Heller Ehrman's Henneberry to Comment on EC's Private Damages Action Proposal Before European Parliament

Business Wire, Oct 2, 2006

International Competition Expert Ted Henneberry Invited to Appear at Oct. 3 Hearing in Brussels

WASHINGTON -- Heller Ehrman LLP announced that Edward (Ted) P. Henneberry, a shareholder in the firm's Antitrust & Trade Regulation Practice Group and Co-Chair of the European Practice Group, is scheduled to appear before the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament in Brussels on Oct. 3 to provide critical comment on the European Commission's Green Paper proposals for private damage actions in Europe. Henneberry is the only U.S. lawyer in private practice invited to speak at the hearing.

In December 2005, the European Commission (EC) published a Green Paper proposing options to facilitate the bringing of private actions by injured parties to recover damages caused by violations of EC Treaty competition rules and thus to strengthen enforcement of EC antitrust laws. The Paper, which is a major policy initiative of Commissioner Neelie Kroes, identified obstacles preventing the adoption of stronger remedies that would apply to parties breaching EC antitrust rules.

As a member of the Irish Competition Authority, Henneberry served on the Experts' Committee advising the EC in the drafting of the Green Paper. After leaving Ireland last February to join Heller Ehrman, Henneberry has continued to participate actively in the ongoing debate. He recently wrote an article on the subject entitled "Private Enforcement in EC Competition Law: The Passing On Defence and Standing for Indirect Representative Organisations and Other Groups." The article appeared earlier this year in ERA-Forum, a law journal published by the Academy of European Law.

While a member of the Irish Competition Authority, Henneberry acted as director of the Mergers and Cartel Enforcement Divisions and participated directly in major merger policy and cartel enforcement matters at the EC, including the drafting of the EC's Merger Guidelines. He has lectured extensively on European and Irish competition law at University College Dublin, National University of Ireland-Galway, and the University of Limerick, as well as in several professional seminars in Europe, Ireland, Korea and the U.S.

Henneberry focuses his practice on international competition matters, particularly on cross-border merger transactions and multi-jurisdictional cartel investigations. Henneberry is currently serving as a member of the International Task Force of the ABA's Antitrust Section.

About Heller Ehrman LLP

Heller Ehrman LLP has more than 700 attorneys and professionals in 12 offices worldwide - Anchorage; Beijing; Hong Kong; Los Angeles; Madison, WI; New York; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Silicon Valley; Singapore; and Washington, D.C. As a full-service law firm, we represent a wide range of industry leaders, from entrepreneurial, technology-driven enterprises to established, multinational conglomerates. At Heller Ehrman, we take a multidisciplinary approach to the practice of law, drawing upon our legal, scientific and industry knowledge from across the firm to build the best legal teams for our clients. Through commitment to our core values of Excellence, People, Teamwork, Innovation, Community and One Firm, we offer clients unparalleled legal service.