Helen Bignall is an associate in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP, based in its London office.  She is a member of the European Competition Group, where her practice focuses on all aspects of EU/UK competition law including mergers and acquisitions, litigation, OFT investigations and general advisory work.

Prior to joining the Firm, Helen worked at a leading international law firm where she completed her training, which included a secondment to British American Tobacco.

Helen has written articles including "The European Commission announces a Pro-active Competition Policy for Europe" (2004) Lloyds List and “Patent Pools: A comparison of the EU and US standpoints” (2007) Competition Law Insight, both of which she co-authored.

Representative Experience

• Advised a major television broadcaster in responding to the OFT’s informal summary of concerns regarding its credit listing company, which brought the investigation to an end
• Advised a major UK airports authority in litigation with a major low cost airline, including defending an abuse of dominance claim and coordinating  competition advice relating to a counterclaim for debt recovery
• Represented a major games software company in relation to their appeal against the European Commission’s decision to impose a fine for a parallel trade infringement
• Represented a client in the aeronautical space industry concerning the setting up of a joint venture under the EC Merger Regulation
• Represented a major UK newspaper publisher in relation to a proposed acquisition of a high profile magazine title
• Represented a major games software company in relation to its licensing and distribution arrangements, particularly in the context of its potential dominant position in one market sector
• Ongoing advice to multi-national and blue chip clients on the antitrust implications of mergers and acquisitions in a wide variety of industry sectors including private equity, asset management, healthcare and general manufacturing
• Drafting dawn raid guidelines for a major international task management company
• Represented Sandisk Corporation in bringing Article 81/82 EC action against MP3 patent pool in the English High Court
• Advised a sports regulator in responding to a complaint at EU level

Practices & Industries

• Antitrust & Competition
• Antitrust - IP, Media & Tech
• Cartel Investigations
• Distribution Practices and Strategies
• EU Competition
• London
• M&A/JVs - Antitrust Aspects

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