Prominent Antitrust Partner Will Join Latham & Watkins in Brussels
3rd September 2013
23.07.2013
Latham & Watkins LLP1 is pleased to announce that Lars Kjølbye will join the firm’s Brussels office as a partner in the Litigation Department. Kjølbye is widely recognized as a leading antitrust practitioner in Europe.
Kjølbye’s practice focuses on complex cases in all areas of EU competition law, including abuse of dominance, restrictive practices, merger control, State aid, and energy regulation. Prior to private practice, he spent ten years at the European Commission’s Competition Directorate General where he held several prominent positions, including: head of the Energy and Environment Unit, where he led high profile investigations and inquiries into gas and electricity markets; deputy head of the Coordination and Scrutiny Unit, where he was responsible for reviewing cases by the various enforcement units and assisting case teams with economic and legal analysis; policy officer in the Legislation and Policy Unit, where he spearheaded key legislative reform of antitrust procedures that govern antitrust investigations; and case handler in the Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Goods Unit, where he handled investigations into joint and single firm conduct. Before joining DG Competition, Kjølbye served as a referendaire at the European Court of Justice.
Jean Paul Poitras, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in Brussels, said: “Lars will bring a broad range of expertise and deep industry knowledge to the practice. He has advised on a number of landmark matters in recent years and his experience offers significant synergies with our practice.”
“We are delighted to welcome Lars to our team. He is a great personal fit and an exciting talent, with deep EC credentials and substantive EU law expertise. Lars’ addition enhances our premier service offering for clients in Brussels and globally and is part of a focused long term plan in this highly competitive field. We remain committed to further strengthening our capability and are excited by the prospects to grow and deepen the practice still further,” added Michael Egge, Global Co-Chair of the Antitrust & Competition Practice.
“I share Latham’s vision in creating one of the most successful antitrust teams in Brussels and globally. Latham’s broad international platform and its commitment to the practice area sets it apart in the market, and I am pleased to be joining the team shortly,” commented Kjølbye.
Kjølbye received his law degree from Aarhus University in Denmark in 1990 and an LLM from King’s College at the University of London in 1991.
