Russell McVeagh's Competition & Antitrust practice has again been recognised as a market leader in New Zealand by leading independent legal guides.
The team has been ranked "Elite" in Global Competition Review's GCR 100, "Band 1" in Chambers & Partners Asia-Pacific Guide and "Tier 1" in Legal 500 Asia-Pacific Guide. This global recognition reflects the team’s sustained excellence and deep capability across complex competition matters.
Led by partners Bradley Aburn, Petra Carey and Troy Pilkington, the team is known for its work assisting clients in disputes with the Commerce Commission and for advising multinationals on cross‑jurisdictional engagement with regulators.
The practice has extensive experience across market studies, litigation, investigations, commercial advisory, merger filings and law reform. Clients consistently highlight their seamless, forward‑thinking and strategic advice, along with its strong understanding of competition issues across technology, financial services, transport, retail and health, as well as emerging and disruptive business models.
Client feedback in the latest legal guides included:
"Russell McVeagh consistently provides advice of the highest quality through a commercial, strategic and technically robust lens." Chambers and Partners 2026
"Russell McVeagh has extensive knowledge and experience of how to strategically approach competition law issues." Chambers and Partners Asia Pacific Guide 2026
"Breadth of top clients means they can provide those clients with insights derived from dealing with the latest competition law issues to come before regulators and the Courts. Russell McVeagh provide excellent client service built on this position in the market." Legal 500 2026
In addition to receiving top rankings as a team, the partners are individually recognised across major legal guides and have been acknowledged through several recent awards, including:
Bradley Aburn
Recognised Up and Coming in Competition and Antitrust by Chambers and Partners, named a Next Generation Partner in Competition by Legal 500 and highlighted in Competition and Consumer by Best Lawyers.
Troy Pilkington
In 2025, he was the Exclusive New Zealand Winner for Competition Law in the Lexology Client Choice Awards for the sixth year in a row. He is ranked Band 1 for Competition and Antitrust by Chambers and Partners, acknowledged as a Leading Partner in Competition by Legal 500 and highlighted in Competition and Consumer, Litigation, and Mergers & Acquisitions by Best Lawyers. Beyond competition law, he has been ranked in the top 10 lawyers in New Zealand in the LawFuel Power List 2025.
Petra Carey
Named a future leading lawyer by Who's Who Legal, 'Lawyer of the Year' for Regulatory Law in the Best Lawyers 2025 New Zealand Guide and also recognised as Up and Coming for Competition and Antitrust by Chambers and Partners. She was the only New Zealand practitioner to be named on Global Competition Review (GCR)'s 40 Under 40 2024 list.
Read more about the team's expertise here.