Wessen Jazrawi

Wessen is a Partner in the Competition team in the Innovation department.

She specialises in large-scale competition damages litigation, on behalf of both corporate entities and consumers in opt-out claims, before the Competition Appeal Tribunal, High Court and the Court of Appeal. She also has significant experience litigating environmental claims.

She has been recognised as a key individual by Legal 500 in Competition Litigation who noted that she "balances a strategic overview of complex issues with a vigorous attention to detail" and by Chambers in Environment: Claimant as “intellectually rigorous”. 

Key Experience

Antitrust/competition

• Acting for Primark in claims for unlawful interchange fees against Mastercard and VISA as part of the Merchant Umbrella Proceedings.
• Acting for Christine Riefa Class Representative Ltd in a claim against Apple and Amazon in relation to their unlawful agreement to exclude resellers from the Amazon website. The claim is brought on behalf of millions of UK consumers who purchased Apple products.
• Acting for Elizabeth Coll in a claim against Google on behalf of millions of UK consumers relating to excessive and unlawful charges on purchases in the Google Play store.
• Acting for a group of multinational retailers in claims for unlawful interchange fees against Mastercard and VISA. These proceedings, which involved losses in multiple jurisdictions and related claims in the High Court and in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, included the first preliminary issue hearing on applicable law in competition litigation disputes, a hearing at the Court of Appeal on the “relation back” rule and preparation for a Supreme Court hearing.
• Acting for the Consumers ' Association (Which?) against Qualcomm on behalf of millions of UK consumers alleging abuse of dominance in the markets for smartphone chipsets and standard essential patents.
• Acting for a large group of multinational companies in a private damages action in relation to the global Marine Hose cartel.
• Acting for Enron Coal Services Limited against English Welsh & Scottish Railway Limited, which was the first follow-on action to have reached trial in the UK. This included two hearings before the Court of Appeal and a full trial in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
• Acting for Rapture TV plc in its appeal against a decision by Ofcom before the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Environmental & product liability

• Acting for a group of farmers from the Copper Belt region of Zambia in pollution claims against UK-based mining company Vedanta Resources Limited and its Zambian subsidiary.
• Contributing to the drafting of the Communication submitted on behalf of 16 youth petitioners to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, led by teenage activist Greta Thunberg.
• Acting for the former employees of a mercury thermometer factory in India owned by Unilever plc who had suffered mercury contamination, ultimately obtaining a settlement for them.

Human rights

• Acting for the CEO of a disability aviation charity, in relation to a disability discrimination claim against Carnival PLC t/a Cunard.
• Acting for the claimant, ex-police officer Andrea Brown, in a pivotal costs case on the clarification of the Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting Rules.
• Part of the legal team fighting to end #PeriodPoverty, working alongside Free Periods and the Red Box Project.

Public law

• Acting for the Good Law Project and EveryDoctor in a challenge to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 's decision to award a $83.3 million public supply contract for PPE to Saiger LLC.
• Acting for Daze Aghaji and Peter Garforth in a challenge to the Government 's carbon budgets.
• Acting for Avaaz in a judicial review of the Murdoch family 's bid for Sky and the question of whether Sky would remain fit and proper to hold a broadcasting license if owned by 21st Century Fox.

Career History

Partner, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Partner, Hausfeld
Associate, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Associate, Financial Services Authority
University of Essex, LLM in International Human Rights Law
Oxford Institute of Legal Practice, Legal Practice Course
University of Kent, LLB in Law