Prof. Suzanne Rab

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

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

Professor Suzanne Rab has over two decades of wide experience of competition law, EU law and regulatory law.  Suzanne’s practice has a particular focus on the interface between innovation, trade and economic regulation.  She acts in disputes involving governments, regulators and businesses across the regulated sectors including in the financial services, energy/environmental, healthcare/ pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, TMT and natural resources sectors.

Suzanne has complementary experience at the interface between intellectual property rights and competition law, as well as expertise in information rights and data protection.  In private practice as a solicitor prior to joining the bar, she has held positions at leading international regulation and trade practices. She has also had roles as partner and head of regulatory practice with a leading US law firm and as director at PricewaterhouseCoopers working within its strategy, economics, and regulatory teams.

Suzanne maintains an active academic practice concurrently with her barrister practice.  She is a Professor at Brunel University, a law lecturer at Oxford University and a Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London (IPR and competition). Suzanne is an expert panel member of the UK Regulators Network (UKRN), a panel member of the Office for the Internal Market (OIM) and a non-executive board member of the Press Recognition Panel (PRP).

Competition Law

Cartels and Restrictive Agreements

Advising on investigations into restrictive agreements, appeals and follow-on actions, including advising:

• the class representative in the Commercial and Interregional Card Claims I and II Limited against Mastercard and Visa in the CAT, seeking compensation for UK merchants overcharged on corporate card and inter-regional transaction fees. All four collective actions were certified by the CAT in June 2024;
• individual claimants and an industry association in a follow-on action arising from the European Commission’s trucks cartel infringement decision;
• Air Canada on the European Commission’s investigation under Article 101 TFEU in relation to air freight and appeal to the General Court;
• Dunlop Oil & Marine in relation to antitrust and criminal investigations into cartel activity in marine hoses in the UK, EU, US, Brazil, Japan and Korea.

Merger Control

Advising on multi-jurisdictional merger control investigations, notably advising:

• ICI on its acquisition by Akzo Nobel and the related onsale of its adhesives and electronic materials business to Henkel;
• Hewlett-Packard on numerous international merger control filings and strategy, including on its acquisition of EDS and Mercury Interactive;
• BHP on the international merger control implications of its dual-listed merger with Billiton.

Energy and natural resources

Depth of experience advising on antitrust and regulatory matters in the energy and natural resources sector.  She also advises on competition matters in specific energy product, infrastructure and services markets, including oil and fuel products.  This includes representations advising:

• Ofgem on the legal and regulatory framework for the establishment of the National Energy System Operator under the Energy Act 2023 — the most significant structural change to the UK energy sector in 30 years — acting as lead external lawyer across licensing, public law, and policy issues;
• Ofgem on energy code reform and the development of a new framework for the governance of industry codes, advising on the statutory powers, licence obligations, and regulatory design underpinning the transition;
• Ofgem on a statutory review under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Regulations, advising on the interpretation of regulatory obligations and procedural requirements in a contested review process.
• A major utility in an appeal before the Competition and Markets Authority concerning Ofgem’s RIIO-3 price control determination, one of the most significant regulatory disputes in the UK energy sector;
• Scottish Power on the legal, competition, and subsidy control issues arising from Ofgem’s Debt Recovery Scheme proposals for addressing Covid-era domestic energy debt, advising on the statutory basis for intervention, judicial review risk, and distributional impacts across the market;
• Noble Energy on the EU competition law, merger control and regulatory aspects of its investment in the natural gas and LNG sector in Cyprus including advising on State aid, public procurement and implementation of the Third Gas Directive;
• the European Commission and conducting market analysis to inform the identification of criteria to evaluate projects of regional European interest – those projects which would benefit from special funding as being deemed of regional/ common European interest;
• Gazprom on the EU regulatory and antitrust aspects of its participation in the South Stream pipeline including in relation to the unbundling and third party access requirements of the Third Energy Directive;
• an Italian gas supplier, on EU competition law claims in an arbitration involving a State-owned energy company;
• Shell on the merger control aspects of the disposal of its elastomers and resins business, including coordination of merger control filings worldwide;
• Total on third party access issues in relation to its LNG investments in the UK;
• Total on the European Commission’s sector inquiry in the energy sector;
• the Commission for Electricity Regulation in Ireland on the EU law and regulatory aspects of a scheme to allocate scarce capacity in the Irish natural gas network;
• RBS Capital Partners on its investment in a UK public gas transporter, requiring regulatory strategy advice on proposals for the securitisation of licensee assets;
• Norilsk Nickel on the EU competition law implications of its long-term contracts.

