Patrick Hubert
Partner, Orrick
Patrick Hubert, a Paris-based partner in the Antitrust & Competition group, brings decades of legal experience and innovation in both private practice and government, with experience ranging from acting as chief of staff to the French Minister of Justice, to being general counsel and chief investigator with the French competition authority, and from acting as a judge with the Conseil d’Etat (French Supreme Administrative Court) to even publishing a paper as a cell biologist (when very young).
This breadth of experience has allowed him to become a leading authority in the field of antitrust, but his background helps him borrow ideas from anywhere – finding imaginative solutions for the legal and business challenges his clients face.
Patrick has long been a trailblazer in his field. For example, years before private compliance programs became commonplace, Patrick persuaded his clients to dedicate resources to compliance policies, thus being one of the first to encourage proactive rather than strictly reactive actions. In France, he was one of the first to launch antitrust recovery claims and to work on a private standalone claim, without any precedent from the regulator. Acting on the plaintiff side, he obtained what was at that time the highest fine ever imposed on a dominant company (350 M€).
He is currently handling private claims totaling more than 5 billion euro, advising global tech companies and other multinationals in French and EU competition matters, including merger control filings, cartel and abuse of dominance investigations, state aid and compliance work, as well as private damages actions before the French courts. In addition, he serves as vice chairman of the competition commission of the International Chamber of Commerce and chairs its merger control working party.