Rob Murray

Dispute Resolution - Competition Law

Rob is a highly experienced Partner in the firm's Dispute Resolution department, specialising in competition damages claims. He represents high-profile clients in several leading competition damages claims in the English Courts, including representing Sainsbury’s in its precedent-setting claim against Mastercard in the CAT, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. He recently advised Europe’s largest consumer electronics retailer, MediaSaturn, on its successful defence of a strike out application made by Toshiba and Panasonic in relation to the CRT Cartel, and the European Commission in its defence of a £1.55 billion damages claim brought by UPS in response to its merger decision blocking UPS’s acquisition of TNT in 2013. Rob also represented Gina Miller in her successful challenge in the Supreme Court to the Prime Minister’s recommendation to the Queen to prorogue Parliament.

He is widely regarded as being at the forefront of his practice area and was recently named as a “Thought Leader in Competition 2019: Plaintiff” by Who’s Who Legal. He is ranked as a Leading Individual in Legal 500 and Chambers.

Rob has considerable experience in helping clients transfer the financial and commercial risks of damages actions, often against key on-going suppliers/commercial partners. This includes acting on the basis of a success fee or contingency fee, often combined with extensive third party "After the Event" (ATE) insurance, against "loser pays" and disbursement costs, and/or third party litigation funding arrangements.

Rob has also advised businesses in making complaints to national competition regulators and DGComp of the European Commission. He also has extensive experience of defending businesses that have been subject to "dawn raids" and other investigations in relation to alleged cartel activities and abuses of market power.

 In relation to commercial agreements and transactions, Rob has advised parties to EU and UK mergers and, as a Reporting Panel Member of the UK Competition Commission, investigated and ruled on several Second Phase UK mergers such as British Salt, Heinz/HP and Svitzer/Adsteam. He has also advised on a wide range of commercial contracts.

Rob is Treasurer of the European Maritime Law Organisation, a member of the Steering Committee of the European Competition Litigation Forum and a member of the Competition Law Forum. He is also a former Reporting Panel member of the UK Competition Commission.

Magna Cum Laude, Vrije Universiteit, Brussels (LLM in International and Comparative Law); University of Oxford (BA in Jurisprudence)