Other regulated industries

Depth and breadth of experience of UK and EU sector regulation in the regulated sectors, notably advising:

• the Legal Services Board and the Law Society on the barriers to the effective operation of the markets in which legal firms operate and the ways in which regulators or representative bodies could improve market functioning;
• Wyeth on the European Commission’s inquiry into the pharmaceutical sector, including attendance at the dawn raid which initiated the inquiry;
• Aguas de Barcelona on the merger control, competition law and regulatory aspects of its investments in the UK water sector, including handling relationships with the sector regulator Ofwat and negotiating licence modifications.

International

Expertise and reputation advising governments, regulators and businesses in emerging competition law regimes (both outbound in relation to EU law comparative expert opinions and inbound in relation to the application of EU and UK law to international practices).  Examples include:

• Advising various multi-national organisations on the implications of new competition laws in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates);
• Appointed to draft the new Competition Law and Regulations for NEOM — Saudi Arabia’s proposed smart city on the Red Sea coast — and to advise on capacity building and regulatory design as part of Vision 2030, working with NEOM in-house teams on a wholly new competition framework for a unique economic zone;
• Advising on competition law and multi-channel distribution compliance under Saudi competition law and its interaction with EU and UK competition regimes, including in relation to exclusivity arrangements;
• Advising a third country state government on appeals against European Commission anti-dumping regulations on hot rolled and cold rolled steel, including on procedural safeguards, methodology for calculating dumping margins, and the rights of exporting countries under EU trade law.
• Advising on competition law issues arising under the Indian Competition Act 2002 in the context of an arbitration in the gas sector;
• Advising on the practical implementation of the Malaysian Competition Act, modelled on EU/ UK competition law;
• Advising Anadarko on the competition law implications of its energy investments in Mozambique involving both EU and the newly enacted Mozambique competition law of April 2013.

Subsidy Control and State aid

Acting for granting/ awarding authorities, including:

• DETR in relation to National Air Traffic Services;
• The Bar Standards Board in relation to its arrangements for insurance of self-employed barristers and entities including the requirement to maintain insurance with Bar Mutual;
• Commission for Electricity Regulation in Ireland in relation to a scheme for the allocation of scarce capacity in the Irish natural gas sector at a time of national emergency;
• French government in the context of proposed regulation of the grocery sector which would create market share limits on expansion in the grocery sector;
• FCA on support to an innovation project involving regulated and other participants.

Acting for beneficiaries of potential public support including:

• Noble Energy in relation to its investments in the Cyprus energy sector (a representation straddling state aid, competition law, public procurement, investment treaty and trade law advice);
• Numerous representations for SMEs in relation to applications for grant funding requiring assessment of the application of the GBER, De minimis Regulation etc;
• Social Enterprises in relation to the use of FEED in tariffs to fund social housing;
• Investors on the application of State aid in relation to real estate development and purchase of land from public authorities.

Acting for regulators, complainants/ third parties including:

• Liberty Global in relation to its investment in steel assets of Tata Steel (UK);
• Representing a transport sector trade association against Transport for London on a complaint about the award of an accreditation mark to a competitor.
• Supporting the Competition and Markets Authority on its preparedness and capacity building for its role as the independent authority for subsidy control in the UK following the UK’s departure from the European Union.
• Advising emerging authorities on potential state aid/similar rules including, a former CIS competition authority in relation to new laws against state subsidies.
• Advising on economics and state aid (e.g. economics input on the analysis of market transactions for the purposes of assessment of the Market Economy Investor Principle while acting as a director at PwC) .
• Advising on the interface between State aid and other areas of EU public law including Article 4(3) TEU and Article 106 TFEU (e.g. National Lottery Commission in relation to extending the licence of Camelot to allow it to provide commercial services).
• Advising on the interface between State aid, subsidy control and trade law.
• Advising on the interface between State aid and competition law and free movement rules.
• Advising on the interface between State aid and public procurement law, including the circumstances in which compliance with public procurement rules ensures satisfaction with State aid rules.
• Representations in the national courts, including advising on interim injunctions in the context of national proceedings pending challenges to European Commission decisions.

