Max is a lawyer in ABL's Competition practice. He discusses the variety of competition law, the value of working across practice areas and why understanding a client’s business is central to his work.
What does competition law involve, and how does the variety of the work impact your priorities day to day?
Competition law is about how businesses compete with one another. That might involve advising on a merger, working through a commercial agreement, or helping a client respond to an ACCC investigation. Our work also extends to broader regulatory investigations and litigation, as well as compliance advice.
That mix means the day can change quickly. I might start out working through a transaction or an agreement, then need to turn to an urgent issue in an investigation. Those matters can have significant consequences for a client’s business and reputation, so they can quickly become the priority. At other times, we’re helping clients identify risks early and make decisions about what they want to do next.
Collaboration between different practice areas seems to be a recurring theme in your work, particularly with the litigation team. How does that play out within the firm?
Competition matters often intersect with other practice areas, including M&A and Litigation. The overlap means we frequently work with other teams to provide comprehensive advice to clients. For junior lawyers, it’s a great opportunity to learn not just about competition law but also how other areas of law interact with it.
It’s one of the benefits of ABL’s structure that we work in small, agile teams, which is how this kind of collaboration works so well. Whether it’s preparing a submission to the ACCC or advising on a merger, we’re often engaging with partners and lawyers across multiple departments. This interdisciplinary approach ensures that our clients receive the best possible advice, but it also gives more junior lawyers exposure to different strategic approaches and working styles early on.
"You have to think about how a regulator might put its case, how best to respond and what each step could mean for the client’s reputation"
What's the most rewarding part of being a competition lawyer?
There’s no such thing as a stock standard matter. You get to dive into how a business really works, why decisions were made and what matters to the people running it.
I particularly enjoy the strategic side of regulatory disputes. You have to think about how a regulator might put its case, how best to respond and what each step could mean for the client’s reputation. Helping a client navigate that and reach a good outcome is hugely rewarding. Many of our clients are founders who have built their businesses from scratch, and you can see how much those businesses mean to them.
What skills would you say are most important for someone working in competition law?
I think it helps to be curious and to listen closely. Competition issues are often very fact-specific, so a lot turns on understanding how a business and its market actually work.
Clear writing and speaking matter too. Much of the job involves explaining complicated issues to clients or putting a case persuasively to a regulator or court. Strong drafting skills make a real difference.
It also helps to think strategically and be commercially minded. That means putting yourself in a client’s shoes to understand what they really want, which often isn’t as straightforward as you’d imagine, and thinking ahead about how a regulator might respond.
View the current opportunities in our Competition practice.
