Philipp Girardet is a partner in the Global Antitrust Group and has deep experience in cross-border M&A transactions, including complex carve-outs and joint ventures, as well as complex cartel defence matters. He also has an active EU and UK competition compliance and antitrust litigation practice across a wide spectrum of industry sectors, including industrials, consumer goods, digital platforms/ e-commerce, financial services, telecoms, media, pharma and transport.
Prior to joining Clifford Chance, Philipp was the Chair of the European Antitrust & Competition practice of a major US law firm. Philipp was also previously the Deputy Director of the Cartel Investigations division at the UK Competition Authority (then the Office of Fair Trading) and the Co-Chair of the Leniency Working Group of the European Competition Network (ECN) from 2005 to 2007 which developed more aligned leniency procedures across the EU.
Philipp is a recognised thought leader and active contributor to industry dialogue. He moderated the keynote session with Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive Officer at the CMA, at the Chatham House Competition Policy 2025 Conference, following her speech that focused on the CMA’s Strategy for 2026 to 2029. Philipp also recently moderated the Tech Mergers panel at the Concurrences Tech Antitrust Conference in Palo Alto in 2025 and spoke on the innovation theories of harm in merger control at the GCRLIVE Global: Navigating the future of antitrust conference in Miami in January 2026.
Philipp was also recognised in ‘The Lawyer Hot 100’ list as “a market leader among a growing group of competition lawyers, highly regarded for his particular expertise in mergers and cartels.”
Philipp is highly ranked in the leading legal directories, with Chambers (2026) reporting that clients find he "combines first-rate legal skills with an equally excellent commercial understanding of business needs", that he "provides actionable, risk-based advice" and is a "very knowledgeable yet practical competition lawyer". Chambers (2025) reported that Philipp "has deep expertise", with clients noting he "is an excellent, well-spoken and pragmatic competition lawyer" with a "sharp and strategic mind" and is "very comfortable working on complex cases with multiple moving parts and stakeholders". Legal 500 (2024) noted that clients commented that he is "a pragmatic and innovative thinker".
- Tata Motors on its EUR 3.8bn announced bid for Iveco Group N.V.
- Eiffage/Smulders in its acquisition of HSM Offshore Energy
- CMA CGM Group and its subsidiary CEVA Logistics S.A. on CEVA's £567 million public bid for Wincanton plc, a UK contract logistics company*
- 3i on its $800 million sale of Weener Plastics, a global industrial packaging company with a presence in over 20 countries, to Silgan Holdings*
- CMA CGM, a leading transport services company, on the creation of a global 'metal neutral' air cargo joint venture with Air France, including the establishment of extensive information barriers*
- FTV Capital on its acquisition of Sysnet Global Solutions, a leading provider of cyber security and compliance solutions operating in over 60 countries worldwide*
- PAI Partners on its $3.3 billion acquisition of leading global juice brands (e.g. Tropicana and Naked) from PepsiCo*
- Franklin Templeton on its $4.5 billion acquisition of Legg Mason*
- FIS in its $42 billion agreement to merge with leading global payment solutions provider Worldpay, Inc.*
- Assurant, Inc. in its $2.5 billion acquisition of insurance firm The Warranty Group*
- Expedia Group on the sale of its global corporate travel business Egencia to a consortium led by American Express Global Travel Business (Amex GBT), involving a complex global carve-out*
- Virgin Media O2 on its successful defence of a stand-alone competition law damages claim brought by Phones4U (in administration) against a number of UK mobile network operators and their parent companies before the UK High Court*
- A number of clients in relation to complex cartel defence matters before the EU and UK competition authorities in a range of sectors, including industrials, TMT (e.g. media rights) and FMCG/consumer goods*
- A B2C intermediation platform in relation to the successful settlement of complex consumer law investigation by the UK competition authority and a number of EU Member State authorities
News and client work
Contact details
- Clifford Chance, London
- +442070064006
- Email me
- Practice area Antitrust, EU & trade, M&A corporate