Public Procurement

Acting for bidders and buyers in public procurement disputes and also providing strategic advice on the conduct of tenders, in relation to the following (and their predecessor  regulations):

• Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement as implemented in the UK by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/102);
• Directive 2014/25/EU on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors as implemented in the UK by the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/274);
• Directive 2014/23/EU on the award of concession contracts as implemented in the UK by the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/273).

Representative examples of recent experience include:

• Advising Trainline in proceedings against the Department for Transport and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) in the Technology and Construction Court, challenging the award of a £32 million contract for an online rail ticketing platform as unlawfully made in breach of public procurement law (Trainline.com Ltd v DfT and LNER, TCC, Claim No. HT-2025-000184).
• Advising the Home Office on the public procurement of emergency communications services and infrastructure.
• Advising Riverside Truck Rental in its challenge of a public contract award by Lancashire County Council under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and judicial review.
• Advising Noble Energy on the public procurement and EU law issues arising in relation to its investment in the Cyprus gas sector including managing an application to the European Commission to seek an exemption from the provisions of Article 30 of the Utilities Directive.
• Advising the Payment Systems Regulator on the interface between public procurement and payments service regulation in the context of procurement of central infrastructure, including the role of EU Principles.
• Advising the Bar Standards Board on the application of public procurement rules to certain regulatory measures in relation to the provision of professional indemnity insurance for the self-employed bar.
• Advising a Train Operating Company on the conduct of and potential challenges to its tender arrangements.
• Advising on public procurement in the healthcare sector including in relation to Clinical Commissioning Groups, NHS England, NHS providers and the Department of Health.
• Advising a consortium of care homes on public procurement and related public law challenges to their funding arrangements with Clinical Commissioning Groups.
• Advising an investor on the application of public procurement to its purchase of land from a local authority.
• Advising charities and social enterprises on the application of public procurement to their partnership with local authorities.
• Advising on and representing bidders and buyers in challenges and proceedings where a public authority has failed to comply with procurement rules including:  (a) interim measures; (b) set aside and amendment orders if a contract has been awarded in violation of the rules; (c) damages for aggrieved contractors prejudiced by non-compliance with the procurement rules; and (d) investigation or intervention by the European Commission in response to a complaint.

EU Law

Representative experience includes:

• Advising a non-EU broadcaster on potential claims against a UK broadcaster involving the interaction between EU law free movement rules, competition law and copyright;
• Acting for a telecom operator in proceedings culiminating in a judgment of the Privy Council (GibFibreSpeed v Gibraltar Telecom [2021] UKPC 31) raising novel issues of EU law, competition law, and public law in the unique constitutional context of Gibraltar;
• Advising HMT/FCA on the onshoring of EU legislation in the financial services sector;
• Advising a major US based pharmaceutical company on a challenge under EU law to a decision of the National Institute of Clinical Excellence;
• Advising an India-based food company on the EU and UK food labelling requirements for its UK business.

Education Law

Suzanne handles the full range of education law matters, advising students, academic staff, schools, governing bodies, universities, colleges, examining bodies, and local authorities. Her practice draws on complementary expertise in public law and judicial review, data protection, equality law, professional discipline, human rights, and EU and subsidy control/State aid law.

She regularly represents clients in challenges to school and examination procedures and results, and advises on contractual disputes involving negligence, regulatory duties, and damages. Suzanne also sits as mediator, arbitrator, and tribunal chair in education matters, frequently determining sensitive issues of academic integrity and professional misconduct.

Suzanne’s practice has a particular focus on the regulatory and governance pressures now facing the sector. She is regularly instructed on freedom of speech obligations under the higher education regulatory regime, on the interface between education and human rights law, and on the legal and reputational risks arising from social media, data misuse, and the growing use of AI in academic and student life. She is frequently brought in by institutions to lead or advise on sensitive, high-profile investigations where the outcome carries significant regulatory, safeguarding, or reputational consequences.

