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Photo, Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson

Partner
Baker & McKenzie CVBA/SCRL

Biography

Paul Johnson is a partner in Baker McKenzie Brussels' European & Competition Law Practice. He is an English qualified solicitor and has been practicing in Brussels and the UK for almost 15 years. Paul regularly represents clients on competition matters before the European Commission and has provided competition law advice with respect to over 100 jurisdictions around the world.

In December 2020, Paul was named by Rising Stars Award Europe 2020 as one of ten rising stars in competition and antitrust in Europe, and is also listed as a future leader in competition law by Who’s Who legal. He is the author of award winning articles on EU, UK and global competition law.

Practice Focus

Paul has extensive experience in all areas of EU competition law, including multi-jurisdictional and EU merger control (notifications and third party complaints), foreign investment review, joint ventures, cartels, abuse of dominance, distribution and other commercial relationships.

Representative Legal Matters

  • Represented Hitachi in relation to its proposed USD 11 billion acquisition of ABB power grid business.

  • Represented a global leader in the digital product market in connection with an acquisition of an online course creation and sales platform.

  • Represented Abbott Laboratories on its USD 5.8 billion acquisition of Alere, Inc.

  • Represented a global pharmaceutical company on the antitrust aspects of a USD 4.0 billion acquisition of a biopharmaceutical company.

  • Represented a global pharmaceutical company on the antitrust aspects of a USD 1.95 billion acquisition of a biopharmaceutical company.

  • Represented a global pharmaceutical company on the antitrust aspects of a USD 400 million acquisition of a biopharmaceutical company

  • Represented a global pharmaceutical company on the sale of a prescription drug indicated for the emergency treatment of epileptic children with prolonged acute convulsive seizures to a European leader in pharmaceutical products.

  • Represented Lonza and Chr. Hansen on their microbiome joint venture before the European Commission.

  • Represented Jin Jiang on global merger control filings with respect to its USD 2.0 billion acquisition of Radisson.

  • Represented Lonza on its USD 5.5 billion acquisition of Capsugel before the European Commission. 


Admissions

  • England & Wales~United Kingdom (2006)
  • Brussels (E-List)~Belgium (2007)
  • Brussels (A-List)~Belgium (2018)

Education

  • University of Edinburgh (LL.B., Hons) (2001)
  • King's College London (Postgraduate Diploma in Competition Law) (2007)
  • King's College London (Postgraduate Diploma in Economics & Competition Law) (2008)

Languages

  • English

Publications

  • Author, “The Stories Merger Documents Tell – the US, EU and Asian Perspectives,” ECLR 2018, 39, Issue 4. This article won Concurrence 2019 Award for Academic Articles.

  • Author, “The Rediscovery of Vertical Merger Enforcement?,” CPI Antitrust Chronicle, Vol. 2, pp. 39 et seq., Competition Policy International, Inc., August 2018

  • Author, “A warning shot across the bows of global competition law compliance programmes: Antitrust scrutiny of joint bidding arrangements around the world,” 39 ECLR, Issue 10 (2018)

  • Author, “The EU Commission announces a tender procedure to analyse the competition implications of loan syndication in six EU Member States,” Concurrences, 11 April 2017

  • Author, “European Commission looks closer into the loan syndication market,” Baker McKenzie Newsletter, 13 June 2017