well as the likely effects of vertical agreements on efficiency.

  • Sector Enquiries & Market Investigations

    In the EU and in many national jurisdictions, competition authorities have the power to investigate an entire market or sector, assess its functioning, and identify possible competition concerns. NERA experts frequently work with companies during these investigations in order to streamline the process and allow the clients to benefit from our extensive data management expertise. Our experts have broad experience in addressing information requests, carrying out empirical analyses, assessing and responding to economic analyses undertaken by competition authorities, and developing economic reports where required.

  • State Aid

    Economic analyses and evidence is critical in state aid analysis. NERA provides expert advice and assistance to companies in different sectors, and to government institutions on a range of state aid-related aspects. These include the assessment of state measures under the Market Economy Investor Principle, market definition, identification of market failures that might justify state aid, assessment of competitive effects, and the incentive effect of aid and its proportionality, as well as of the risk of competitive distortions.

  • International Trade & Commercial Disputes

    Economic analysis and evidence plays an increasingly important role in international trade disputes. NERA experts advise companies and legal advisors in anti-dumping cases, regarding subsidies and countervailing duties, and trade injury analysis with quantitative analyses of the effects of respective practices, and with the assessment and analysis of relevant firm and market data to address injury and causation. In particular, NERA supports clients in collecting relevant data and in developing the necessary economic evidence in the context of unfair trading practices claims and commercial disputes.

  • Competition and Intellectual Property

    NERA has extensive experience in working on issues at the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property law. Our experts prepare economic analyses for litigation and regulatory proceedings involving the use and abuse of standard setting, licensing and patent extension, mergers with intellectual property issues, damages assessments, and patent settlements.

