Bennett Jones has once again been ranked as Highly Recommended in Global Competition Review’s 2023 edition of the GCR 100, a comprehensive listing of the world’s best competition practices. The rankings provide a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the law firms and economic consultancies doing the most important antitrust work around the world. GCR says:
Former competition commissioner Melanie Aitken and fellow partner Randal Hughes co-head the team at Bennett Jones. Six other partners and 10 associates spend a majority of their time on competition work. Zirjan Derwa joined the firm as a partner in June 2021 from Torys, while partner Ranjan Agarwal left in August 2022 to become a judge at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
The team acted for Tervita in its sale to Secure Energy Services, which was initially blocked by the Competition Bureau but cleared in August 2021 by the Federal Court of Appeal. The firm is also advising Quebecor and Videotron as the divestiture buyers of Freedom Mobile from Shaw Communications as part of the latter’s tie-up with Rogers Communications. Conduct work includes defending JPMorgan Chase & Co and several affiliates against class action claims following a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice. Motions to dismiss the bank from the claim were heard in April 2022 and granted, although the plaintiffs have appealed.