James Killick

Partner, Brussels, London

Biography

“James Killick ‘is knowledgeable in the area and I like his broad way of thinking. He looks at the topic from a variety of angles and listens. He summarises the details well and gives good suggestions on how to move forward.’” “Clients summarise James Killick’s main strength as ‘being able to capture how our business works, identifying any weak spots and deciding which specific problems we need to tackle.’”
Chambers Europe 2015

Overview

James is a litigator whose practice covers competition, pharmaceuticals, and international trade. He advises leading industry players in a broad range of business sectors, from information technology and chemicals to airlines and paper. Recognized as one of the leading lawyers in his field by The International Who's Who of Competition Lawyers & Economists 2019, James uses his extensive experience and formidable grasp of EU laws and procedures to help clients navigate complex strategic issues.

James has been involved in pleading numerous high-profile cases in the European Courts, including: Servier (patent settlements), 'SAS v Commission' (Air Cargo), 'Rambus' (standard setting), Intel, (discounts), 'Microsoft v Commission' (compulsory licensing; treatment of trade secrets), 'Hanner' (finding the Swedish retail monopoly on pharmaceuticals illegal), 'Forum 187 v Commission' (fiscal state aids), 'Pfizer v Council'  (precautionary principle), 'IMS Health' (compulsory licensing), 'Nintendo v Commission' (parallel trade), 'Servier v Commission' (banning of pharmaceuticals), 'Cheil Jedang v Commission' (fining policy) and 'Du Pont v Commission' (anti-dumping, GSP). The competition law journal Global Competition Review named the Air Cargo case, in which James represented SAS, as its Matter of the Year for 2016.

In the competition field, James regularly advises companies under investigation by the Commission, notably in areas such as pharmaceuticals and standard setting, where IP and competition law overlap. He also advises merging parties under the EU Merger Regulation, and has successfully defended several major cartel cases. He also acts for third-party complainants in mergers and classic antitrust cases and has an extensive advisory practice.

James has initiated several major anti-dumping and anti-subsidy actions for European industries, notably in relation to China and India. He also provides advice on export control compliance with the EU dual-use regulation and national military control regulations.

As leader of the firm's EU sanctions team, James advises clients throughout the world on EU sanctions and export control issues and keeps a very close watch on the frequent changes to EU sanctions regimes, especially those on Iran and Ukraine. (e.g., Iran, Syria, Libya, Belarus, Burma/Myanmar and the Ukraine crisis).

Bars and Courts
England and Wales
Brussels Bar
Education
Licence spéciale en Droit européen
University of Brussels
LLM
University of Cambridge
BA
University of Cambridge
Languages
English
French
Russian

Experience

Speaking Engagements

"The Perindopril Case: Patent Settlement and Acquisition of Technology", GCLC Annual Conference Series: The Notion of Restriction of Competition – Revisiting the Foundations of Antitrust Enforcement in Europe, January 2017

"Recent trends in competition law", Biotech & Pharma Law Patenting Conference, Munich, 23-24 June 2016

Panel speaker, "So, are governments expanding collusive theories in competition law?", IATA Legal Symposium, Barcelona, 19 February, 2016

"Pay for Delay: Views from Both Sides of the Pond", video conference organized by the American Bar Association, 23 June 2015

New Frontiers of Antitrust, organized by Concurrences, Paris, 15 June 2015

"The ECJ ruling on Cartes Bancaires: A new interpretation of 'by object' restrictions?", organized by Concurrences, Brussels, 11 November 2014

EU competition law and patent settlements, IBC pharma and competition, 27 November, Brussels

Follow-on Damages Litigation – Class Actions on the Horizon, London, 20 November 2014

Digital Health: The Path Forward, 13 November 2014, Palo Alto

"The Effect of Russian Sanctions on International Trade", New York, 7 October 2014

Pharma Law Academy organized by Informa, Cambridge, 12 September 2014

"The Intel Judgment", American Chamber of Commerce, Brussels, 27 June 2014

"Doing Business in Russia: The Effect of Sanctions on Financial Institutions", London, 24 June 2014

"Practical advice on how to bring an action before the EU General Court", ERA Conference, Trier, 12 May 2014

"The Abuse of Dominance in the Pharmaceutical Sector under EU Competition Law", organized by Concurrences, Brussels, 6 May 2014

