Richard Westmoreland
Richard is a specialist competition and consumer protection lawyer providing strategic advice and guidance to clients across a range of industries. Richard is ranked as a leading competition lawyer by Chambers Asia Pacific, is recommended by Doyle’s Guide, and is named in Best Lawyers™ Australia for Competition Law and Regulatory Practice.
Richard has perhaps more experience than any other lawyer in Australia in responding to and defending criminal cartel matters, including acting for the accused in the first contested criminal cartel trial of the modern era in Australia. More generally, Richard is experienced in responding to investigations by the ACCC or other regulators, obtaining merger clearances, reviewing advertising and sales collateral, structuring arrangements such as joint ventures and supply and distribution arrangements, and designing and implementing compliance programs.
Experience
Richard’s experience includes:
- Criminal cartel investigations and proceedings, including acting for:
- NYK Line, Japan’s largest shipping line, in Australia’s first criminal cartel proceedings of the modern era;
- Country Care Group Pty Ltd and its Managing Director, Rob Hogan in the first contested criminal cartel trial of the modern era in Australia.
HWL Ebsworth’s clients were acquitted on all charges. The AFR described the defeat as one of ‘the three worst in ACCC history’; - Christopher Joyce in relation to charges of participating in a cartel to fix international prices of a pharmaceutical ingredient; and
- JP Morgan, in relation to matters giving rise to the bank cartel proceedings instituted by the CDPP in 2018 and ultimately withdrawn in February 2022.
- Civil cartel investigations and proceedings: Acting for clients in cartel investigations and immunity applications, including acting for Thai Airways in relation to the air freight cartel investigations and proceedings, an individual respondents in ACCC v Renegade Gas, and various immunity applications and investigations for clients that remain confidential;
- Merger clearances: Obtaining ACCC merger clearances for numerous clients, including in relation to the acquisition of digital bank 86 400 by NAB, the acquisition of Helloworld corporate travel business by CTM, acquisition Oxford Cold Storage by Emergent Cold and various acquisitions for a large automotive dealer group and many other transactions;
- Leading organisations: Providing day to day competition and consumer law advice for a range of organisations including Coles, Commonwealth Bank, Bunnings, Sony Australia and BOC;
- Authorisations: Obtaining ACCC authorisations, including obtaining authorisations for Qantas’ previous joint venture arrangements with British Airways and for Star Alliance’s joint corporate sales activities in Australia;
- Compliance system design and training: Acting for a wide range of organisations in the provision of compliance training and advice.