BRUSSELS, Belgium and LONDON, Oct. 11 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP and its affiliated partnerships are pleased to announce the launch of their EU Competition practice, based in Brussels and London. Sidley has added respected EU Competition practitioners to its ranks, further
strengthening its presence in Europe and complementing the firm’s
distinguished antitrust practice in the United States.
“Sidley’s strategy for Europe has always included the building of a
competition practice led by the finest lawyers,” said Tom Cole, chairman of
Sidley’s executive committee and a corporate and M&A partner. “The addition
of a first-class EU competition practice, coupled with the firm’s longstanding
and distinguished antitrust practice in the U.S., will enhance significantly
our ability to serve clients on a global scale.”
Sidley’s EU Competition team is enhanced by the addition of prominent EU
competition lawyer Stephen Kinsella OBE, who joined the firm’s London
partnership on October 3. Mr. Kinsella has been involved in a large number of
high-profile cases before the European Commission and national competition
authorities, and has represented clients in numerous landmark cases before the
European Courts. He serves as Chairman of the International Bar Association’s
Antitrust and Trade Law Committee and is a Council Member and past President
of the British Chamber of Commerce in Brussels. In Brussels, the EU
competition team is led by Stephen Spinks, who joined Sidley as a partner in
August. Mr. Spinks has practiced competition law in Brussels since 1979 and
has extensive experience in the application of EU competition and merger
control rules in many industries, including telecommunications equipment and
products and consumer electronics.
Sidley’s EU Competition group is further strengthened by the addition in
Brussels of two highly qualified counsel, Ken Daly and Kristina Nordlander.
Mr. Daly has practiced competition law in Brussels since 1996. He
specializes in merger control proceedings, cartel investigations and
litigation, distribution practices, and abuse of dominance cases. He has
advised clients from a variety of industries, in particular film, music,
media, broadcasting and sports rights, in cases before the European Commission
and national competition authorities and in litigation before the European
Courts. Mr. Daly has written extensively on distribution, cartel, and sports
law, and is a regular contributor to conferences on competition law, including
those organized by the American Bar Association, the Antitrust and Trade
Committee of the International Bar Association, and the IBA’s Global Forum for
Competition Policy.
Ms. Nordlander has practiced competition law in Brussels since 1999. Her
practice focuses on joint ventures and cooperation agreements, merger control,
cartel investigations, State aid, litigation before the European Courts, and
antitrust compliance counseling. Ms. Nordlander has represented clients in a
broad spectrum of sectors, in particular pharmaceuticals, media, broadcasting,
chemicals and agrochemicals, motor vehicles, consumer electronics and pulp and
paper. She teaches an EU competition law seminar to graduate students at
Stockholm University. Ms. Nordlander has also spoken widely on topics such as
legal privilege and State aid and is the author of a number of publications on
EU competition law.
Sidley’s EU Competition partners and counsel are assisted by two
associates, and the firm has plans to add additional lawyers to the team in
the near future. They will advise clients in all areas of EU competition law,
including merger control, government investigations, State aid, remedies,
commercial agreements, litigation and arbitration, and compliance and policy
projects.
Sidley is one of the world’s largest full-service law firms, with more
than 1,550 lawyers practicing in 14 offices around the globe. Sidley was
named the Number One-Ranked U.S. Law Firm for Overall Client Service in
2002 and 2004 in surveys of Fortune 1000 executives by BTI, a Boston-based
consulting and research firm. Sidley received the 2005 Catalyst Award in
recognition of the firm’s initiative to recruit, retain and advance diverse
talent.
