Practice Expertise
- Dispute Resolution
- IP Law
- EU and Competition Law
Areas of Practice
- Dispute Resolution
- EU and Competition Law
- IP Law
WSG Practice Industries
WSG Leadership
- Antitrust Group - Member
Profile
Christian Karhula Lauridsen is a specialist in complex litigation and other contentious matters.
According to international ranking firms, Christian is considered by clients to be "top-notch for complicated issues" and a "strategic mastermind". Sources say that he is "extremely analytical and straightforward" and "particularly strong on complex investigations, where every stone needs to be turned". He "thinks outside the box", "has great business acumen", and "is brilliant, always convincing, and extremely impressive in the courtroom". (Chambers and Legal 500)
In his early career, Christian was involved in a broad range of litigation matters and investigations ranging from the Supreme Court case concerning the compatibility of the Danish membership of EU with the Danish constitution, the arbitration cases regarding the construction of the Great Belt Bridge (the third longest suspension bridge in the World), and the comprehensive investigation in the Faroese banking case involving examination of more than 70 politicians, public servants and businesspeople, to a number of important EU cases regarding parallel import and registration of pharmaceuticals.
According to Chambers, Christian is "one of the best competition practitioners in the market". He has extensive experience in complex competition law investigations and litigation matters, as evidenced most recently by his victory in the more than 15-year long excessive pricing case for Ørsted – the largest and most significant competition law complex of cases ever in Denmark. He succeeded in having the relevant decisions from the Danish Competition Council, the Danish Competition Appeals Tribunal and the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court overturned in their entirety; the first time this was achieved where it was not due to a preliminary ruling from the ECJ.
He also represented Danfoss in the largest ever cartel related damages case complex in Denmark and was the first to file negative declaratory actions ("torpedoes"), which had not previously been used in Denmark in competition related cases. He has also represented other Danish companies in some of the largest ever EU cartel cases involving Danish companies. Christian and his colleagues in Plesner are the only ones in Denmark having practical experience with both the European Commission's leniency programme and settlement procedure.
Christian has a combined Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Copenhagen and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven as well as a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in competition law, EU law and IP law from the University of Cambridge (Jesus College). He was seconded to work at the group secretariat of Carlsberg and has been an associated professor at Copenhagen Business School. Christian is the chairman of the Danish Competition Law Society.
- Ørsted - defended successfully Ørsted and Elsam in a number of complex court cases against the Danish competition authorities concerning the alleged excessive pricing on the electricity spot market in Denmark and in relation to the follow-on damages claims from more than 1.100 companies The case complex is the largest ever in Denmark.
- Danfoss - defended Danfoss in the Refrigeration Compressors case. It was the first cartel case with joint dawn raids by EU, US and Brazilian authorities and one of the first cartel cases to be settled under the European Commission's new settlement procedure. Coordinated the criminal/administrative investigations in multiple foreign jurisdictions. Represented Danfoss in the largest ever cartel related damages case complex in Denmark and coordinated the defense in follow-on damages actions in multiple jurisdiction.
- Diesel Motor Nordic - represents the company at the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court regarding an alleged prevention of parallel import. The Danish Competition Authority, Dutch and Swedish competition authorities conducted coordinated dawn raids, and the Danish agency has described the case as "one of the longest-running investigations".
- Victor Hasselblad - defended the Swedish camera producer Victor Hasselblad in a European Commission investigation regarding Hasselblad's alleged refusals to license essential IP rights and bundling of products – similar to the Microsoft case. After several years of investigation, the complaints were rejected by the European Commission.
- CRT cartel - represented an international home electronics manufacturer in a damages action related to the CRT cartel.
- The local banks case - defended seven Danish banks in the Local Banks case. All serious allegations by the Danish Competition Authority and the Danish Competition Council against the seven banks as to cartel activities, agreements on market partitioning and price coordination were dismissed by the Danish Competition Appeals Tribunal.
- Energy E2 - advised Energy E2 in relation to the Danish Competition Authority's investigation of Energy E2's pricing behavior. Energy E2 was acquitted of all allegations, and the General Director of the agency stated that it had been "one of the most extensive investigations we have had in modern time".
- Dansk Rørindustri - represented Dansk Rørindustri in the Pre-insulated Pipes case, one of the first EU cartel cases involving a Danish company. The case established a number of important principles of EU competition law.
- Ørsted - assisted the state-owned company with state aid advise in relation to the contribution by, inter alia, Goldman Sachs of capital in the company. The contribution was one of the largest ever in Europe.
- Innovation Fund Denmark - assisted the largest state-owned foundation in Denmark, Innovation Fund Denmark, in creating a pragmatic and state aid compliant IPR frame-work for the foundation's funds to private companies and universities for the development of new and important technologies.
- Semler (formerly Skandinavisk Motor) - represented successfully the importer of Audi in the European Court of Justice's Case C-125/05 Vulcan Silkeborg regarding the interpretation of the motor vehicle block exemption regulation.
Bar Admissions
Danish Competition Law Society
Pharmaceutical Trade Marks Group
Danish Association for the Protection of Industrial Rights
Danish Association for European Law
Danish Association for Corporate Law
Education
2012 Admitted to the Supreme Court
2002 LL.M., University of Cambridge
2000 Admitted to the Danish High Court
1997-2002 Associate Professor, competition law and IP law, Copenhagen Business School
1997 Admitted to the bar
1996-1997 Posted at the group secretariat of Carlsberg A/S
1994 Master of Laws, University of Copenhagen
1993-1994 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
1993 Duke University Summer Institute, Belgium
Areas of Practice
- Dispute Resolution
- EU and Competition Law
- IP Law
Professional Career
Professional Activities and Experience
Accolades
- Samlet Chambers Legal500 WhosWho
- 2021 2022 legal 500
- 2022 Chambers Europe
- 2021 Chambers Europe
- 2020 legal 500
- 2020 Chambers Europe
- 2019 Chambers Europe
- 2018 Chambers Europe
- 2018 legal 500
- 2017 Chambers Europe
- 2016 Chambers Europe
- 2015 LMG guides
- 2014 Chambers Europe
- 2013 Chambers Europe
- 2013 legal 500
- 2012 Chambers Europe
- 2011 ILO Client Choice
- 2011 Chambers Europe
- 2010 ILO Client Choice
- 2009 legal 500
- 2009 Chambers Europe
Articles
Competition Law in the EU, its Member States and Switzerland", Kluwer Law Inter-national, 2001 (co-author)
"Dansk Fusionskontrol" ("Merger control in Denmark"), the Danish Weekly law re-ports 2000 B.1 (co-author)
"Parallel Imports – Upjohn", Trademark World, No. 123, 1999/2000 (co-author)
"Statens erstatningsansvar for udstedelse af love, der strider mod EU-retten" ("The State's liability to pay damages for passing laws that conflict with European law"), the Danish weekly law reports 1996 B. 257 (co-author)
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