Aqeel Kadri

  • Partner
  • London
he / him / his
  • akadri@hausfeld.com
  • +44 20 7936 0949
  • https://www.linkedin.com/in/aqeel-kadri-05823646/?originalSubdomain=uk
Aqeel Kadri

OVERVIEW

Aqeel is an experienced competition litigator with extensive experience of both public and private enforcement of competition law in the EU and UK.

Expertise

Aqeel has acted for clients in numerous cases before the English and EU courts, including in some of the most significant cases of recent years. His current practice is focused on competition litigation in the English Courts, encompassing both follow-on and stand-alone claims on behalf of individual clients and in collective proceedings. He currently represents Hausfeld clients in the Trucks litigation before the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the proposed class representative in Julie Hunter v Amazon.com, Inc. & Ors.

Aqeel has advised and represented clients in relation to competition damages actions in various EU Member States, including numerous cases before the English Courts; he has litigated cases before the High Court, Competition Appeal Tribunal, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. Aqeel has also advised and represented a number of companies in the judicial review of decisions of the European Commission relating to cartel infringements and abuse of dominance, before the EU General Court and Court of Justice.

Prior to joining Hausfeld, Aqeel practiced from the London and Brussels offices of White & Case where he was a pivotal member of their competition law and dispute resolution practices.

In addition to his experience in private practice, Aqeel has spent time on secondment to the Competition and Markets Authority as well as gaining experience working for the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, , and in the Legal Service of the European Commission in Brussels.

Aqeel sits as a Recorder (Crime) on the South Eastern Circuit.

Clients

Aqeel has acted for and advised clients in relation to some of the most significant antitrust cases of recent years, covering areas including predatory pricing, rebates, tying, refusal to supply and excessive pricing. He has particular experience of pricing in the pharmaceutical sector. He has also acted for clients in the banking, technology and automotive sectors.

Working towards a diverse, equitable and inclusive work force is paramount to Aqeel who is an active member of Hausfeld's Social Inclusion group.

EDUCATION

LL.M, London School of Economics and Political Science
Bar Vocational Course, BPP Law School
B.A. Anthropology and Law, London School of Economics and Political Science

BAR ADMISSIONS

Solicitor, Ireland, 2018
Solicitor, England and Wales, 2013 (Higher Rights of Audience, 2018)
Called to the Bar of England and Wales, 2009
Appointed as a Recorder to sit in Crime on the South Eastern Circuit, 2022

AFFILIATIONS

Member - CLA

NEWS

Legal action filed following Apple and Amazon’s secret deal on marketplace access

  • Antitrust / Competition
  • Technology & Data Breach
  • United Kingdom
  • Jul 26 2023

Hausfeld announces six senior promotions globally

  • Antitrust / Competition
  • Commercial & Financial Disputes
  • Environmental & Product Liability
  • Human Rights
  • Technology & Data Breach
  • United States, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium
  • Jan 04 2023

A £900 million UK consumer action filed against Amazon at the Competition Appeal Tribunal

  • Antitrust / Competition
  • United Kingdom
  • Nov 15 2022

E-commerce giant Amazon faces legal action for unlawfully favouring its own product offers

  • Antitrust / Competition
  • United Kingdom
  • Oct 20 2022

Legal 500 UK 2023 recommends 24 Hausfeld lawyers across 7 practice areas

  • Antitrust / Competition
  • Commercial & Financial Disputes
  • Environmental & Product Liability
  • Human Rights
  • United Kingdom
  • Sep 28 2022

EVENTS

PUBLICATIONS

Collective actions - Certification in the United Kingdom two years after the Supreme Court judgment in <i>Merricks</i>

  • Antitrust / Competition
  • France, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium
  • Nov 17 2022

Subsidiary liability: the Provimi point answered?

  • Antitrust / Competition
  • United Kingdom
  • Jan 18 2022

“Subsidiary liability – the Provimi point answered?” - European Competition Law Review (2021) 42 E.C.L.R Issue 12, 2021 (co-author with S. Campbell)

 

"EU State aid and Arbitration" - Research Handbook on European State aid Law Hancher, L. & Piernas López, J., Eds. 2nd Edition, co-author with K. Stuckmann, G. Forwood, I. Trichkovska, 2021

"CMA v Flynn Pharma and Pfizer: Intel’s Influence Evident as Court of Appeal Clarifies ‘Excessive Pricing’ Test" - Journal of European Competition law & Practice, Vol. 11, No. 7, co-author, with J. Killick and A. Komninos, 2020 

