White & Case LLP - Lawyers - Jean-Patrice de La Laurencie

Practice Experience

Jean-Patrice de La Laurencie heads the Paris office competition team of White & Case.

He concentrates on competition, regulatory, and EU law and has over 20 years experience as a competition specialist in both public and private practices.

His areas of expertise include merger control assistance in relation to investigations by competition authorities and to antitrust compliance, representation of national and international companies as well as governments before the European and French competition authorities and courts.

Before becoming a lawyer in 1990, Mr. de la Laurencie was Deputy Director General of the French Competition, Consumer Affairs and Anti-Fraud Department. He made the largest part of his administrative career (1970–1989) within the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as a specialist of anti-inflation and antitrust matters.

He also served as advisor in Jacques Delors’ Cabinet when the latter was the French Minister of Economy and Finance, and as financial advisor at the French Permanent Representation to the European Commission in Brussels.

Attorney at law since 1990, he created and headed the Competition Department of the Paris office for two leading law firms.

Examples of representations:

Representing a major oil and chemical group and some of its subsidiaries in Paris and Brussels with respect to several merger filings, advising and defending this group in relation with various major horizontal and vertical agreements, and more specifically in several litigation cases held before the French Conseil de la concurrence and the Paris Court of Appeal (very recently in a case concerning the supply of fuel on highways, which successfully ended by the total cancellation of the fine imposed by the French Conseil de la Concurrence).
Representing and assisting a worldwide insurance group regarding several merger filings in Paris and Brussels; giving legal advice on international agreements, distribution organization, and tariff practices of this group.
Representing and assisting the purchaser of Montedison group’s edible oils activities during the European and French notification procedures.
Representing and assisting the French sugar cooperatives, during their acquisition of a big European sugar group, for the filing of the acquisition with the French Competition authority.
Defending the French independent publishers against the proposed acquisition of Vivendi Universal Publishing by the Lagardère group (ended with a 60% divestiture of VUP).
Advising and representing in merger filings and antitrust a large French TV and media group and its subsidiaries before the French and EU competition authorities.
Advising and representing a new entrant in the telecommunications sector and obtaining interim measures in order to allow its entry into the market.
Advising and representing companies in the consumer goods sector in antitrust litigation cases, merger filings and organization of their distribution network.

Bars and Courts
Paris Bar, 1992

Education
Post-graduate degree, Ecole Nationale d' Administration, 1968 – 1970
Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, 1964

Professional Associations and Memberships
International Bar Association
Association Française d’Etude de la Concurrence (French Branch of the International League for competition) – Serving as « Rapporteur Général »
Union Internationale des Avocats (International Association of Lawyers)

Publications
“Le Contrôle Français des Concentrations”, a book on French merger control (with Jean-Mathieu Cot, GDJ, 2nd edition, October 2003)
He has also written numerous articles on antitrust issues.

Decoration
Chevalier by the Ordre National du Mérite.

Languages
English
French
Italian

Citizenship
France