European Antitrust and Competition

O’Melveny offers comprehensive representation in Europe, the United States and Asia for the complete array of antitrust issues. Few firms can match O’Melveny’s world-class practice in high-stakes litigation and cartel investigations or complex global mergers. Chambers Global states that O’Melveny “is the global quarterback—it is prominent around the world, from Beijing to Brussels.”

Operating at the European Union’s political and legislative center, O’Melveny’s Brussels office focuses on EU and national competition law, as well as trade and sector regulation. Our lawyers are qualified in key Member States, have in-depth experience and knowledge of national laws and procedures, speak local languages, know the national authorities, and are accustomed to coordinating complex cross-border projects in the EU and beyond.

Since its establishment in 2004, O’Melveny’s Brussels office has been involved in high-profile cases covering all main areas of EU competition law, achieving headline-grabbing results for our clients. For example, we secured a historic victory for client Advanced Micro Devices in its global antitrust battle with Intel when the European Commission imposed a fine of €1.06 billion (US$1.44 billion) on Intel for its anticompetitive practice.

Our merger practice is characterized by sophisticated antitrust strategy coupled with cutting-edge economic analysis and, for high-profile and controversial deals, adept handling of political issues―even under the tightest timeframes. For example, in the largest merger in Norway’s history, O’Melveny achieved Phase I European Commission clearance without remedies for Hydro in the US$30 billion merger of its oil and gas operations with Statoil ASA. The merging companies announced the merger shortly after the conclusion of the Commission’s critical inquiry into the European energy markets. As a result, the transaction was subject to significant scrutiny and interest at a political level.

In the area of cartel investigations, our work includes a full acquittal for client Firma Léon van Parys (LVP), the European importer of “Bonita” bananas, which had faced charges of involvement in an illegal price-fixing and information sharing arrangement among the EU’s five main banana importers.

What Others Say About Us

• O'Melveny won "Competition Team of the Year" at The Lawyer Awards (2010). The Brussels team won the prestigious award on the basis of its tremendously successful work for Advanced Micro Devices in the Intel case.  In awarding O'Melveny, The Lawyer wrote, "Working on one of the biggest competition cases of the year was always going to be a feather in the cap for O'Melveny & Myers, but winning it against the odds and securing a record-breaking fine in the process shows what a remarkable job the team pulled off." One judge said the case "has the feel of a David taking on not one but two Goliaths - Intel and the European Commission." In addition to winning the team award, Partner Riccardo Celli was a finalist for the "Partner of the Year" award for his leadership during the case.  
• Chambers Europe (2013) quotes a client that says that O'Melveny's team is “always very responsive and provides advice that is up to date, pragmatic, and shows understanding of our industry."
• Chambers Global (2013) commends our global practice in the areas of Competition/European Law, China Competition/Antitrust (International Firms) and US Competition Law, stating that our team “has a high-profile Washington, DC practice and further impresses through its strength in Asia and presence in Brussels and London.”
• Global Competition Review’s 2012 edition of GCR 100―its guide to the world’s leading competition practices―highlights O’Melveny’s Brussels practice in its “Recommended” section, writing that our Brussels team is “renowned on the Brussels circuit.” GCR also lists O’Melveny’s DC practice in its “Elite” section for the third consecutive year, noting that the “strength of the firm’s [DC] antitrust team wins praise from rivals,” lists our California antitrust practice in its “Highly Recommended” category, stating that O’Melveny “boasts one of California’s strongest antitrust practices,” and lists our New York team in its "Recommended" section, noting that the team “has made an impressive showing, especially in litigation matters.”
• International Financial Law Review 1000 (2013) recommends our European Antitrust and Competition Practice for the fourth consecutive year. An earlier edition of the guide quotes one client who makes reference to the "very bright people" at O'Melveny and comments, "Their service is excellent and they are very knowledgeable. Nothing but praise for their competition practice." Partner Riccardo Celli is recognized as a "leading lawyer" and partner Christian Riis-Madsen "comes well recommended."
• Legal 500 EMEA (2012) writes that O’Melveny’s Brussels team "is appreciated for its ‘solid understanding of client’s business.’"
• O’Melveny was shortlisted for “Competition Team of the Year” at the Legal Business Awards 2010 on the basis of its tremendously successful work for Advanced Micro Devices in the Intel case. In selecting O’Melveny, the Legal Business judges commented: “When O’Melveny took over AMD’s longstanding complaint of abuse of a dominant position against Intel, the case looked dead in the water. The input of Celli’s team led to a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the client, and ultimately finished with the European Commission levying fines worth more than €1bn against Intel.” At the European Legal Business Awards (2008), we received “Competition Team of the Year” honors for our representation of TUI AG in its acquisition of First Choice Holidays PLC, forming the leading travel group worldwide.  
• Competition Law360 named O’Melveny a “Competition Group of the Year" in both 2011 and 2009.
• ACQ Finance Magazine awarded the Brussels team the title of “Competition Law Firm of the Year” in 2012, 2009 and and 2008.

Key Facts

Practice Strengths