Representative experience includes:

• Acting for a non-governmental organisation in a challenge concerning the Office for Students’ application of its freedom of speech powers, engaging novel questions on the scope and exercise of the regulator’s duties under the higher education free speech regime;
• Advising in an application to the European Court of Human Rights arising from criminal proceedings brought against a minor in an education setting involving the misuse of social media, raising issues under Articles 6 and 8 ECHR and the treatment of children in the criminal justice process;
• Leading and advising on numerous sensitive, often confidential, investigations for schools, colleges and universities into allegations of misconduct, safeguarding failures, and institutional governance breaches, requiring trauma-informed and procedurally robust approaches;
• Advising on data protection, information governance, and intellectual property rights investigations within academic and research institutions, including disputes over the ownership, control, and disclosure of research data and outputs;
• Advising students, academics and institutions on the legal and regulatory issues raised by the use of artificial intelligence in teaching, assessment, research and academic integrity processes;
• Advising a senior academic at a Russell Group university on issues at the intersection of PhD supervision duties, intellectual property ownership, public interest disclosure, data protection constraints, and grant-funding obligations under UKRI and EU schemes;
• Representing and advising an appeal body in a highly sensitive case alleging sexual harassment, bullying, victimisation, and detriment following public interest disclosures, requiring the application of trauma-informed decision-making, procedural fairness, and equality law duties;
• Advising a major multinational operator of independent schools on Ofsted registration obligations, early-years provision, safeguarding compliance, and the alignment of international governance models with English regulatory requirements;
• Advising a local authority, and providing expert evidence to the court, in proceedings concerning the potential deprivation of liberty of a vulnerable minor, involving competing obligations relating to safeguarding, secure placement options, and Article 3 and Article 5 ECHR rights;
• Advising a business owner in parallel proceedings in England and Wales and the United States arising from the operation of an executive learning programme, raising issues of consumer protection, contractual performance, immunity, defamation, and the enforceability of foreign judgments

Financial Services

Advising on competition law and regulatory matters in the financial services sector, both in relation to mergers, behavioural matters and market investigations, including advising:

• The Payment Systems Regulator in high-profile judicial review proceedings brought by Visa, Mastercard, and Revolut challenging the PSR’s power to impose a price control under s54 of the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013, clarifying the regulator’s statutory authority to intervene in payment systems markets: R (Mastercard Europe SA & Ors) v Payment Systems Regulator [2025] EWHC 64 (Admin),
• On potential claims by borrowers who may have suffered loss through undisclosed commissions in the motor finance sector, following the Court of Appeal’s ruling in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd (t/a MotoNovo Finance) [2024] EWCA Civ 1282, affirmed with modifications by the Supreme Court in [2025] UKSC 33, and the Financial Conduct Authority’s sector review;
• A US-based private equity fund on compliance with the EU Taxonomy Regulation, including interpreting technical sustainability criteria, aligning investment strategies with disclosure obligations, and managing cross-jurisdictional compliance risks under evolving ESG regulatory frameworks;
• Asset managers in an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights against the investigatory procedures of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, raising issues of procedural fairness, rights to a fair trial, and the balance between effective financial supervision and protection of fundamental rights;
• The Financial Conduct Authority on accountability and governance issues including disclosure and confidentiality, complaints and litigation;
• The Financial Conduct Authority on onshoring of EU legislation in the financial services sector;
• The Payment Systems Regulator on its approach to the regulation of payment systems and services provided over payment systems including dispute resolution;
• The Federation of Independent Practitioner Organisations on its challenge to the Competition and Markets Authority’s Private Healthcare Market Investigation (on matters of private healthcare insurance), before the Court of Appeal;
• General Electric on the first ever market investigation in the UK (into store cards and insurance);
• HBOS on the UK Competition Commission investigation into PPI.

Telecommunications

Representative experience includes:

• representing the Home Office throughout the Airwave market investigation and as intervener in Motorola’s appeal, unanimously rejected by the Competition Appeal Tribunal ([2023] CAT 76) and subsequently dismissed in full by the Court of Appeal in January 2025 ([2025] EWCA Civ 54), in proceedings involving the communications network serving 44 police forces, 50 fire and rescue services, 14 ambulance trusts, and 165 other organisations;
• advising O2 on licensing, competition, and regulatory aspects of the UK Competition Commission’s calls to mobiles investigation, through the reference, price control, and market investigation;
• advising on the European Commission’s competition investigation into differential pricing of iTunes in the EU Member States;
• advising BT on a number of strategic regulatory issues regarding its UK business;
• advising a major satellite operator on the EU merger control aspects of a strategic acquisition;
• advising a satellite operator on a challenge to an Ofcom decision before the Competition Appeal Tribunal;
• advising CASBAA, an association of media organisations, on its submissions to the Telecoms Regulatory Authority of India in relation to proposed reforms to regulation of ownership of communications and media enterprises.

