Deirdre Taylor is an English law partner in the London office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a member of the antitrust and competition practice.

Deirdre’s practice encompasses the full range of antitrust issues, including cartel investigations, merger control, and abuse of dominance. Deirdre has provided antitrust advice to clients across a number of industries, including: telecommunications, aviation, financial services, oil and gas, engineering, retail, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing. Since joining Gibson Dunn, she has counselled clients such as UBS, Asda, Gala Coral, Energizer, Marriott Hotels, William Hill, Debenhams and a number of leading technology companies.

Deirdre’s recent experience in relation to cartel investigations includes defending a multi-national corporation in connection with worldwide antitrust and regulatory investigations in the financial sector and advising a client in the consumer goods sector in relation to a national, and potentially EU-wide, cartel investigation. Recent merger experience includes obtaining UK clearance in the engineering sector, UK clearance for a high-profile retail merger, and EC clearance for a merger in the electronics distribution sector.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Deirdre spent 5 years at the UK competition authority, most recently as Assistant Director of the Cartels and Criminal Enforcement Group. In this role, she was the project director responsible for a number of civil cartel investigations in the aviation, basic manufacturing and agricultural sectors. Deirdre was responsible for the authority’s investigation into collusion between British Airways and Virgin in relation to air passenger fuel surcharges on long-haul flights. She was also heavily involved in policy developments relating to the UK’s criminal cartel regime. Deirdre also previously practiced with WilmerHale on a wide-ranging competition law, telecommunications and aviation. She also served in the European Commission as Stagiaire with the Information Technology and Consumer Electronics Unit of DG Competition.

Deirdre is ranked for Competition Law in Chambers UK  2024, Chambers Global  2022 and Chambers Europe  2022, clients describe her as “very smart, on top of her subject and exceptionally user-friendly” and “unbelievably clever, always on top of the detail, and has very good judgement”. In the previous edition, she is described as having “an eye on all the detail and…the perfect partner”. She is also recognised for EU and Competition Law as well as Competition Litigation in The Legal 500 UK  2024.

Deirdre is a member of the IBA Cartels Working Group. She is assistant editor of “Faull & Nikpay: The EC Law of Competition,” one of the leading practitioner texts in the antitrust and competition law field. She was also part of the team who won the ‘Innovation in legal expertise: enabling business growth’ category at the 2017 FT European Innovative Lawyer Awards.

Recent publications

• GCR Know-How – Immunity, Sanctions & Settlements 2016 – European Union Ali Nikpay, Deirdre Taylor and Attila Borsos
• The EU Damages Directive: Of Promontories and Whirlpools Patrick Doris and Deirdre Taylor, Cartel & Joint Conduct Review Spring 2015
• The New UK Competition Regime: Radically Different or More of the Same? Ali Nikpay and Deirdre Taylor, Journal of European Competition Law & Practice 2014 5 (5): 278-286

Representative Experience

• Civil cartel investigations, from initial leniency applications and ‘dawn raids’, through the investigative stages to final decision, including settlement. In particular, responsibility for the investigation into collusion between BA and VAA in relation to air passenger fuel surcharges and settlement with BA. Representation of a multi-national corporation in connection with worldwide antitrust and regulatory investigations in the financial sector.
• Wide-ranging conduct-related practice, covering Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and CA98, in sectors such as fast moving consumer goods, hospitality, utilities, aviation and telecommunications/media.
• Wide-ranging merger practice, including before the European Commission, UK CMA and national authorities worldwide, first and second phase merger proceedings. High profile merger deals worked on include Ladbrokes/Coral, Asda/Sainsbury’s, Alcatel/Lucent* and Tetra Laval/Sidel*.

*Includes experience gained prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.