Brian Sher

Partner - Head of Antitrust, Competition and Trade at CMS

Speaker

Brian leads the Antitrust, Competition and Trade Team. He is an experienced and trusted competition law adviser, having practised exclusively in the field of EU, UK and international competition law and merger control for 30 years.

Brian’s leadership and expertise were acknowledged most recently by receiving the commended award in the Competition & Regulatory category at The Lawyer Awards 2022; winning “Competition Team of the Year” at the Legal Business Awards 2020; and being shortlisted at The Lawyer Awards 2024 for one of his matters. Ranked as leading individual for competition law in Chambers and Partners UK since 2005. Named one of the Top 10 Prominent UK Competition Lawyers Dominating 2023 (Business Today Lawyer Awards), ranked as a leading individual in Legal 500 and a Global Leader in Who’s Who Legal. He has dual UK / European citizenship and is dual qualified - Solicitor, England and Wales, and Advocaat, Dutch Brussels bar (A list).

Testimonials include:

• “Brian Sher is the top pharma and competition litigator in London bar none.” – Legal 500 UK: London, Dispute Resolution, Competition Litigation 2025
• “Every word he says is measured and impactful.” – Chambers and Partners UK: London Competition Law 2025
• “Brian Sher has a great breadth of experience and a calm, persuasive manner that plays well with regulators.” – Chambers and Partners UK: London, Competition Law 2025
• “Standout performer, with enormous experience and great judgement.” – Legal 500 UK: London, EU and Competition 2025
• “Brilliant competition lawyer...immensely experienced.” – Chambers and Partners UK: London Competition Law 2023
• “Indefatigable in serving his clients.” – Legal 500 UK: London, Dispute Resolution, Competition Litigation 2022
• “Quite exceptional. He is an extremely good lawyer: clever, thoughtful, and he has good business and economic judgement.” – Chambers and Partners UK: London, Competition Law 2022
• “Brian Sher is outstanding. He has a work ethic which is second-to-none, clients appreciate his unhesitating devotion to their cause.” – Legal 500 UK: London, Dispute Resolution, Competition Litigation 2023

Brian has a strong focus on life sciences and healthcare. He has acted for principal parties in many of the leading UK and EU pharmaceutical sector cases in recent years including for:

• Alliance pharmaceuticals, a leading international healthcare business, on its ground-breaking successful Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) appeal following the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) Prochlorperazine competition infringement decision. In a unanimous judgment in May 2024 the CAT upheld Alliance’s appeal, finding there was no agreement to exclude competition from the market. The CAT agreed with all of CMS’ arguments and singled out Alliance’s witnesses for praise. Director disqualification proceedings brought against two former Alliance CEOs also collapsed. The case will impact how the CMA carries out its enforcement activity; and
• GlaxoSmithKline, the originator, in paroxetine (first and only ever reference from the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) to the CJEU which set the standard for competition law treatment of patent settlements in Europe).

Brian counsels several global pharma companies on their pricing, distribution and technology licensing arrangements, their competitor collaborations, patent settlements, joint ventures and mergers.

Brian has deep experience of investigations and inquiries, competition litigation and appeals, and is widely known for his abuse of dominance expertise. He has substantial UK and EU merger control experience, having obtained numerous clearances in Phase 1 and 2 proceedings, both unconditionally and with remedies. He also advises in related areas including foreign direct investment (both the UK National Security & Investment Act and international coordination).

Brian is co-chair of the Joint Working Party of Bars and Law Societies of the UK on Competition Law and a member of the steering committee of the CMS Global Antitrust, Competition and Trade practice. Brian initiated and chairs Informa’s leading annual one day EU pharma and competition law conference, now in its 12th year. He gained two years‘ management consultancy experience and training prior to becoming a lawyer.