Intellectual Property

Broad experience advising at the intersection between competition law and intellectual property.  Representative experience includes:

• representing Unichem in relation to competition law litigation in the UK arising from the European Commission’s decision in Case AT.39612 Perindopril (Servier);
• advising on the European Commission’s Reuters Instruments Codes investigation under Article 102 TFEU relating to abuse of dominance;
• advising Hewlett-Packard on the European Commission’s investigation into printers and cartridges pricing and related intellectual property issues;
• making representations to the European Commission on the Technology Transfer Block Exemption and Guidelines.

Media, Entertainment and Sport

Media and entertainment

• Advising AEG on its participation in the UK merger control aspects of the merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster, before the UK Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission.
• Advising the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers on implementation of the European Commission’s CISAC decision.
• Advising a French channel on the EU competition law issues relating to exclusive licensing of its movie rights.
• Advising start-up film companies on the competition law implications of the UK Competition Commission’s investigation into pay TV movie rights.

Print

• Advising a UK investor on the UK competition law and public interest aspects of its proposed investment in a major UK newspaper quality title.
• Advising The Evening Standard on the competition law implications of its distribution arrangements.
• Conducting a legal and economics analysis of competition and consolidation in the UK regional newspaper sector with PwC Economics.

Broadcasting

• Advising News Corporation on the UK and EU competition law and public interest aspects of its proposed acquisition of the shares in British Sky Broadcasting Group that it does not already own.
• Advising on the competition, compliance, and audit issues relating to compliance with the Fair Trading Condition under the BBC’s Charter.

Online

• Advising Hulu on the EU and UK competition law, regulatory and merger control issues relating to a potential JV in Video-on-Demand.
• Advising NBC Universal on the EU merger control issues relating to its investment in Hulu.
• Advising on the UK competition law, judicial review and economics issues relating to the formation and regulatory review by the Competition Commission of a UK JV in Video-On-Demand (Project Kangaroo).

Sport

Suzanne has a broad sports law practice combining regulatory, competition, disciplinary, and contractual expertise across professional football, cricket, basketball, and other sporting sectors. She is a Football Association Judicial Panel member, appointed in 2025 following open competition, sitting on regulatory, disciplinary, and safeguarding cases across the professional and grassroots game.

Representative experience includes:

• Advising the English Cricket Board on an abuse of dominance complaint;
• Advising various beverage suppliers on the competition law and multi-channel distribution issues related to their sponsorship and distribution of products at sporting events, including under Saudi, EU, and UK competition law;
• Acting for a League One Football Club before the Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC) in a dispute concerning training and development compensation for an out-of-contract under-24 player, raising issues of comparable market valuations and the interpretation of academy cost evidence;
• Advising a County Cricket Club in a contentious member disciplinary dispute, applying public law fairness principles and natural justice requirements within the context of an unincorporated association’s disciplinary rules;
• Acting as Tribunal Chair in a disciplinary dispute concerning the safeguarding of disabled minors within a dedicated disabled sports body, evaluating complex evidence and applying regulatory and safeguarding standards;
• Author and contributor to sports law and competition journals at the intersection of EU and UK law, including “Different Roads, Different Destinations: Why the Table Tennis Russia Ban Failed Where FIFA and UEFA Succeeded” (LawInSport, January 2025).

Arbitration

Examples of representative experience include acting in:

• an ICC arbitration between an Italian gas supplier and a State-owned energy company concerning price reduction rights under a long-term gas sales contract, raising issues under EU, Italian, and Algerian competition law.
• a dispute between a telecommunications operator and a new entrant over access to fibre in the Channel Islands;
• a dispute over profit entitlement in a production sharing contract in the Indian gas sector;
• a dispute over a non-compete provision in a long-term distribution agreement covering multiple Member States;
• a dispute between shareholders over compliance with directors’ duties and the distribution of assets and equity earn-outs relating to a business in the media sector;
• a dispute over regulatory commitments entered into on the sale of a business in the natural resources sector in the Russian Federation.

Administrative and Public Law

Specific areas of expertise in administrative and public law include:

Constitutional Law, Data Protection and Freedom of Information, EU Public Law, Human Rights, Judicial Review, Media and Broadcasting, Medical and Pharmaceutical Regulation, Public Inquiries, Public International Law, Public Procurement and State Aid, Regulatory and Disciplinary Law and Transport Law.

