If I Had a Broadaxe…

By: Dr. Gerhard Klumpe (D’Kart)

Picture this: a lawyer, a competition economist, and a judge walk into a bar, and you know you’re in for an intriguing tale. Add in the twist that it’s set in front of a packed audience for an all-evening affair, featuring discussions on crystal balls, fortune-telling, a hint of voodoo, and even the use of a broadaxe, and it starts to sound more like an odd theatrical production or perhaps a C-movie straight out of Hollywood.

This is precisely the scene that unfolded at the meeting of the Rhineland regional group of Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht e. V., the renowned German competition law association, on the night of October 26, 2023. It turns out that these individuals had wisely chosen to skip the Juve Awards ceremony in Frankfurt – think of it as the legal world’s equivalent of the Oscars, in case you’re not on LinkedIn. As a result, a sizable audience gathered at the Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek offices in Düsseldorf to witness this unusual spectacle. With a lawyer primarily representing plaintiffs, an economist, and a judge in the mix, it promised to be nothing short of explosive…

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