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Experience:
Frances Murphy is a behavioural and transactional attorney with considerable experience gained in the course of handling numerous high-profile cases across a range of markets with considerable success.
On the behavioural side, her practice focuses on defending leading cases concerning cartel activity, market sharing and patent settlement arrangements and conduct in abuse of a dominant position, including refusals to supply, discriminatory conduct, predatory pricing, tying, refusals to grant access, patenting practices, misuse of patenting procedures and the misuse of (including misrepresentations to) regulatory authorities to secure a market advantage.
As a transactional lawyer, Frances has considerable experience of mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, joint ventures, co-development, co-manufacturing and co-distribution arrangements and other strategic alliances, as well as with licensing and cross licensing of intellectual property rights. She has been responsible for a large number of highly complex and visible multi-jurisdictional merger filings.
Frances is ranked as a "Leading Individual" by Chambers UK. In Chambers UK 2008, Frances is described as having "a fountain of knowledge on competition law, incisive but calm in a crisis, and great at managing a team." Chambers UK 2007, quotes clients as saying that Frances delivers ". . . 'outstanding behavioural advice, and is highly attuned to both EU and UK policy matters.' She is best known for her work in the pharmaceutical industry . . ."
In 2006, The Legal 500 stated that "Frances Murphy gains considerable praise from clients who regard her as one of the elite practitioners in the City. Her 'technical understanding', 'business analysis' and 'pragmatic solutions' are highlighted, as well as her 'quiet lobbying' of the regulators." That same year, Chambers UK described Frances as ". . . a leading light in behavioural advice" and observed that competitors characterised her work as "superb."
In 2005 Chambers UK described Frances as "an outstanding personality, "clients eulogised her wealth of experience and business acumen". In 2004, it described her as "pragmatic and innovative" and as a "first rate team player."
The PLC Cross-Border Quarterly - Competition Super League, 2008 ranks Frances highly as a pre-eminent competition law practitioner.
Frances joined the London office of Mayer Brown International in 2000 to head the London Antitrust/Competition group.
Notable Engagements:
The Competition Commission's Store Card inquiry.
The EC Commission's Sector Investigation of the insurance market.
The EC Commission's Sector Investigation of Pharmaceutical Industry.
The EC Commission's investigation of cartel activity in the shipping sector.
The EC Commission's investigation of predatory pricing and bundling in the aviation sector.
The EC Commission's investigation of arrangements between collecting societies and record companies.
The EC Commission's investigation of the basis upon which certain record companies provide access to their digital recordings.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) Sector Investigation of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.
The OFT's Sector Investigation of the Distribution of Medicines in the UK.
The OFT's school fee-fixing investigation.
The OFT's investigation of alleged cartel activity by BT, C&W, Global Crossing and others in the telecoms sector.
The OFT's investigation of alleged cartel activity in the construction industry.
Defending The London Metal Exchange in relation to an investigation by the OFT into alleged anti-competitive practices including successfully defending the London Metal Exchange against the first ever interim measures direction imposed by the OFT, including successful appeals to the Competition Appeals Tribunal and costs awards against the OFT in respect of the same.
Representing AstraZeneca Plc in its appeal to the Court of First Instance against a Commission decision for abusive practices in relation to patent and regulatory rights respectively.
Successfully representing the world's premier non-ferrous metals market in connection with an investigation by the EC Commission for alleged collusive practices.
Representing AstraZeneca Plc in its $15.6bn acquisition of MedImmune Inc.
Representing Crompton Inc (now Chemtura Inc) in its $1.6bn acquisition of Great Lakes Inc.
Education:
University of London, Queen Mary College, Law. | 