Willkie partner Boris Bronfentrinker on his path into law, life as a litigator, and why he urges young lawyers to be sponges
Legal Cheek Careers spoke with Boris Bronfentrinker ahead of next week’s virtual event, ‘Market trends for 2026 — with Willkie’, to discuss his career, competition litigation and the forces reshaping the market.
Born in Odessa, Ukraine, but educated in Sydney, Australia, Bronfentrinker studied a double degree in Law and Economics. Law appealed to him partly because of television. “I used to watch L.A. Law on TV and thought that was a great way to make a life,” he recalls smiling. It also suited his love of a debate, and he admits he is “generally pretty good at it”. After university, he clerked for Federal and High Court judges in Australia, even working on a competition case at the High Court of Australia. He then joined legacy Freehills in Sydney. Although he had planned to become a barrister in Australia, circumstances changed when he moved to Freshfields in London for what was meant to be a 2-3 year stint. He never returned to Australia and so never made the move to the bar. Rather after working at several firms, he is now is a partner and head of Willkie’s Antitrust & Competition Litigation practice in London.
Bronfentrinker’s specialist field is a booming area, with regulators probing sector after sector, from energy and automotive to pharmaceuticals and now tech. As he puts it, it’s “quite a buzz area at the moment,” and in today’s climate of geopolitical uncertainty many lawyers expect competition cases to become even more important.
Because the field is unfamiliar to many aspiring lawyers, Bronfentrinker took a moment to break it down. One major focus is cartels — secret price-fixing or market-sharing agreements between companies that have as their objective to damage their customers and end consumers. Another is abuse of dominance by powerful players. If a company controls a large share of the market, it must not use that power to crush rivals, for instance through predatory pricing or unfair product tying. He points out that Google and Apple have been subjected to various billion Euro fines for abusing their market position in respect of things like the App Store and Google search. Competition litigators also represent companies appealing regulators’ decisions to block mergers, often fighting to overturn decisions that could reshape entire industries.
This work matters because it protects consumers and the wider economy. If companies are allowed to collude or monopolise markets, prices rise and innovation stalls, leaving consumers with fewer choices and little incentive for companies to improve their products. “If you can protect the process of competition, that’s how you produce better outcomes for consumers,” Bronfentrinker explains. Those benefits might come in the form of lower prices or better goods and services, but the principle is the same — competition law helps keep markets fair, dynamic and innovative.
In the UK, recent legal changes have supercharged the field. Tougher scrutiny by regulators and the arrival of an opt-out class action regime mean there is now more work than ever for litigators willing to take on complex, high-stakes cases. Bronfentrinker was involved from the very beginning. His team led the first major class action, a multi-billion-pound consumer claim against Mastercard that finally settled in December 2024 after nearly a decade of intense litigation. Since the regime’s introduction in 2016, dozens of large lawsuits have been filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, many of them “standalone” claims not based on prior regulatory findings. That shift is significant, says Bronfentrinker, as it shows how much scope there is for lawyers to develop creative legal theories and test them in court. With litigation funders bankrolling these cases, the class action boom has created opportunities rarely seen in London before, and for ambitious young lawyers it is an exciting time to enter the field.
Asked about the biggest challenges facing clients, Bronfentrinker points to geopolitical uncertainty. Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, combined with trade tensions and sanctions, have made businesses and investors cautious, slowing dealmaking. Yet in his world of disputes, work often increases when the economy cools. As markets falter and balance sheets weaken, companies begin scrutinising deals that have gone wrong, or look to market circumstances that may be seeing prices rising, all of this may lead to litigation. In tough times, he notes, litigation can even be seen as a financial asset by corporates that they need to collect on. It offers a way to recover value when growth has stalled, which makes it a powerful tool for companies operating in difficult financial times.
Even so, not every dispute is a ruthless battle. Commercial litigation ultimately needs to be pragmatic and focused on workable outcomes rather than spectacle. Bronfentrinker recalls representing car manufacturers in claims against their parts suppliers after numerous price-fixing cartels were uncovered in the automotive sector. Those same suppliers were still delivering vital components daily, and an acrimonious legal fight could have halted production lines across multiple factories, Bronfentrinker explains. The strategy therefore had to be commercially sensitive as well as legally sound. His team helped clients ring-fence the historic claims from the ongoing supply relationship, allowing business to continue while the legal issues were resolved in the background. Many cases settled out of court. It was a reminder that the best outcome is often a sensible settlement that preserves key relationships, rather than a dramatic court victory that destroys them.
Turning to his own career, Bronfentrinker says he chose Willkie for its international reach and culture. “These days in the UK, you need an international presence, particularly a significant US presence,” he explains, noting that clients expect one firm to handle issues across borders. Willkie’s footprint in London, the US, Germany and Belgium (the “big four” competition hubs, as he describes them) is a major draw. Equally important was cultural fit. He advises candidates to research firms carefully and choose one where they will be happy working, as that work will often involve long hours. Prestige alone is not enough, he stresses. “Getting into the right place is more important” than simply securing any training contract. Not every firm suits every personality, and finding the right fit can make all the difference in achieving success and happiness in a demanding career.
For those starting out, he believes attitude matters more than raw ability. “No one expects a junior to have all the answers or produce a polished piece of work immediately,” he says. What partners value is enthusiasm, curiosity and a strong work ethic. Law is learned through real-world experience, especially litigation, which is as much about strategy and tactics as black-letter rules. He encourages young lawyers to be sponges: observe experienced practitioners, watch how they handle cases and clients, and do not be afraid to contribute ideas or ask for feedback. Mistakes will happen, he adds, but what matters is learning from them and building resilience along the way. Over time, this process develops the judgment and instincts that define great litigators. His ultimate advice is to stay curious, stay open-minded, and find a firm culture where you can thrive. Do that, and you will be well on your way to a fulfilling legal career.
Boris Bronfentrinker will be speaking at ‘Market trends for 2026 — with Willkie’, a virtual student event taking place on Tuesday 30 September, from 2pm to 4pm. APPLY NOW.