Name Title Location Phone Email
Dr. Lawrence Wu President San Francisco +1 415 291 1007 lawrence.wu@nera.com
George Anstey Senior Managing Director London
Brussels
+44 20 7659 8630
+32 2 282 4340
george.anstey@nera.com
Dr. Christian Dippon Senior Managing Director
Chair of NERA's Global Energy, Environment, Communications & Infrastructure Practice
Washington, DC
New York City
+1 202 466 9270
+1 212 345 1732
christian.dippon@nera.com
Dr. Jeffrey A. Eisenach Senior Managing Director
Co-Chair, Communications, Media, and Internet Practice
Washington, DC
London
+1 202 448 9029
+44 20 7659 8500
jeff.eisenach@nera.com
Bradley A. Heys Senior Managing Director Toronto
New York City
+1 416 868 7312
+1 212 345 3000
brad.heys@nera.com
Dr. Graeme Hunter Senior Managing Director New York City +1 212 345 7724 graeme.hunter@nera.com
Dr. Hiroaki Ishigaki Senior Managing Director Tokyo +81 3 6871 7041 hiroaki.ishigaki@nera.com
James Mellsop Senior Managing Director
Chair of NERA's Global Antitrust and Competition Practice
Auckland
Wellington
Sydney
+64 9 928 3290
+64 4 819 2550
+61 2 8864 6536
james.mellsop@nera.com
Dr. Christine Siegwarth Meyer Senior Managing Director White Plains, NY +1 914 448 4119 christine.meyer@nera.com
Dr. Subramaniam (Subbu) Ramanarayanan Senior Managing Director New York City
Los Angeles
+1 212 345 0745
+1 213 346 3038
subbu.ramanarayanan@nera.com
Grant Saggers Senior Managing Director London +44 20 7659 8802 grant.saggers@nera.com
Dr. Chetan Sanghvi Senior Managing Director Washington, DC +1 202 466 9240 chetan.sanghvi@nera.com
Dr. Ramsey Shehadeh Senior Managing Director Washington, DC +1 212 345 6089 ramsey.shehadeh@nera.com
Dr. Lauren Stiroh Senior Managing Director White Plains, NY +1 914 448 4143 lauren.stiroh@nera.com
Kurt G. Strunk Senior Managing Director New York City +1 212 345 5035 kurt.strunk@nera.com
Dr. Timothy Watts Senior Managing Director New York City +1 212 345 1939 timothy.watts@nera.com
Dr. David Blackburn Managing Director Washington, DC +1 202 466 9264 david.blackburn@nera.com
Kristopher Boushie Managing Director Washington, DC +1 202 466 9228 kristopher.boushie@nera.com
Dr. Elizabeth Newlon Managing Director Los Angeles +1 213 346 3019 elizabeth.newlon@nera.com
Dr. Will Taylor Managing Director Auckland
Sydney
+64 9 928 3292
+61 2 8864 6535
will.taylor@nera.com
Dr. Nicola Tosini Managing Director Berlin
Brussels
Milan
+49 30 700 1506 70
+32 2 674 88 17
+39 345 3942428
nicola.tosini@nera.com
Kevin Counsell Director Wellington
Sydney
+64 4 819 2551
+61 2 8864 7235
kevin.counsell@nera.com
Dr. Garrett Glasgow Director San Francisco +1 415 291 1029 garrett.glasgow@nera.com
Dr. Alan Grant Director Washington, DC +1 202 466 3510 alan.grant@nera.com
Dr. Naoya Kaneko Director Tokyo +81 3 6871 7043 naoya.kaneko@nera.com
Tilling Lee Director Washington, DC +1 202 466 9268 tilling.lee@nera.com
Bryan Ray Director White Plains, NY +1 914 448 4004 bryan.ray@nera.com
Dr. John Scalf Director Chicago +1 312 573 2828 john.scalf@nera.com
Dr. Kristin Terris Director Los Angeles +1 213 346 3003 kristin.terris@nera.com
Dr. Janusz Mrozek Senior Consultant Washington, DC +1 202 466 9239 janusz.mrozek@nera.com
Dirk van Leeuwen Senior Consultant New York City +1 212 345 5318 dirk.van.leeuwen@nera.com
Dr. Michael Baye Affiliated Academic Washington, DC +1 202 466 9298 michael.baye.affiliate@nera.com
Dr. Andrew Carron Affiliated Consultant New York City
London
+1 212 345 5407
+44 20 7659 8500
andrew.carron.affiliate@nera.com
Dr. Alan Cox Affiliated Consultant San Francisco +1 415 291 1000 alan.cox.affiliate@nera.com
Dr. Lewis Evans Affiliated Academic Wellington +64 4 474 1320 lew.evans@vuw.ac.nz
Prof. Dr. Marc Ivaldi Affiliated Academic Paris
Brussels
London
+33 1 70 75 01 90
+32 2 282 4340
+44 20 7659 8500
marc.ivaldi.affiliate@nera.com
Dr. Andrew Joskow Affiliated Consultant Washington, DC +1 202 466 3510 andrew.joskow.affiliate@nera.com
Dr. Chantale LaCasse Affiliated Consultant Washington, DC
Toronto
+1 202 466 9218
+1 416 868 7314
chantale.lacasse@nera.com
Dr. Thomas McCarthy Affiliated Consultant Los Angeles +1 213 346 3000 thomas.mccarthy.affiliate@nera.com
Dr. Bryan Tomlin Affiliated Academic Los Angeles +1 805 284 1811 bryan.tomlin@csuci.edu
Title Type Author
The Algorithmic Accountability Act: Potential Coverage Gaps in the Healthcare Sector Published Article Dr. Andrew Stivers and Dr. Gabriella Monahova
Algorithmic Pricing in Horizontal Merger Review: An Initial Assessment Published Article Dr. Cristián Hernández, et al.
Sponsoring Entry in Merger Analysis Published Article By Dr. Nicola Tosini et al.
Defining Relevant Markets in the Crypto Economy Published Article Dr. C-Philipp Heller, et al.
Who’s Who Legal Interviews Grant Saggers as a Competition Thought Leader Expert QA Grant Saggers
A Practitioner’s Guide to Quantifying Damage Book Dr. C.-Philipp Heller, et al.
An Economic Perspective on the Usefulness of the Consumer Welfare Standard as a Guidi... Published Article Dr. Lawrence Wu and Dr. Craig Malam
What the FTC Staff Report Reveals About Internet Service Providers’ Data Collection Published Article Dr. Andrew Stivers
Algorithms & Antitrust: An Overview of EU and National Case Law Published Article Dr. Claire Chunying Xie and Emilie Feyler, et al.
Monetary Remedies for Zero-Price Privacy Regulation Published Article Dr. Andrew Stivers