Christian Ahlborn, former global head of antitrust at Linklaters, is leaving this summer to join Covington & Burling’s Brussels office as a partner, as large law firms gear up to advise clients on new EU rules governing competitive digital markets.
London-based Ahlborn had co-led Linklaters’ technology sector team, and has worked at the firm for nearly 30 years. He has helped to guide Linklaters clients including Microsoft Corp, Unilever Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc.
Last month, EU countries and lawmakers reached a deal on landmark rules that could curb the power of major technology companies. The Digital Markets Act’s digital “gatekeeper” rules are designed to prohibit companies from favoring their own services over those of rivals.
EU antitrust leaders are also preparing to consider new ways to streamline existing competition rules that have imposed billions of euros in fines against technology companies.
Johan Ysewyn, co-chair of Covington’s global antitrust practice, said there’s a demand now for antitrust and competition lawyers. He attributed some of the hiring to a growing need for compliance advice, more investigations in the digital sector and increasingly labor-intensive legal work.
“The merger and competition investigations have become more data-intensive and document-driven, which of course requires larger teams,” he said.
Another former Linklaters antitrust leader, Jonas Koponen, jumped in March to Cooley’s office in Brussels, where the EU’s competition office is headquartered. In March, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton added former Linklaters antitrust partner Isabel Rooms in Brussels.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
NCAA and SEC Approve Historic $2.8 Billion Settlement in Antitrust Cases
May 23, 2024 by
CPI
Apple Defends 27% Fee in Compliance with Court Order, Phil Schiller Testifies
May 23, 2024 by
CPI
French Billionaire Xavier Niel Eyes $4 Billion Millicom Buyout
May 23, 2024 by
CPI
ITA-Lufthansa Merger Faces Scrutiny from European Commission
May 23, 2024 by
CPI
Google Explores Major Acquisition of HubSpot to Bolster Cloud
May 23, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Merger Guidelines Retrospective
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
Mergers of Complements
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
Personality Traits, Private Equity, and Merger Analysis
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
The 2023 Merger Guidelines: Lessons in the Importance of Incipiency, Modern Economics, and Monopsony
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
The 2023 Merger Guidelines: Sharpening Merger Analysis
May 21, 2024 by
CPI