Prominent European Competition Lawyer Stephen Kinsella OBE To Join Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP

In an extension of its European presence, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP today announced that one of the most prominent European competition lawyers, Stephen Kinsella OBE, will join the firm as head of the EU Competition Practice.

Mr. Kinsella, a British national, has represented global corporations before the European Commission in connection with many of the most closely followed mergers of recent years, including Time Warner in its $181 billion merger with AOL; Carnival Corporation in its £3.5 billion bid for P&O Princess Cruises; and Time Warner in its Contentguard joint venture with Microsoft. In addition, Mr. Kinsella is very experienced with sensitive cases concerning cartels and other anti-competitive practices, including the European Commission’s investigations into the methionine price-fixing cartel and alleged anti-competitive practices in motor sport. Mr. Kinsella is Chair of the International Bar Association’s Antitrust Section and has been President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Brussels, for which he was awarded the Order of the British Empire ("OBE") for services to British business abroad.

Mr. Kinsella was previously head of the EU competition practice at Herbert Smith in Brussels and managing partner of that firm’s Brussels office. A graduate of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, Mr. Kinsella is author of a book on the EU Technology Licensing Block Exemption (Palladian) and the founding editor of the EC Merger Control Reporter (Kluwer).

"Sidley’s strategy for Europe and for the Brussels office has always included the building of a competition practice led by lawyers of Stephen’s caliber," said Tom Cole, chairman of Sidley’s executive committee and a corporate and mergers & acquisitions partner with the firm. "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."

Richard Weiner, managing partner of the Brussels office, welcomed the addition of Mr. Kinsella. "Stephen is highly respected by clients, regulators, and his peers for outstanding achievements in competition law. He is on the short-list of leading EU competition practitioners and will be a wonderful complement to our top-ranked EU trade and regulatory practice. We are thrilled that Stephen will be the leader of a key practice that we expect to grow in the coming years."

"In addition to welcoming the collaboration with the partners I already know and respect at the firm, I am eager to join Sidley and build on the firm’s many client relationships and first-class practices. The chance to grow a respected competition practice in a firm with such a range of issuer and underwriter clients is exciting," added Mr. Kinsella.

Sidley’s Brussels office, which opened in 2003, has represented clients on a broad range of international and EU trade, EU life sciences, regulatory, and policy matters and those practices are ranked among the finest in Europe. The current Brussels practitioners are part of the firm-wide, 50-lawyer trade and dispute resolution practice, for which Sidley was named "2005 Global Trade and Customs Firm of the Year" by Who’s Who Legal.

For more information:

Richard Weiner
011 32 2 504 6450