LONDON – LAWFUEL – Press Release Service – Clifford Chance antitrust partner Martin Bechtold will join Allen & Overy’s international antitrust practice in the Brussels office. Bechtold has been a partner with Clifford Chance since 1994 and moved from its Frankfurt office to Brussels in 1999. He was a case handler at the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office) in Berlin from 1986 to 1989 and has extensive EU and German merger control experience including several high profile second phase investigations.
A German qualified lawyer, Bechtold has an established track record in handling major cases and his network and experience will further strengthen Allen & Overy’s renowned global antitrust group. In his new role Bechtold will cover the core aspects of competition law (EU merger control, EU cartel and dominance cases, antitrust litigation, general counselling/advisory/compliance work) as well as broader issues of EU law to advise Allen & Overy’s global clients in this increasingly important and developing area.
Commenting on the appointment, London-based anti-trust partner Mark Friend said: “There is an increasingly tough antitrust enforcement culture in Brussels and across the EU, whilst the assessment of merger control risk is often a key element of complex M&A deals, going to the heart of the deal strategy. Martin has substantial heavyweight cartel and merger control experience and his appointment reinforces our capability in this crucial area of practice.”
Dr. Ellen Braun, head of Allen & Overy’s German competition practice, said: “Martin’s background and experience in the German market will further strengthen and integrate our European antitrust group and will facilitate closer collaboration between our German and the Brussels teams. Our German clients will particularly benefit from this strengthened footprint in the market.”
Background: Martin Bechtold
Þ Legal education at the University of Heidelberg; 1st state exam on 6 December 1982
Þ Legal trainee period in Baden-Württemberg (Court of Appeals Stuttgart); 2nd state exam on 23 January 1986
Þ Case handler at the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office), Berlin form July 1986 to July 1989 (decision making and general policy departments)
Þ Joining Pünder, Volhard, Weber & Axster (now Clifford Chance), Frankfurt office, in July 1989, Partner since 1994
Þ Since 1999 resident partner in Brussels, initially heading the Pünder office there and since the merger with Clifford Chance as a member of the firm’s European Competition and Regulation Group.
For further information please contact Kathryn Adamson (kathryn.adamson@allenovery.com) on +44 (0)20 7330 4685.
