Chris Bryant is a partner in the Antitrust & Competition and International Trade teams, based in the London and Brussels offices.  His area of practice covers UK & EU competition law, state aid, public procurement, EU regulatory law, WTO and international trade law, economic sanctions, export controls and trade remedies.  Chris heads the firm’s Brexit taskforce. 

Chris has advised in some of the European Commission’s largest competition and trade investigations, including the cartel investigation relating to automotive parts and the anti-dumping / anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese solar panel imports. 

Chris frequently advises public and private sector bodies on the state aid and public procurement rules. Chris has an extremely busy public procurement and subsidy control practice, advising on all aspects of the procurement process for some of the largest “big ticket” matters in the market. He has acted on a number of high-profile procurements for clients such as a bidder the Fourth National Lottery Licence (the largest UK public procurement in 25 years); Homes England’s redevelopment of York Town Centre; HS2; and the London Stadium.  He advises both private sector organisations, including KBR, AEW Europe and Mace, as well as public sector bodies, including Homes England and the Greater London Authority.  He has represented clients in some of the biggest procurement challenges to come before the courts in recent years, including Northern & Shell’s challenge to the National Lottery Licence award. He has been involved in some of the UK’s most complex and high-profile projects, including many of the Olympics infrastructure projects.  He advises businesses on compliance with EU/UK regulatory regimes and single market rules, with significant experience in relation to cosmetics, medical devices, pressure equipment, toys, electrical equipment and chemicals.  

Chris has extensive litigation experience.  He has represented companies in several appeals before the EU General Court and in a number of significant cartel damages actions.  Chris has also advised in some of the UK’s leading public procurement and state aid High Court cases. 

Chris also advises clients frequently on the application of UK/EU sanctions and on the UK export control regime. He has represented several clients in obtaining the necessary licences. 

In his role as head of the firm’s Brexit taskforce, Chris has advised clients across almost every sector of the economy on Brexit, including retail, financial services, energy, chemicals, automotive and healthcare. He has advised extensively on WTO and other international trade issues, including GATT/GATS rules, free trade agreements and trade remedies investigations.