About the SCLF
The Scottish Competition Law Forum (SCLF) has been set up as a means of bringing together those with an interest in competition law and policy for topical discussion and debate. It is run in Scotland on a non profit-making basis and membership and attendance at events are free.
The Forum is run as an independent organisation and its meeting place moves between different venues in Edinburgh and Glasgow. It meets quarterly and invites members and external speakers to talk and present on various competition law topic. After the presentations there is opportunity for questions and debate. Attendees then have the chance to meet each other and exchange ideas over refreshments.
The aims of the Forum are:
- To encourage and contribute to debate about the development and application in Scotland of competition law and policy;
- To foster closer working links in the field of competition law between solicitors, advocates, academic lawyers, accountants, economists, regulators and any others that are interested in competition law in Scotland; and
- To promote wider understanding of competition law and its practical application across the Scottish legal profession and allied professions.
The initiative has been well received, with members from the academic, professional and regulatory sectors taking part. Scotland is a small jurisdiction on the European, and indeed, the global scene and we consider this to add to our strength as an organisation with an ability to draw top quality speakers, while at the same time offer an effective vehicle for competition law debate.
The Forum has been lucky in the support it has received and in being able to attract senior speakers to its events during its first year. The SCLF is showing encouraging signs of what is hoped to become a valuable channel for bringing competition law debate to Scotland.
While the forum focuses on competition law, it is not intended purely for lawyers and it is hoped that a broad participation will help to stimulate debate and to build up a network within Scotland and beyond for those who are interested in the area. It is further hoped that Scottish business people will also become members in order to add to the depth of debate at SCLF meetings.
Past meetings of the Forum have been as follows:
Inaugural event – 13 October 2005
This was a drinks reception hosted at the offices of Shepherd+ Wedderburn in Edinburgh, with speakers including:
- Kyla Brand, Scottish representative of the Office of Fair Trading
- Vincent Smith, Head of Enforcement at the Office of Fair Trading
- Brian McHenry, Director of the Legal Division of the Office of Fair Trading
- Sir David Edward, former judge at the European Court of Justice
- Mark Fuse, lecturer at Glasgow University
Winter meeting - 20 January 2006
The second meeting of the Forum was a breakfast seminar held at Strathclyde University in Glasgow. The speakers at this event were:
- John Fingleton, the new Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Fair Trading and former chair of the Irish Competition Authority
- Philip Collins, the new chairman of the OFT
- Professor Barry Rodger, lecturer at Strathclyde University
Spring meeting- 5 April 2006
The latest SCLF meeting took place in Glasgow at the office of Maclay, Murray and Spens. The topic was private enforcement and speakers were:
- Donncadh Woods, deputy head of antitrust policy at DG Competition
- Neil Dryden of NERA economic consultants, a London-based specialist in Competition damages
- Professor Barry Rodger of Strathclyde University
Summer meeting - 27 July 2006
The summer meeting of the SCLF was hosted by the Faculty of Advocates at the Mackenzie Building in Edinburgh. The topic was state aid and the speakers were:
- Robert Hankin, head of the Regional Aid Unit at the European Commission
- Sheena Brown, head of the State Aid Unit at the Scottish Executive
- Lindsay Gardiner, who worked on OFT consultation on subsidies
Winter meeting - 30 November 2006
The first anniversary of the Forum was celebrated on St. Andrew’s Day at Shepherd and Wedderburn in Edinburgh. Jo Armstrong, Independent Economist, Heike Gading from the Scottish Executive, Abbe Brown from Edinburgh University and Vincent Smith from the OFT all said a few words about the Forum. The speakers were:
- Sir Andrew Park, former High Court judge
- Ian Forrester, Q.C, currently acting for Microsoft in litigation against the European Commission
At the drinks reception in Shepherd and Wedderburn’s Edinburgh office, Sir Andrew spoke about his time as a judge in the Crehan case, a seminal competition law case in the UK. Following the reception, the event moved on to the Scottish Malt Whisky Society for dinner, where Ian Forrester spoke about his current work for Microsoft.
If you have any further questions about the SCLF, please contact Dawn Hendry.