Competition Litigation Associate

Buchanan; Greater London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Buchanan in London is seeking a Competition Litigation Associate (2–4 PQE) to join a lean, partner-led platform handling high-value disputes with exposure to multi-billion cases and both claimants and defendants.

The role offers early responsibility and a clear path upward, with work on cartel damages, follow-on actions, and antitrust investigations alongside a well-regarded practice. London market experience preferred.

Qualifications

• Training at a top-tier litigation platform (Magic Circle/Silver Circle/Elite US).
• Background in competition litigation—cartel damages, follow-on actions, collective actions, antitrust work.
• Ability to operate independently within a lean team and take ownership of matters.
• Strong academic credentials and a solid technical litigation grounding.

Responsibilities

• Own matters independently within a lean, partner-led team.
• Handle high-stakes, high-value competition disputes and investigations.
• Work closely with partners and clients, providing early exposure and responsibility.
• Contribute to a growing competition litigation practice with broad contentious work.

Skills

Competition litigation

Independent work

Strong academics

Cartel damages experience

Job description

Competition Litigation Associate (2–4 PQE)

Location: London

Practice: Antitrust & Competition Litigation

Level: 1–4 PQE

The Opportunity

This is a live, quality-driven search into a lean and rapidly growing competition litigation platform, offering genuine partner exposure and early involvement in high-stakes, high-value disputes. The team was originally built through a lateral hire of a well-known partner-led group from a prominent UK litigation firm, bringing an established, market-leading competition litigation practice and a strong existing client base with it. Since that move, the team has continued to build out its capability and is now looking to add further associate strength to keep pace with growing workflow.

The practice is led by a genuinely well-regarded figure in the competition litigation world someone who acts regularly for both claimants and defendants (a relatively unusual position in this space, and one that gives real insight into how disputes play out from both sides of the table), and who has been involved in some of the largest and most closely watched competition cases to reach the English courts in recent years, including landmark, multi-billion-pound collective actions that have gone all the way to the Supreme Court. The wider partner group brings similarly deep experience across contentious EU and competition litigation, including regularly representing clients in investigations by the European Commission and UK regulators.

Structurally, this is a lean team by design: several partners, a senior associate, and a tight band of associates across PQE levels, with no traditional Counsel tier progression here runs through to Non-Equity and then Equity Partnership over time, which tends to appeal to associates who want a clearer, more direct path upward rather than an additional layer to work through first.

What They're Looking For

The team is looking for genuine competition litigators rather than generalists who've brushed up against the area. In practice, they're after:

• Training and retention at a Magic Circle, Silver Circle, Elite US, or comparable peer litigation platform
• A genuine, substantive competition litigation background cartel damages claims, follow-on litigation, collective actions, behavioural investigations, abuse of dominance disputes, and wider contentious antitrust work
• The ability to operate independently within a lean team structure, taking real ownership of matters rather than working in a purely supporting capacity
• Strong academics and a solid technical litigation grounding more broadly

Commercial litigators with meaningful competition litigation exposure will also be considered, even without a purely specialist background.

On the other hand, the team has been clear that merger-control-only profiles and advisory-only antitrust backgrounds are unlikely to be a good fit here this is a genuinely contentious, courtroom-facing practice. Candidates from litigation boutiques are generally viewed less favourably than those from larger peer firms, and claimant-focused boutiques in particular aren't seen as directly comparable to the target peer group. Given how the team was originally formed, very long-tenured candidates from the firm it was built out of may also be viewed as a less natural fit, simply because that alumni network is already well represented internally.

International candidates are welcome, particularly strong overseas-qualified candidates from Australia or New Zealand, though London market experience is strongly preferred, and a trained-and-retained UK background remains the ideal profile.

Why Join This Practice

Beyond the compensation, the appeal here is largely about trajectory and exposure: a genuinely growing team within an elite UK platform, a lean structure that puts associates in front of partners and clients early, and exposure to complex, high-value contentious competition work rather than a narrower or more advisory-focused practice.

Notably the practice comes without the rigid hours targets that often accompany it elsewhere, though it's worth being clear-eyed that the culture is genuinely demanding and fast-paced this suits candidates who want to build a specialist competition litigation profile and are comfortable with the pace that comes with it.

Interview Process

The process typically runs across two stages: initial meetings with the partner group, followed by further interviews with the wider partner team, along with informal conversations with associates or other team members where appropriate. Candidates are expected to come well-briefed on the practice and its reputation before interview. Points of Note:

• This is a highly selective, quality-over-volume search
• Driven by genuine team growth and increased workflow rather than backfilling a departure
• Lean structure means meaningful responsibility and visibility from an early stage