Bennett Jones has once again been ranked as Highly Recommended in Global Competition Review’s 2022 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. 57 jurisdictions are featured in 2022. GCR says:
Randal Hughes co-heads the competition practice at Bennett Jones alongside Melanie Aitken, a former commissioner at the Competition Bureau. The team is made up of eight partners – including Zirjan Derwa, who joined in June 2021 – and 11 associates.
Aitken led the team acting for Tervita on its sale to SECURE energy services, which the Competition Bureau challenged in late June 2021. The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the agency’s attempt to block the tie-up just days later, allowing the companies to close the deal.
The firm is also acting for Staples’ parent Sycamore Partners on its proposed €2.1 billion acquisition of The ODP Corporation, which owns the Office Depot brand, completing a supplementary information request in March 2021. Staples tried to acquire the company previously, but authorities in Canada and the U.S. shut down its most recent attempt in 2015.
The firm also represents Canadian Pacific Railway, which beat out Canadian National Railway in September 2021 to merge with Kansas City Southern to create the first rail network connecting the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Away from mergers, Bennett Jones is defending JP Morgan against class actions that follow in the wake of the company’s deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. DOJ related to spoofing activity. The class actions in Canada include conspiracy claims and other alleged violations of the Competition Act.
Other conduct work included defending Bridgestone and affiliates against class actions alleging the company conspired to fix the price of anti-vibration rubber parts. The firm defeated a first attempt to certify the case in June 2020 and settled the case in April 2021.