Christopher Brown

Contact Christopher: christopherbrown@matrixlaw.co.uk | +44 (0)20 7404 3447

Contact Christopher's Practice Team (Team X): TeamX@matrixlaw.co.uk

Christopher’s practice focuses on competition law, EU law, commercial law and public law.

Before coming to Matrix in 2009, Christopher served as a Referendaire (Legal Secretary) to the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), where he assisted the Tribunal panels in the management and resolution of cases. Whilst at the CAT, he gained in-depth experience into the competition law enforcement regime in the UK and handled numerous appeals. He then became the sole competition practitioner at the law firm Farrer & Co LLP, where he advised clients across the firm.

Christopher is shortlisted for Competition Junior of the Year 2023 by the Legal 500 Bar Awards; he was shortlisted in the same category by the 2016 Chambers UK Bar Awards.

Christopher was called to the Bar of Ireland on 4 October 2018.

Competition Law and Regulation

Recent and ongoing competition law and regulatory matters on which Christopher has acted include:

• Acting for Professor Carolyn Roberts, the proposed class representative in an application to bring collective proceedings against several sewerage companies concerning alleged abuses of dominance in the provision of misleading information to regulators concerning the extent of pollution incidents on their networks
• Acting for a group of major retailers who sought damages from MasterCard and Visa in respect of multilateral interchange fees, the liability trials of which took place between June 2016 and March 2017; the retailers’ successful appeal took place in April 2018, with judgment in July 2018; the schemes’ further appeals were dismissed by the Supreme Court in June 2020 and the quantum aspects of the claims against Mastercard were settled shortly before a multi-week trial scheduled for February and March 2023
• Acting for the CMA before the High Court and Court of Appeal in defence of its decision in the SSE Code Modification Appeal
• Acting for the CMA in defence of its decision on the Energy Licence Modification Appeals (RIIO-2 price control appeals)
• Advising a regulator on legal issues arising under the Subsidy Control Act 2022
• Acting for a new entrant on the academic dress market in a claim against Ede & Ravenscroft alleging abuse of a dominant position and anti-competitive agreements (Competition Appeal Tribunal);
• Acting for Lloyds Banking Group in defence of proceedings brought by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation alleging breaches of competition law in respect of the setting of USD LIBOR;
• Acting for the European Commission in defence of its two Airfreight cartel decisions;
• Advising the British Olympic Association (BOA) in respect of threatened action based on competition and EU free movement law by certain high-profile athletes in respect of the BOA’s application of Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter;
• Representing a multiple retailer in defence of a restrictive covenant alleged by a property developer to be anti-competitive;
• advising the Office of Rail and Road on various matters, including their concluded investigation into suspected abuse of dominance by Freightliner;
• Representing the Cooperative Group in its successful appeal to the CAT against the OFT’s Tobacco products infringement decision, and for Somerfield in its subsequent application (before the CAT and then the Court of Appeal) to extend time for appealing the same decision;
• Acting as legal adviser to the CMA panel inquiring into the Ashford St Peter’s/Royal Surrey County hospitals merger.

EU Law

In terms of EU law, Christopher appeared (with Aidan O’Neill QC) in the Supreme Court in McGeogh v Lord President of the Council (compatibility of restrictions on prisoner voting rights with EU law) and in Shindler and MacLennan v Duchy of Lancaster and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2016] EWCA Civ 469 (challenge on EU free movement and citizenship grounds to the exclusion from the EU Referendum franchise of British nationals who have resided in other EU Member States for 15 years or more); (with Rhodri Thompson QC and Nicholas Gibson) in R (Sky Blue Sports & Leisure and Others) v Coventry City Council (State aid challenge to the decision of Coventry City Council to lend £14.4m to Arena Coventry Limited, operator of the “Ricoh Arena”); and (with Rhodri Thompson QC) in the Court of Appeal in R (Chandler) v Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (challenge on EU public procurement grounds to the procurement of Academies). Christopher has in addition advised on numerous free movement and procurement law issues.

Sports Law

Christopher’s sports law experience includes acting for sports governing bodies in relation to challenges made to selection decisions and advising bodies on regulatory issues. He also recently appeared before an FA Appeal Panel on behalf of an organiser of junior football leagues in its (successful) appeal against a decision of a regional FA removing its sanction of the leagues.

Commercial Law

General contract law; arbitration; general commercial law.

Public Law

All aspects, including judicial review of decisions relating to economic regulation, public procurement and subsidy control. Christopher also has experience of acting in cases raising human rights issues; notable cases include R (Gallastegui) v Westminster City Council (Div Ct) (challenge to law banning tents and other structures in Parliament Square: compatibility with Articles 10 and 11 ECHR).

Publications and Lectures

Co-editor with Ros Kellaway and Rhodri Thompson QC, UK Competition Law: The New Framework (OUP, 2015)

Contributor to Bellamy and Child’s European Union law of Competition (Bailey and John, eds) (8th ed, OUP, 2018)

Co-author, Gray et al, EU Competition Law: procedure and Remedies (OUP)

Co-author, Blackstone’s Guide to the Human Rights Act 19998 (6th ed, OUP, 2011)

“The Competition Appeal Tribunal’s “Merits” Jurisdiction: Is There a Case for Change?”, in Charbit and Ahmad (eds), Taking Competition Law Outside the Box: Liber Amicorum Richard Whish QC (Hon), Concurrences, 2020

Articles for a number of journals, including the Common Market Law Review, European Competition Law Review and Competition Law Journal

Advisory Board member, Competition Law Journal, 2017- (consultant editor, 2015-2017; co-editor 2004-2015)

Education

Bar Vocational Course, Inns of Court School of Law, 2001-2002

LLM in European Legal Studies, College of Europe, 200-2001 (mention très bien)

LLB in Law with German Law, King’s College London and University of Passau, 1995-1999 (1st class)

Prizes

Queen Mother Scholar of the Middle Temple, 2001

Professional Memberships

Bar European Group

Competition Law Association

UK Association for European Law

Articles and Downloads

• Article: Breach of EU Law as a Basis for Relief in Judicial Review Proceedings
• Article: Towards a Class Action Regime or Competition Litigation in the United Kingdom: An Assessment of the Government’s Proposals
• Paper: The CAT’s Construction judgments: an overview
• Seminar: Deconstructing Construction: Lessons from the CAT’s Judgments
• Conference Paper: The Judicial Application of European Competition Law
• Article: Efficiency defences in abuse of dominance cases
• Article: Fair or foul? Competition law and the financial regulation of football

Christopher is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to his clients, including advice and representation services, Christopher needs to collect and hold personal data. This includes his client’s personal data and the personal data of others who feature in the matter upon which he is instructed. To read Christopher’s privacy notice in full, please see here.

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