Biotech & Pharmaceutical Patenting 2014, Munich, 18-19 February 2014

"The Microsoft judgment and its implications for (dominant) IP holders", Antitrust Seminar organized by Chen & Lin Antitrust, Taipei, 12 November 2013

"Using Litigation Strategically: A guide to the EU courts for public affairs professionals", British Chamber of Commerce, Brussels, 23 October 2013

Chair, ERA Annual Conference on EU Trade Law, Brussels, 30 September - 1 October 2013

Publications

Mr. Killick regularly gives speeches on the above areas and publishes extensively. Recent publications include:

"The New tentacle of Competition Law: Tools to Control Foreign-subsidiesed Acquisitions and Market Distortions", CPI Antitrust Chronicle, August 2020 (with Giuseppe Tantulli and Aron Senoner)

"European Court of Justice rules in the Paroxetine case", European Competition Law Review, Volume 41, Issue 7, July 2020 (with Jérémie Jourdan, Kate Kelliher and Fanny Abouzeid)

"European Union: Pharmaceuticals", The European, Middle Eastern and African Antitrust Review 2020, GCR, July 2019 (with Jérémie Jourdan, Assimakis Komninos, Strati Sakellariou-Witt and Axel Schulz)

"The cat warns antitrust watchdogs to be careful when looking at excessive pricing", Competition Law Insight, July 2018 (with Assimakis Komninos)

"The UPS Case: Merger parties must have a chance to review the European Commission's econometric evidence", Competition Law Insight, April 2017 (with Katarzyna Czapracka)

"Economists Must Respect Due Process Too! EU General Court annuls Commission decision blocking UPS/TNT merger", Kluwer Competition Law Blog, 13 March 2017

"Promoting the Off-Label Use of Medicines: Where to Draw the Line?", Bio-Science Law Review, Volume 15, Issue 1, February 2016, and European Journal of Risk Regulation, February 2016 (with Genevra Forwood)

"e-Competitions News Issue August 2015: The EU Court of Justice sets out specific requirements with which an SEP holder needs to comply in order to be able to seek an injunction without abusing its dominant position", Huawei / ZTE (with Katarzyna Czapracka and Daniel Hoppe-Jänisch)

"Deal or No Deal (Iran sanctions)?", Mining Journal, 20 May 2015

"Intellectual property: An overview of EU and national case law", e-Competitions No. 71604, February 2015 (with Katarzyna Czapracka)

"Time for some help – DG Comp's latest patent settlement monitoring report reveals a number of serious flaws, including a lack of guidance", Competition Law Insight, 17 February 2015 (with Jérémie Jourdan)

"The Commission's Lundbeck decision: A critical review of the Commission's test for patent settlement agreements", Competition Policy International, 26 January 2015

"The Glencore giant, the law's Lilliputians, and the mining and metals market: Glencore-Rio Tinto II – can it negotiate the merger rules mire?", December 2014

"Cartes Bancaires: A Revolution or a Reminder of Old Principles We Should Never Have Forgotten?", Competition Policy International, 19 December 2014

Awards and Recognition

Who's Who Legal: Competition, 2024

Who's Who Legal: Trade & Customs, 2023 

Band 1: International Trade/WTO - Europe-wide, Chambers Global 2019

Best Lawyers in Belgium 2020:
Competition/Antitrust Law, Regulatory Practice, and Trade Law

The Legal 500 Hall of Fame 2017/2018:
Customs, Trade, WTO and Anti-Dumping

Leading Individual: Customs, Trade, WTO and Anti-Dumping - Belgium, The Legal 500 EMEA 2019

Notable Practitioner: Competition/ European Law - Belgium, Chambers Europe 2019

Notable Practitioner: Life Sciences - Belgium, Chambers Europe 2019

Recommended: Competition: EU and Global – Belgium, The Legal 500 EMEA 2019

Recommended: EU Regulatory - Pharma, Medical Devices and Biotech – Belgium, The Legal 500 EMEA 2019

Who's Who Legal: Competition, 2019

Who's Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Competition, 2019

Who's Who Legal: Trade & Customs, 2019

Who's Who Legal: Life Sciences, 2019

Who's Who Legal: Corporate – Foreign Investment Review, 2019

Global Competition Review 2012 and 2008: Twice named as one of the 40 leading competition lawyers under the age of 40