Tom is a Partner in our Corporate Strategy & Finance (Competition, Trade & EU Regulatory) practice based in our Brussels office. He is a German qualified Rechtsanwalt and a Member of the German Bar, the German-British Jurists Association and the Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht eV. He specialises in all aspects of EU and German competition law, including merger control, horizontal cooperation agreements (such as specialisation, R&D, joint commercialisation and joint production agreements), vertical agreements (such as distribution, supply, franchise and license agreements), abuse of dominance, antitrust litigation as well as State aid.

He frequently advises companies in cartel investigations before the European Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office, including leniency and settlements, and advises companies on all aspects of private enforcement of competition law claims. Tom also has extensive experience in devising and implementing competition compliance and training programmes, including dawn raid trainings and the running of mock dawn raids, which he has successfully applied to a number of leading clients of the firm.

He is the co-author of the book, An Anatomy of the Merger Regulation, published by Kluwer Law International, member of the Editorial Board of World Competition, a Kluwer Law International publication, and the Editor responsible for Europe of the Australia Trade Practices Law Journal, a Thomson Reuters publication. Tom frequently publishes and speaks on topics of EU and German competition law.

Recent experience includes:

• Currently advising an international transport company in a cartel investigation conducted by the European Commission, as well as a number of other non-European competition authorities, concerning alleged price fixing practices.
• Successfully representing international chemicals manufacturer Lucite in proceedings before the District Court Hamburg concerning the alleged nullity under Article 81 ECT of an exclusive IP license agreement entered into with a competitor. The matter raised complex issues under the technology transfer block exemption regulation as well as in relation to the assessment of ancillary restrictions and the status of comfort letters.
• Successfully advising a German association in proceedings before the German Bundeskartellamt on the possibility of redrafting certain general terms and conditions on behalf of its members to be included in contracts with suppliers of the association's members. The advice included the potential application of German and European competition rules and suggesting ways of achieving this harmonisation in a fashion compliant with competition rules.
• Notification to the European Commission of the creation of a joint-venture between INEOS, the world's third largest chemicals company, Champagne Cereales and C.Thywissen GmbH to be set up in France for the manufacture of bio-diesel and related by-products.
• Notification to the German, Austrian and Norwegian competition authorities of the acquisition by Gilde Buy-Out Management Holding B.V., a private equity investor specialising in management buy-out investments, of the of Danish company Arovit Holding ApS, a producer of private label petfood.
• Drafting and filing of complaint with DG Competition on behalf of a number of European electronic manufacturers alleging breach of Articles 81 and 82 ECT by two major international electronic manufacturers and holders of the relevant intellectual property rights.
• Conducting pan-European competition compliance and training programmes for two major European corporates in the chemicals and energy sectors.

Publications:

• Newsletter Germany, June 2009.
• Pick, Beck, Commercial Agreements: Aspects of Competition Law Companies Need to Consider When Assessing their Validity, GCR http://www.globalcompetitionreview.com/reviews/19/sections/67/chapters/732/commercial-agreements/ (An extract from the 2010 European Antitrust Review - a www.GlobalCompetitionReview.com special report).
• German merger control - German FCO comes down on companies "jumping the gun" just before amendments to the merger filing thresholds pass Germany's State Council, EU, Competition & Trade - News, February 2009 .
• D Ryan, T Pick and W Sparks, Abuse of dominance - when is an 'excessive' price 'unfair'? Recent developments at EU and member state level, Competition & Antitrust Review 2009, Euromoney Yearbook.
• Joint author, The EU and German Leniency Guidelines - a comparative look, Australia Trade Practices Law Journal, September 2008.
• Joint author, At the Interface to Market Power - the perpetual case Microsoft before the European Court of First Instance, Börsen-Zeitung, 3 May 2006.
• Joint author, Ausgleich gemeinwirtschaftlicher Verpflichtungen im öffentlichen Personennahverkehr, following on the judgement of the European Court of Justice in Altmark Trans, Landes- und Kommunalverwaltung (LKV), Issue 2, 24 July 2003.
• Joint author, Wächter Europa - Privatisierungen und europäischer Wettbewerb. Entflechtung zwischen Staat und öffentlichen Unternehmen fördert Konkurrenz und dient dem Verbraucher", Börsen-Zeitung, No 59, 26 March 2003.
• Subcontracting agreements under EU competition law - Applicability of Article 81 of the EC Treaty, European Competition Law Review (ECLR), Volume 23, Issue 3, March 2002.
• Editor of quarterly report, Report from Europe, on European competition law, Australia Trade Practices Law Journal (TPLJ).
• Co-author of the book Anatomy of the Merger Regulation, Kluwer Law International, May 2000.
• The Follow-up to the Green Paper on the Community Patent and the Patent System in Europe, European Counsel, June 1999.
• The new German Insolvency Statute - A brief summary regarding the insolvency procedure of enterprises, International Business Lawyer (IBL), May 1999.
• New developments in German competition law - the 6th amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen - GWB), International Business Lawyer (IBL), September 1998.

Quotes:

• Clients say "they perfectly understand our business and are at all times focused on achieving our commercial goals" - Legal 500 2008, Belgium Section (Competition)

• The broad client base at Hammonds LLP spans sectors including chemicals, logistics, transport and food. ….. Recent highlights included appearing for Trubowest in the European Court of Justice, and acting for the Greek member of the global organisation GS1, which administers the barcode system of products worldwide. Clients would 'strongly recommend' the practice. Tom Pick is also recommended - Legal 500 (2010), Belgium Section (Competition)

Languages:

• English
• German
• French
• Dutch (some)

Career:

• Training contract (Rechtsreferendar), District Court of Düsseldorf 1995-1997
• Rechtsanwalt, Hammonds January 1998-2006
• Partner, Hammonds LLP 2007 to date

Education:

• Universität des Saarlandes, Saabrücken 1991-1992
• Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität, Bonn 1989-1994
• First State Exam in Law, 1994
• University of Edinburgh, Scotland 1994-1995
• Second State Exam in Law, 1997

"Partner" refers to a member of Hammonds LLP or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualification.