“Penalty shoot-outs in Competition law: a field guide on penalties and costs for Contravention of the First Conduct Rule in HK”

DATE: Tuesday, 23 June 2020TIME: 5.30 pm Hong Kong time, 10.30 am British Summer Time

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THE LIDC HK BRINGS YOU AN INAUGURAL, COMPLIMENTARY WEBINAR ON COMPETITION LAW ENTITLED:

in conjunction with

THIS WEBINAR WILL FEATURE AN EMINENT PANEL OF SPEAKERS FROM HONG KONG, BRUSSELS AND THE UK.

The presentation will be moderated by Brent Snyder, with a welcome speech by Carmen Verdonck and Winnie Tam SC, JP. Additional speakers include Daniel Beard QC who will reflect on the first completed enforcement action on the First Conduct Rule in Hong Kong, with an in-depth analysis on the structured approach to penalties laid down by the Competition Tribunal. This will be counterpointed by Jindrich Kloub who will weigh in with an approach to penalties from the perspective of a competition authority. Catrina Lam and Connie Lee will share insights respectively on the common pitfalls associated with costs and provide an overview on the arguments advanced in relation to penalties for breach of the First Conduct Rule in Hong Kong.

Interested in participating in future forums and discussions on Competition law? Click here to register and join the HK Chapter of LIDC.

SPEAKERS

Brent Snyder, Vice Chairman of LIDC HK, Chief Executive Officer of the Competition Commission Mr Snyder was appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Competition Commission in September 2017. Prior to joining the Commission, Mr Snyder served in the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice from 2003 until 2017, first as a Trial Attorney playing a key role in the Division’s criminal matters, and as Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) from 2013 until 2017.

Carmen Verdonck - President of LIDC Carmen Verdonck is a partner of the ALTIUS law firm, heading the competition law team. She was admitted to the Bar in 1996 and since then has advised a wide range of domestic and multinational clients about all aspects of Belgian and EU competition law, including merger control, cartel cases, distribution networks, technology transfer agreements, joint ventures and abuse(s) of dominance. Carmen also represents clients in antitrust cases before the Belgian and European competition authorities and courts.

Carmen has been appointed an Assessor in the Belgian Competition Authority and Maître de Conférences at the University of Liège, teaching the LLM in European Competition and IP law. She has been elected President of the International League of Competition Law (LIDC) and is board member of the Belgian association for the study of competition law (AEDC). She has been a recommended in various legal guides, including Legal 500 and Chambers Europe.

Winnie Tam SC, JP, Chairman of LIDC HK, Head of the Communications Authority and Head of Des Voeux Chambers Winnie took silk in 2006, and has been recognised as a leading barrister in intellectual property law in the region for over 20 years. She currently heads the Committee on Intellectual Property of the Hong Kong Bar Association. Apart from her work as a Senior Counsel, Winnie is also active in the international arbitration circle as a fully bilingual arbitrator in commercial disputes. Her involvement in competition law and telecommunications began with her appointment to the Telecommunications (Competition Provisions) Appeal Board between 2010 to 2014. Since March 2018 she has been appointed Chairman of the Communications Authority which oversees licensing and regulatory matters in broadcasting and telecommunications.

Jindrich Kloub - Executive Director (Operations) of the Competition Commission, Hong Kong Mr Kloub was appointed to the position of Executive Director (Operations) of the Competition Commission, Hong Kong in October 2017.

Prior to joining the Commission, Mr Kloub was an official at Directorate-General for Competition(DG Competition) of the European Commission from 2006 until 2017, dealing primarily with cartelenforcement and related policies. Mr Kloub has vast experience with investigations across avariety of industries and was involved in some of the most prominent cases in the global financialsector in recent years.

Daniel Beard QC, Monckton Chambers Daniel Beard QC is one of the English Bar’s leading specialists in competition litigation. Directories describe him as “a very persuasive advocate” who “knows the law back to front and has a good strategic view.” He has acted for a wide range of clients in a large number of competition appeals and damages cases particularly in the UK and EU courts. Recently, he successfully led the counsel team acting for the Hong Kong Competition Commission in Competition Commission v. W. Hing Construction & Others [2018] 5 HKLRD 437; [2019] 3 HKLRD 46 and [2020] HKCT 1 Connie Lee, Barrister, Des Voeux Chambers Connie Lee regularly advises on competition law matters. Since 2016, she has been appointed to the Competition Commission’s Panel of External Counsel. She also represented one of the parties in a 4-week trial for determination of liability as well as a 3-day hearing for determination of penalty and costs before the Competition Tribunal in the very first case on market sharing and price fixing as well as determination of penalty for breach of the First Conduct Rule in Hong Kong: Competition Commission v. W. Hing Construction Company Limited & Ors. [2018] 5 HKLRD 437; [2019] 3 HKLRD 46 and [2020] HKCT 1. She also co-authored the article “Competition law enforcement: What can we learn from the first two competition law enforcement actions in Hong Kong?” which first appeared in the December 2019 edition of CSJ, the journal of the Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries published by Ninehills Media Limited.

Catrina Lam, Vice Chairman of LIDC HK, Barrister, Des Voeux Chambers Catrina Lam has been “widely identified as Hong Kong’s front runner for competition matters” (Chambers & Partners Asia-Pacific 2020). She has advised and appeared in many of the first landmark cases on competition law in Hong Kong including acting on behalf of the Competition Commission in Competition Commission v. Nutanix Hong Kong Ltd & Ors (CTEA 1/2017), the first enforcement action brought before the Competition Tribunal, and Competition Commission v. Quantr Ltd & Ors (CTEA 1/2020), the first enforcement case brought following a successful leniency application. She is also acting in Taching Petroleum Company Limited v. Meyer Aluminium Limited (CTA 1/2018), the first case in which an alleged competition rule infringement is being raised as a defence to a claim.

She is the Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association’s Special Committee on Competition Law and a Non-Governmental Advisor to the International Competition Network.

10 minute Q&A session.

Please submit all questions for the speakers to Catrina Lam (catrinalam@dvc.hk) by no later than Friday, 19th June 2020.