Examples of representative engagements include:

• advising a state on the public law and constitutional law implications of the UK’s vote to leave the European Union;
• advising News Corporation on legal challenges to decisions of the Secretary of State to intervene in its proposed acquisition of the interests in British Sky Broadcasting that it does not already own;
• advising data controllers and processors on their duties under UK and EU data protection law;
• advising on compliance with the duties of public authorities under Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union and Article 106 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union including in challenges to decisions of the National Lottery Commission, NICE and the European Union Intellectual Property Office;
• advising on human rights issues in relation to Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights in the context of judicial review of administrative action and court proceedings in the UK and other Member States;
• appearing as counsel in judicial review of decisions of the UK competition authorities, including decisions of the Competition and Markets Authority;
• advising the Payment Systems Regulator on the public law and human rights aspects of its dispute resolution and settlement procedures and its Policies and Procedures Guide, public consultations and policy statements on dispute resolution and investigatory procedures;
• advising a potential investor on the State aid implications of a proposed investment in certain assets of Tata Steel in the UK;
• advising a train operating company on the conduct of and potential challenges to its procurement of information technology services;
• conducting an internal inquiry for a sports governing body into allegations of maladministration;
• acting as adjudicator and Panel Chair in sports disciplinary proceedings for a UK sports regulatory body.

Data Protection and Information Rights Law

Wide experience of EU and UK information rights and data protection law, advising public and private organisations including regulators, financial institutions, law enforcement agencies, professional bodies, and private clients. Suzanne contributed to the drafting of the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and advises on the interplay between UK and EU data protection law and overseas legislation modelled on these provisions, including emerging frameworks in India, Hong Kong, and the Caribbean. Examples of representative engagements include:

• Advising a high-profile EU businessman in proceedings against a Big 4 Accounting Firm and others under the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, including before the Information Commissioner’s Office, raising untested issues on data controller classification and the measure of damages in data misuse claims;
• Advising a multinational firm on data protection compliance in the context of a new employee benefit trust structure, including a root-and-branch compliance assessment, drafting of policies, privacy notices, and data sharing agreements in a highly contentious governance context;
• Advising a Northern Irish local authority on compliance with the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations, including staff training, policy review, and procedural governance for sensitive rural development information;
• Advising on the interplay between UK and EU data protection law and overseas legislation and pending legislation modelled on these provisions, including in India, Hong Kong, and the Caribbean;
• Advising and supporting the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) on the legal and regulatory issues arising from its implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Law Enforcement Directive (LED). This includes a secondment providing advice and assistance in the following areas: data audit, data protection impact assessments, drafting of policies, procedures, privacy notices and guidance, advice to Data Protection Officer, development of data sharing protocols, contracts with third party processors, employee contracts and development and delivery of training to staff;
• Supporting a range of financial services regulatory bodies in their representations to DCMS on the Data Protection Bill and Data Protection Regulations including liaising with Parliamentary Counsel and drafting amendments to the Bill;
• Participation in and advising a cross-regulatory working group on implementation of the LED in the UK, through Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018;
• Advising the Homes and Communities Agency on its GDPR remediation strategy and policies;
• Advising various law enforcement agencies including the Derbyshire Constabulary on its remediation strategy and policies in the implementation of the LED;
• Advising the Federation of Independent Practitioner Organisations and consultant practices on GDPR risk remediation including conducting a data audit and drafting policies, procedures and privacy notices;
• Advising a variety of small and medium-sized business on GDPR compliance risk remediation in a range of sectors (including professional services, digital, financial services, media, and telecommunications);
• Advising on GDPR issues and remediation for personal representatives and trustees;
• Developing an e-learning and education programme for a law firm to support risk remediation in GDPR compliance;
• Advising the FCA on a range of data and disclosure law issues including under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the bespoke confidentiality regime pursuant to section 348 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000;
• Advising public and private organisations on the application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This includes supporting the FCA on FOIA requests through legal advice and drafting of communications to requesters;
• Advising and supporting the FCA on investigations by the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Complaints Commissioner in cases involving protection of personal data;
• Advising and supporting the FCA on consultations and engagement with WP29 including most recently in relation to draft guidance on transfers of personal data outside the EEA pursuant to Articles 45-49 GDPR.

