Compass Lexecon to Acquire European Competition Practice from LECG

Compass Lexecon LLC is pleased to announce that its corporate parent, FTI Consulting Inc., has reached an agreement in principle to acquire LECG’s European competition practice and that Compass Lexecon has signed a long-term agreement with Dr. Jorge Padilla to lead that practice.

The combination of Compass Lexecon’s preeminent U.S. competition practice with Dr. Padilla and his competition economics team means that Compass Lexecon will now offer clients in the United States and the European Union harmonized, cutting-edge economic analyses of global competition matters.

Upon closing of the transaction with LECG, which is subject to the execution of definitive documents and customary closing conditions, Compass Lexecon’s European competition practice will have offices in London, Madrid, Paris, and Brussels. The European-based team will comprise more than 40 competition economists, including eight members of the Who’s Who of Competition Economists. In addition to having a preeminent position in Brussels, we will have leading competition experts in France with David Sevy; in Spain with Alejandro Requejo, Nadine Watson, and Elena Zoido; and in the United Kingdom with Justin Coombs, Lorenzo Coppi, and Neil Dryden. The team has extensive experience operating in other European jurisdictions, including the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland.

The team has advised on most of the highest-profile competition matters in Europe in recent years, including the Euronext/London Stock Exchange, the Kraft/Cadbury, and the Tom Tom/TeleAtlas mergers, as well as abuse of dominance cases involving Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Sanofi-Aventis and cartel matters involving bananas, flat glass, auto glass, and candle wax.

Earlier this year, the Global Competition Review concluded that Compass Lexecon “reigns supreme once more with the largest number of competition specialists by a wide margin.” The addition of the European team further expands Compass Lexecon’s position as the leading competition economics firm in the world.

Jonathan Orszag, a Senior Managing Director of Compass Lexecon, stated, “For many years, Janusz Ordover, the other leaders of Compass Lexecon, and I have been looking to grow into Europe – and we always knew that there would be no one better at leading that effort than Jorge. He and his team share our approach to economic consulting: grounded in intellectual excellence, experience, and effectiveness in legal and regulatory processes. We are so excited and gratified that they are joining Compass Lexecon. Our combination will allow Compass Lexecon, better than any other firm, to serve efficiently clients facing global competition issues and to ensure that the economic analyses are harmonized on both continents.”

Jorge Padilla, who will have the title of Senior Managing Director and Head of Compass Lexecon Europe, said, “Joining Compass Lexecon is like being asked to join the Hall of Fame of competition economists. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be partners with so many luminaries in the competition economics world. I have had the pleasure of working closely with many of them over the years and I cannot think of a better firm for me and my team to join than Compass Lexecon. I look forward to practicing in the integrated Compass Lexecon to continue to grow our work in Europe and around the world.”