Neil MacKenzie co-heads the South African Competition Law practice. He represents firms in litigated cartel and abuse of dominance (monopolisation) cases before the Competition Tribunal and the Competition Appeal Court, and advises complainants and respondents in Competition Commission investigations. He has been involved in high profile prohibited practice cases in the steel, liquid fuels, cement, freight forwarding, construction and banking industries.
Neil has guided firms through complex merger approval processes in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa, often working with instructing counsel in in Europe and the USA. He has worked on transactions in numerous markets from transport, mining, energy, pharmaceuticals, liquor and crop protection, to insurance, industrial chemicals, advertising, timber, steel, and infant milk formula.
He also provides competition law compliance training, as well as advice on competition law and regulatory issues, such as whether transactions require merger control approval, and the legality of business strategies that involve rebates, price discrimination, low pricing, high pricing, refusals to supply, exclusive dealing and distribution, and cooperation between competing firms.
Neil also has expertise advising clients in the healthcare and energy sectors on application of the sector regulations which govern those industries.
Clients state that Neil is "a fantastic technical lawyer", "an absolute pleasure to work within the merger control space", as well as "practically minded" and "very smart and responsive". He is considered by clients as "commercially astute and really in tune with his client's needs". Neil is acclaimed by clients as "an exceptional and brilliant lawyer", "extremely user-friendly and provides comprehensive, detailed advice" as well as having "the ability to explain complex matters to clients in an engaging fashion".
Chambers and Partners highlight’s Neil’s team for its "service delivery, accuracy of advice, attention to detail, responsiveness and fees" - “he has a diverse practice, with notable expertise representing clients during prohibited practices investigations and concerning merger control.”
Neil is also a sessional lecturer in competition law at the University of Johannesburg.
