Caroline Hobson

Caroline advises on a wide range of EU and UK competition issues in a variety of industry sectors, in particular advising clients in the pharmaceutical, consumer products, financial services and energy sectors. She has advised on numerous merger notifications to the Office of Fair Trading, European Commission and in multi-jurisdictional cases, as well as advising clients on Article 101/Chapter I cartel investigations, Article 102/Chapter II dominance issues and the application of the EU state aid rules. 

Caroline has extensive experience of advising on product distribution strategy, collaborative and joint venture agreements, selective distribution and pricing and sales strategies for major lifesciences and multi-national consumer products clients. 

She also has prepared a number of competition law compliance programmes and dawn raid policies and has attended raids conducted by the Office of Fair Trading and European Commission.   

Relevant experience includes advising: 

• Sports World in a Chapter I investigation by the Office of Fair Trading concerning price fixing of replica football kit
• A principal infringing party in the Office of Fair Trading’s construction cartel investigation into bid rigging in England
• A multi-national pharmaceutical client in the European Commission’s pharmaceutical sector inquiry    
• A multi-national personal care manufacturer in the OFT’s UK Brands inquiry   
• Multi-national pharmaceutical and consumer products companies on product distribution strategy, collaboration and joint venture agreements, pricing and sales strategies and compliance training   
• Royal Mail group on the review of core agreements for the operation of the UK post office network    
• Oil and gas companies on the ownership and operation of pipelines and other infrastructure, distribution issues and merger issues    
• RWE on competition issues in a joint venture bid with E.ON for the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency’s nuclear site auction    
• Various clients on merger clearance at UK, EU and multi-jurisdictional levels.

Education:
University of Cambridge, MA Law 
College of Law Guildford, LPC