Jackie Holland joins Cleary Gottlieb to strengthens its UK competition practice

Jackie Holland joins Cleary Gottlieb to strengthens its UK competition practice

UK has been witnessing an increased role of the CMA's following Brexit. Cleary Gottlieb's London office is experiencing accelerated growth to deal with cases previously managed exclusively in Brussels.

Leading UK antitrust lawyer Jackie Holland is all set to join Cleary Gottlieb in its London office as a partner. Her appointment is part of the firm's endeavour to strengthen its UK competition practice.

With over 25 years experience in private practice, merger control, State aid, competition litigation, and sectoral regulation, Jackie was a Senior Director of the Office of Fair Trading, the predecessor to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), where she was a Phase 1 merger decision-maker.

She excelled in that role and helped to reform the agency's merger control regime and antitrust procedures, and introduced a Procedural Officer to oversee the agency's casework.

Cleary Gottlieb is a leading global antitrust practice. Jackie will join a team of highly regarded lawyers in the field, including other former senior officials from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, the UK CMA, and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Competition, as well as several lawyers who have worked at the European Courts in Luxembourg.

"We are delighted to welcome Jackie to our firm," said Cleary Gottlieb Managing Partner Michael Gerstenzang. "She brings formidable talent to our market-leading competition practice."

Jackie said, "I'm thrilled and honoured to be joining Cleary Gottlieb's outstanding competition team. Their global antitrust practice is among the best in the world, and I'm really looking forward to being part of the group. I've known many of the firm's lawyers for years and have been very impressed by how quickly they've established one of the leading practices in town. It's a fascinating time to be a competition lawyer in London given the CMA's enhanced role in the post-Brexit world. I can't wait to get started."

According to Nicholas Levy, Cleary Gottlieb's competition partner in London, UK has been witnessing an increased role of the CMA's following Brexit. Cleary Gottlieb's London office is experiencing accelerated growth to deal with cases previously managed exclusively in Brussels. "Jackie brings a wealth of experience to our team. A leader of the bar, she is hugely respected within the UK competition community. We're delighted to have her among us," Nicholas said.

"Cleary has one of the strongest competition law practices in the world... To complement our leading EU, U.S., and international practices, we have grown our UK practice substantially in recent years, advising on many of the most challenging UK matters of recent years. Jackie's arrival will enhance our UK and other European practices." said Maurits Dolmans, competition partner in London.

Competition partner Paul Gilbert termed Jackie as an exceptional lawyer. "I have worked with Jackie at the Office of Fair Trading and in private practice, and am excited to be doing so again. She's a fantastic colleague and will bring tremendous experience to our team."