Micula and Others v Romania [2017] EWHC 31 (Comm) - Case Annotation, European State Aid Law Quarterly, 2017, Volume 16, Issue 2, pp. 316 – 321, co-author, with K. Struckmann, G. Forwood, A. Wallin, 2017

"It's becoming harder for parents to escape liability" - Competition Law Insight, co-author, with M. Israel, J. MacLennan, June 2017

"Toshiba v Commission: Court of Justice Eases Burden on Commission to Fine Parent Companies for Competition Law Infringements by Joint Ventures" - Journal of European Competition law & Practice, Vol. 8, No. 4, co-author, with J. MacLennan, 2017

"Toshiba v. Commission – How (not) to Prove Awareness, and Decisively Influence People" - Competition Policy International, August co-author, with J. MacLennan, 2016 

"Investor-State Arbitrations and EU State Aid Rules: Conflict or Coexistence?" - European State Aid Law Quarterly, Volume 15, Issue 2, pp. 258-269, co-author, with K. Struckmann, G. Forwood, 2016

 

PERSPECTIVES

When competition sanctions get personal – director disqualification as an enforcement tool

  • Antitrust / Competition
  • United Kingdom
  • Jan 20 2022

WHAT OTHERS SAY

Legal 500

Aqeel is recognised as 'key lawyer.' - Competition Litigation, 2023

Experience

Antitrust/Competition

Aqeel’s competition experience includes:

  • Acting for thirteen corporate claimant groups in the ongoing litigation relating to the Trucks cartel sanctioned by the European Commission in 2016.
  • Acting for the proposed class representative, consumer advocate Julie Hunter, in collective proceedings filed against Amazon.com, Inc. seeking damages on behalf of UK consumers for alleged anticompetitive conduct in relation to Amazon’s ‘Buy Box’.
  • Acting on behalf of Christine Riefa Class Representative Limited, an SPV established by Professor Christine Riefa for the purpose of bringing a claim against Apple and Amazon on behalf of millions of UK consumers who purchased Apple products. The collective action seeks damages of at least £500m for UK consumers who paid higher prices for Apple products due to a secret deal between the global corporations, which saw Amazon restricting sales of Apple products by independent merchants on its marketplace.

 

Prior to joining Hausfeld, Aqeel was involved in numerous significant competition cases, including:

  • Representing Goldman Sachs in a stand-alone competition damages claim in the High Court.
  • Representing defendants in claims for damages in the High Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal arising out of the European Commission’s decisions in:
    • TV and computer monitor tubes - Representing companies in the Toshiba group in proceedings brought by a television retailer.
    • Automotive bearings - Representing NTN Corporation in its defence of damages claims brought by multiple claimants.
    • Power cables - Representing Nexans in multiple sets of proceedings before the English Courts.
  • Representing Bulgarian Energy Holding in its application to annul a European Commission Decision finding that it breached Article 102 TFEU.
  • Advising Google on its challenge to the European Commission Decision in Google Android.
  • Advising an interested party in the European Commission’s investigation into Broadcom.
  • Representing SAS in its challenge to the European Commission’s re-adopted decision on the airfreight cartel, as well as its challenge to the original Decision.
  • Advising a pharmaceutical company in relation to investigations by the CMA.
  • Advising Pfizer on the CMA’s investigation into the pricing of phenytoin sodium capsules and subsequent proceedings before the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
  • Representing a supplier of medical equipment in a CMA investigation into alleged tying.
  • Advising a major multi-national pharmaceutical company on pricing of its products in multiple jurisdictions across the EU, including the UK.
  • Representing the Applicants in the landmark State aid cases of European Food v Commission and Micula v Commission before the EU General Court and Court of Justice.

Arbitration and International Arbitration

Prior to joining Hausfeld:

  • Acting for the Claimants in proceedings to enforce an arbitral award against Romania before the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court ([[2020] UKSC 5).
  • Advising a claimant in an investor-state arbitration in relation to issues of predatory pricing and exclusionary rebates.

Commercial & Financial Disputes

Aqeel is acting for the Defendants in a claim relating to USD/ZAR foreign exchange swaps ([2022] EWHC 2616 (Comm); [2022] EWHC 3251 (Comm)).

Prior to joining Hausfeld, Aqeel represented Sandoz in an intellectual property case related to the successful defence of an action for passing-off in relation to inhalers, brought by GSK ([2019] EWHC 2545 (Ch)).

What I think

When competition sanctions get personal – director disqualification as an enforcement tool

  • Antitrust / Competition
  • United Kingdom
  • Jan 20 2022