Human Rights

Wide experience of EU and international human rights law.  Particular experience on human rights issues in regulatory investigations and enforcement by public authorities.  Representative experience includes:

• advising on human rights issues in relation to Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights in the context of judicial review of administrative action and court proceedings in the UK and other Member States;
• appearing as counsel in judicial review of decisions of the UK competition authorities, including decisions of the Competition and Markets Authority;
• advising the Payment Systems Regulator on the public law and human rights aspects of its dispute resolution and settlement procedures and its Policies and Procedures Guide, public consultations and policy statements on dispute resolution and investigatory procedures.

Private International Law

Expert in cross-border disputes, particularly raising issues of jurisdiction, choice of law, anti-suit injunctions, exclusive jurisdiction clauses, and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, both under EU legislation and at common law.

Regulatory and Disciplinary

Economic regulation

Advises on economic and financial regulation in all the regulated sectors, including sector-specific licensing, and price control matters in the following sectors: communications, energy (electricity and gas), financial services, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, transportation (including rail and road, shipping), and water.

Financial services conduct regulation

Wide experience of advising on supervision, investigations and enforcement under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Representative experience includes advising:

• the Financial Conduct Authority on investigations, enforcement and judicial challenges in cases before the RTC, RDC, Upper Tribunal, High Court and Court of Appeal;
• investors in proceedings before the Financial Ombudsman;
• on complaints under the 2012 Complaints Scheme including cases at stage 1 and before the Complaints Commissioner.

Legal professional services regulation

Advises on professional services regulation with particular expertise in the regulation of solicitors and barristers.  Representative experience includes advising:

• the Legal Services Board and the Law Society on the barriers to the effective operation of the markets in which legal firms operate and the ways in which regulators or representative bodies could improve market functioning;
• the Legal Services Board on the cumulative impacts of changes to regulation following the Legal Services Act 2007 reforms;
• a delegation of the IBA and the Kazakhstan Bar Association on international regulation of lawyers.

Disciplinary

Representative engagements include:

• advising on the competition law and restraint of trade issues arising from potential sanctions imposed following breach of the SRA Code of Conduct;
• conducting an internal inquiry for a sports governing body into allegations of maladministration;
• acting as adjudicator and Panel Chair in sports disciplinary proceedings for a UK sports regulatory body.

Group Litigation

Suzanne Rab is a leading practitioner in competition collective proceedings, with a track record of representing class representatives in landmark actions before the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) which is the cornerstone of the UK’s collective redress regime.

In payments, she has represented the class representatives in opt-in collective actions against Mastercard and Visa seeking compensation for UK merchants overcharged on corporate card and inter-regional Multilateral Interchange Fees (MIFs). The CAT certified all four collective actions in June 2024  –  a significant procedural milestone enabling large numbers of UK businesses to pursue claims without individual sign-up. She has also advised on follow-on litigation arising from the European Commission’s Trucks cartel investigation.

In emergency communications, she represents the class representative in Clare Spottiswoode CBE v Airwave Solutions Ltd & Motorola Solutions (CAT Case No. 1698/7/7/24) — – the first collective proceedings ever brought primarily on behalf of public bodies, including the Home Office, police, fire, and ambulance services. The claim seeks approximately £600–650 million for alleged excessive pricing for Land Mobile Radio (LMR) services.

Civil Fraud

Particular expertise advising in complex cases involving civil fraud which overlap with cartel practices and related areas of regulation including financial crime, market manipulation and anti-corruption.

Prior to her call to the Bar, Suzanne worked as a director in the strategy (economics and forensics) practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she was involved in cases involving asset tracing and damages assessment. Her high level of financial literacy is particularly valued by clients seeking counsel who can handle financial experts with ease.

Her representative experience includes advising on major cartel and bid rigging investigations, appeals and follow-on damages actions, including advising:

• Air Canada on the European Commission’s investigation under Article 101 TFEU in relation to air freight and subsequent appeals and litigation;
• Dunlop Oil & Marine in relation to antitrust and criminal investigations into cartel activity in marine hoses in the UK, EU, US, Brazil, Japan and Korea

Trade Law

Suzanne advises governments, regulators, and businesses on a broad range of international trade law matters, with particular expertise in EU trade defence instruments, trade and investment treaty law, and the interface between trade law, competition law, and subsidy control.

