bpv Huegel has one of the premier competition groups in Austria. With offices in Vienna and Brussels, it is among the largest and best regarded, having been awarded top-tier and Band 1 positions in the major rankings (Chambers & Partners, JUVE, Legal 500 and GCR) for more than two decades running.

The firm stands for decades of highly specialised expertise in all questions of national, European and international competition law. The firm advises companies on a full spectrum of competition matters:

• Antitrust and abuse of market dominance proceedings
• Cartel raids and proceedings
• Merger control (in particular multi-jurisdictional filings with a focus on CEE)
• Structuring cross-border transactions
• Follow-on private damages claims
• Distribution law
• Technology transfers
• R&D co-operations
• Joint ventures
• Digital platforms
• State aid
• Internal investigations and compliance
• Providing strategic antitrust counselling of clients in competition matters.

Its presence and expertise extend across Europe. The firm’s Brussels office offers direct access to European institutions. Its affiliation with bpv LEGAL offices in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania provides clients with seamless cross-border service in the CEE on competition issues, including multi-jurisdictional merger filings.

bpv Huegel’s roster of well-known and blue-chip clients includes some of the largest companies in Austria and multinationals from around the world.

The large competition team consists of numerous experienced antitrust specialists, each individually recognised by their peers and the major rankings:

• The competition department is headed by Astrid Ablasser-Neuhuber, who has two decades of expertise in all aspects of competition practice before the Austrian and European competition authorities and in proceedings before the European Courts.
• Florian Neumayr, a Co-Managing Partner of the firm, heads the antitrust litigation group and specialises on all aspects of Austrian and EU competition law, including cartels, abuse of dominance and merger control.
• Gerhard Fussenegger is a Co-Managing Partner of the Brussels office, where he offers a direct point of contact to the European institutions on all varieties of antitrust and merger control matters.
• Christian Schneider, a holder of a venia legendi for constitutional and administrative law and the related fields of European law at the University of Vienna, head of the EU and regulatory group at bpv Huegel, specialises in state aid, regulatory, and general EU law matters, providing for seamless service in matters that overlap with competition issues.