Martin Smith

Recent Work

• securing unconditional merger clearance for Orkla in connection with its joint venture with Alcoa, creating the world’s largest aluminium extrusions company, and its subsequent acquisition of sole control of that company
• advising Anite plc on UK merger control considerations in connection with the disposal of its public sector business to Northgate Information Solutions
• advising a major Asian company on two substantial European Commission cartel investigations
• advising a professional services organisation on an investigation under the Competition Act 1998.

General Experience

Martin has extensive experience of advising on both UK and EU competition law, contentious and non-contentious, and has experience in a number of regulated sectors.

Background

Martin is a regular writer and speaker at conferences on competition law.  He is the author of "Competition Law: Enforcement and Procedure", published by Butterworths in 2000 and contributed for many years to two substantial divisions of "Butterworths Competition Law" (looseleaf publication), one dealing with procedure before the UK and EU regulatory authorities and the other dealing with procedure in national courts.

He is a member of the CBI Competition Panel and the City of London Law Society Competition Law Sub-committee. He has been consistently listed in a number of directories as a leading competition lawyer.  Chambers reports him as continuing to attract market-wide praise for his 'pre-eminence across the full spectrum of competition law issues' and as being 'very bright and very effective'. 

After studying at Cambridge University and the University of Pennsylvania, Martin qualified as a solicitor in 1981 and has been a partner since 1986.  He has been head of the firm's EU, Competition & Regulatory international practice group since 2003.  Chambers describes the group as being valued by clients for its 'inspiring standard of work'.