Private equity investments under the UK’s new national security screening regime

26 February, 2021
The implications of the UK’s proposed national security investment screening regime have been widely debated since the National Security and Investment Bill (NSI Bill) was introduced to Parliament on 11 November 2020 (see here for our previous detailed briefing). However, as the NSI Bill progresses through the House of Lords, there has been a notable … Read more

Excessive pricing: EU Commission accepts Aspen’s drug pricing commitments

16 February, 2021
“When the price of a drug suddenly goes up by several hundred percent, this is something the Commission may look at” Commissioner Vestager said when opening a formal investigation into Aspen’s alleged excessive pricing conduct in May 2017.  On 10 February 2021, the EU Commission (Commission) closed the investigation by accepting legally binding commitments offered … Read more

Court of Appeal orders defendants to request their employees and ex-employees to produce personal devices for inspection to identify documents in defendants’ control

11 February, 2021
The post below was first published on our Litigation blog  The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision that, where personal devices belonging to the defendants’ employees and ex-employees potentially contained relevant documents within the defendants’ “control” for the purposes of disclosure, the court had jurisdiction to order the defendants to request the employees and ex-employees … Read more

Subsidy Control in the UK following the end of the Brexit Transition Period

11 February, 2021
The EU State aid regime in its current form ceased to be applicable in the UK as at the end of 31 December 2020, when the Brexit transition period expired.  Going forward, State aid or “subsidy control” in the UK will be based on the subsidy control chapter under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement … Read more

The Impact of Brexit and Origin Rules on Trade between Japan, the UK and the EU

09 February, 2021
At the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020, the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (“EU-Japan EPA”) ceased to apply to trade with the UK.  In anticipation of this change the UK and Japan signed on 23 October 2020 a “roll-over” or continuity trade agreement that largely mirrors the terms of the EU-Japan … Read more

HSF overview of collective damages claims in competition cases in the UK published in GCR Guide to Private Litigation (2nd ed.)

04 February, 2021
We are delighted that our overview of collective damages claims in competition cases in the UK has just been published as part of the second edition of Global Competition Review’s Guide to Private Litigation. The Guide now includes 30 chapters written by leading practitioners, exploring in depth the key themes raised in competition litigation across … Read more