A Brussels and London based partner in the firm’s antitrust group, Peter Camesasca has been practicing at the cutting edge of European competition law for 20 years, focusing on the interaction between competitors. This includes constructive M&A- and JV-type cooperation and related filings or self-assessments, as well as IP licensing and technology-sharing arrangements. Dr Camesasca’s work also covers pre-emptive compliance and exposure management in trade associations, as well as handling criminal and administrative investigations into information exchanges, price signaling and cartels, as well as, increasingly, defending against private damages claims before national courts.
Dr. Camesasca has been involved in some of the game-changing precedents that have shaped and continue to develop European competition law, such as:
- In M&A, Dr. Camesasca has acted for Rockwell Collins in the successful challenge of the proposed GE/Honeywell transaction concerning avionics, including before the European Courts (2004), which formed the precedent for the introduction of sophisticated economics into day-to-day EU merger control. Presently, Dr. Camesasca acts for a number of leading Asian conglomerates in their continuing expansion and structural re-organizations;
- Since the introduction of self-assessment, Dr. Camesasca has been materially involved in the evolving landscape of alliances under Article 101 TFEU enabling efficient transport by air and by sea, representing leading European and U.S. carriers;
- During a two-year stint as special counsel to Samsung Electronics, Dr. Camesasca was materially responsible for handling the EU investigation which resulted in a path-breaking settlement covering the availability of injunctions to holders of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs), with no finding of wrongdoing by Samsung Electronics;
- Dr. Camesasca has achieved the first-ever settlement under the EU Settlement Notice in re DRAM (2010) and counseled in a range of settlement cases since; he acts in re Smart Card Chips (2014) which redefines the EU Commission’s position vis-à-vis bilateral information exchanges; and he acts in re Liner Shipping (2016) which sets out the EU Commission’s new approach to price signaling;
and
- Dr. Camesasca acts as lead counsel in re TFT-LCD (2010) which -- alike the U.S. compendium cases -- defines EU jurisdiction for cartel-like conduct outside of the EU, which is the subject of an ongoing challenge in re Iiyama (2016). More generally, Dr. Camesasca manages complex damages litigation defenses in close to a dozen pending matters across industries and venues.
Over the last several years, Dr. Camesasca’s expertise advising Asian conglomerates has translated into a rise in demand for his advice in South Korea and Japan, among other jurisdictions.
Dr. Camesasca has acted before the EU Commission, the European courts, the German Bundeskartellamt, the Belgian Competition Council and various national courts including the UK and Germany.
He is noted for his "keen attention to detail and effective representation of clients' interests" in Chambers Global 2011, and as "very forthright in stating his opinion and he is well connected in DG Comp" in Chambers Global 2016.