European Community and National Law The lawyers in O’Connor and Company have specialised training in EC law in addition to their training in their own national law. The firm is therefore an EC law firm by training, an international firm by inclination and a multi-national firm with roots in traditional legal systems.  EC law is a speciality in its own right and, more and more, a speciality grafted into other legal disciplines. EC law is highly administrative and all our lawyers are expert in EC administrative law. We advise on and litigate the powers and competences of Community institutions. O’Connor and Company as a firm respects and supports the discretion which is given to the Community and the Community institutions. We are, however, vigilant to ensure that this legitimate and important discretion is not abused or used in ways which harm the interests of our clients.   The administrative law advice which we give is real time and designed to set the framework within which decisions can be made fairly and to exclude those options which would not be a legitimate exercise of power. Where the institution is operating squarely within its jurisdiction, we believe that the arguments which we put forward will sway the institution our way.   Where an institution has acted in ways which appear to be beyond the powers given to it or where the Community does not act or where a legitimate act causes disproportionate harm we can, and often do, litigate. The mechanisms for judicial review in EC law are not as developed as in Member States. It is sometimes better to start legal action in a Member State and then have it referred to the EC court. The firm advises on the best way to litigate to get the best long-term result. As EC law becomes more comprehensive, it touches on more and more areas of activity which were traditionally regulated by the Member States. The lawyers in O’Connor and Company are expert in interpreting the new rules within the framework of EC law.   Thus, we have been involved in litigation in Member State courts where EC law is in issue and advise national lawyers on points of EC law. In recent years the law on health and safety of foodstuffs has increasingly been set in Brussels. This is the same for the network industries (telecoms, energy, postal services), for intellectual property, for transport and many more. There is a gradual shift of competence from the Member States to the Community.   As competence shifts from the Member States to the Community, lawyers who wish to advise on the new rules have to have a different perspective. New EC rules are set within a Community framework and not according to national traditions. O’Connor and Company believes that the combination of EC and national legal skills, which all our lawyers have, brings a new perspective to the practice of law and gives our clients what they need to understand operating in and with the Community. Our publications