Representative experience includes:

• Advising a third country state government in appeals against European Commission anti-dumping regulations on hot rolled and cold rolled steel, including on procedural safeguards, the methodology for calculating dumping margins, the evidentiary standards required to challenge Commission determinations, and the rights of exporting countries under EU trade law. The cases involve defending national trade interests against restrictive trade measures and legal avenues for challenging disproportionate anti-dumping regimes;
• Advising Noble Energy on trade and investment treaty issues arising in connection with its energy investment in Cyprus, in a representation straddling State aid, competition law, public procurement, investment treaty, and trade law;
• Advising on the interface between trade law, subsidy control, and State aid, including in the context of the UK’s post-Brexit subsidy control regime and its interaction with the UK’s international trade obligations under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and WTO rules;
• Advising on the trade law implications of new regulatory frameworks in emerging markets, including in the Middle East and the USA;
• Advising on EU free movement rules and their interaction with competition law, regulatory frameworks, and intellectual property rights in cross-border disputes involving goods and services.

Suzanne’s trade law practice benefits from her deep familiarity with EU public law, State aid and subsidy control, and competition law, enabling her to advise on trade matters which engage multiple intersecting regulatory regimes — increasingly common in the context of growing international trade tensions.

Education and Qualifications

MA Jurisprudence (First Class), Oriel College, Oxford University

BCL, Competition Law, Conflict of Laws, Evidence, and Intellectual Property Law, Oriel College, Oxford University

Legal Practice Course, College of Law

Admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales: 1999 (training contract 1997-1999)

Call to the Bar: 2013

Admitted as a solicitor in Ireland: 2018

Appointments

Football Association Judicial Panel member (appointed 2025), sitting on regulatory, disciplinary, and safeguarding cases across the professional and grassroots game.

Panel member, Office for the Internal Market

Non-executive board member, Legal Aid Agency (2019-2025)

Non-executive board member, Press Recognition Panel

Expert Panel member, UK Regulators Network

Member of the Bar Standards Board Advisory Pool of Experts (Competition Law and Data Protection)

Law Lecturer, Oxford University

Professor, Brunel University

Visiting Professor, Imperial College Business School

Consulting Editorial Board member for LexisNexis Competition

Member of editorial board of Competition Law Insight

Memberships

The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn

Competition Law Association

Bar European Group

Publications

Books

Co-author and editor of Global Supply Chains (Lexis, forthcoming in 2026)

Co-author of UK chapter in Handbook of consumer protection and consumer behaviour in energy markets (2024, Taylor and Francis)

Co-editor of Building Bridges in European and Human Rights Law (2024, Hart/Bloomsbury)

Author of Chapters on “Studying Law During the COVID-19 Pandemic” and “Building Bonds Between Academia and Practice” in Legal Education and Legal Profession During and After COVID-19 (Springer, 2022).

Author of chapters on Competition Law and Telecommunications in Artificial Intelligence Law and Regulation (2022, Edward Elgar Publishing)

Contributor to Cross-border Licensing of Copyright (2018, Edward Elgar Publishing)

Co-author of Atkins Court Forms in Civil Proceedings, Competition Law (Volume 10), 2016 (new edition)

Co-author of Hong Kong Competition Law (2016, Hart/Bloomsbury)

Co-author of Media Ownership and Control: Law, Economics and Policy in an Indian and International Context (2014, Hart Studies in Competition Law)

Author of Indian Competition Law, an International Perspective (first published by Wolters Kluwer, May 2012; supplement on cartel regulation published in January 2013)

Articles and book reviews

“No Record, No Defence: Secret Ballots and the Limits of Sports Federation Autonomy (CAS 2025/A/11915)”, LawInSport, 20 May 2026

Co-author of Briefing: The Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) has ruled, by a majority, that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) does not authorise the US President to impose tariffs (2026)

“Different Roads, Different Destinations: Why the Table Tennis Russia Ban Failed Where FIFA and UEFA Succeeded”, LawInSport, 16 January 2026

 “Artificial Intelligence and the intersection with Data Protection and Data Privacy – EU developments in an international context”, The European Advocate, 2 August 2024

“Collective Competition Actions: Challenges for Case and Costs Management”, TL4 Disputes Magazine, October 2023

“What can happen when a Conditional Fee Agreement goes wrong”, Serle Share, 31 March 2023

Briefing

Click here for complete list. 

Awards

Named in Global Competition Review’s Women in Antitrust List 2025

Winner of the Competition Barrister in England Client Choice Award, Lexology Index 2026

The Lawyer Hot 100 2022

Winner of Burton Award for Legal Achievement 2012 (Library of Congress, Washington D.C.)

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

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