Reed Smith hires London antitrust partner Paul Johnson from Morgan Lewis to strengthen its UK and EU competition practice, as European antitrust enforcement activity intensifies

Reed Smith has added antitrust partner Paul Johnson to its London office, where he joins from Morgan Lewis and Bockius. Johnson spent approximately 18 months at Morgan Lewis after joining from Baker McKenzie, where he worked in both London and Brussels and was promoted to partner in 2015. Before Baker McKenzie, he spent a decade at Berwin Leighton Paisner, working alongside established competition lawyers including David Harrison, Dave Anderson, and Adrian Magnus, and briefly worked at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Johnson brings roughly two decades of experience advising clients on UK and EU competition law. His practice covers merger control, foreign investment reviews, joint ventures, cartel investigations, abuse of dominance matters, distribution agreements, and other competition-related commercial issues. He has represented clients in industries including energy, heavy industry, financial services, life sciences, and technology, with proceedings before the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), as well as competition matters spanning more than 100 jurisdictions. Johnson is qualified to practice in England and Wales and is also a member of the Brussels Bar, allowing him to advise on EU competition matters despite the UK's departure from the EU. At Reed Smith, he is expected to work closely with Marjorie Holmes, who leads the firm's London competition team. Reed Smith's global regulatory chair Mike Lowell said Johnson's arrival strengthens the firm's European competition practice and enhances its ability to serve clients across regulatory matters. The hire comes alongside Reed Smith's announcement of one of its largest partner promotion classes this year, though none of the four newly promoted London partners specialised in antitrust.