Portrait of Joseph Bell

Joseph Bell : Partner
He/Him

Joseph leads Oxera’s Follow-on Damages practice in the UK, with a focus on collective actions and cartel damages. He has twelve years of experience leading economic analysis in a ligation setting across multiple areas of competition and consumer law including market definition, the assessment of market power and quantification of loss. He has a particular specialism in matters that require the application of empirical analysis, such as econometrics, to assess underlying issues or harms. Able to work across jurisdictions, Joseph has experience providing oral testimony to competition authorities and national courts in the UK and EU. He is recommended in the Lexology Index of leading competition practitioners.

One of Joseph’s noted skills is making complex economics concepts practical, relevant and clear. He regularly contributes to Oxera’s EU-sponsored courses on the quantification of competition damages for member state judges. A qualified accountant as well as an economist, Joseph has prior experience in the finance team of BT group and conducting an economic research project at the Bank of England.

Tel: +44 (0) 1865 253056

Joseph's specialisms include:

Selected
professional experience

  • Economic expert appointed by Claire Spottiswoode in relation to alleged abuse of dominance conducted by Motorola for emergency radio services (2024–)

  • Economic expert appointed by Waterside Class Limited in relation to alleged cartel activity in the supply of farmed salmon in Europe (2024–)

  • Economic advice to a water company in the UK in relation to collective proceedings based on a Chapter II alleged abuse of dominance (2024–)

  • Economic expert appointed by DAF in relation to appeals proceedings for damages sought in Norway following the trucks infringement (2024)

  • Economic advice to RAAP, the Irish performers collecting society, in relation to an Article 102 dispute (2023–)

  • Litigation support to Mastercard in relation to pass-on under the umbrella merchant proceedings (2023–)

Selected
publications

  • Bell, J. and Shah, K. (2016), ‘New Economic Questions in opt-out collective actions’, Competition Law Journal, 15:163

  • Noble, R., Bell, J. and Shah, K. (2017), ‘Class actions: the mobility scooters case’, Competition Law Journal, 16:3, pp. 221–230

  • Bell, J. and Shah, K. (2020), ‘Aggregate damages: why the whole might not be the sum of the parts’, Competition Law Journal, 19:2

  • Bell, J. (2022), ‘The Damages Directive in the United Kingdom – an Economist’s View’, in A. Biondi, G. Muscolo and R. Nazzini (eds), After the Damages Directive: Policy and Practice in the EU Member States and the United Kingdom, vol. 89, Kluwer Law International BV

  • Oxera’s written evidence to the Brexit Competition Law Working Group and House of Lords concerning the impact of Brexit on private enforcement in the UK

Qualifications

  • MPhil Economic Research, University of Cambridge, UK

  • Graduate Diploma in Economics, University of Cambridge, UK

  • Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

  • MSci Natural Sciences (Physics), University of Durham, UK

Latest Insights:  Joseph Bell

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Exploring the role of economics in competition and policymaking

Oxera’s team in Spain are hosting an engaging evening of discussion on the role of economics in competition and policymaking, featuring insights from leading voices in academia and industry. The roundtable will cover critical perspectives from competition, energy, industry, and finance. 19.00: Opening remarksCarlos Pascual (Oxera) 19.05–19.20: Keynote speechCani Fernández. Read More

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Using economics in competition cases

How can economics tools support me in competition cases? For more than 20 years, our training course has helped participants gain the confidence to judge and rely on economic arguments and evidence put forward in a case. Previous attendees have included practitioners, in-house lawyers faced with an inquiry, and senior… Read More

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