Vanessa van Weelden

Partner at Freshfields

May 2024 - Present • Brussels, Belgium

As a partner in Freshfields' antitrust, competition and trade team I am advising on all aspects of EU and German competition law, including antitrust compliance, antitrust investigations, digital regulation, and merger control as well as foreign investment and foreign subsidies screening. I have significant experience of complex cross-border merger transactions, including investigations before the European Commission and Germany’s Bundeskartellamt and managing the coordination of parallel regulatory proceedings by authorities worldwide. My practice also covers antitrust advice on strategic partnerships, compliance systems as well as supply and distribution agreements. I advise a diverse range of clients, with a particular emphasis on the tech and telecom sectors alongside private equity. I am advising at the forefront of the EU's Digital Markets Act and have experience of abuse of dominance cases in the digital sector. I am co-heading Freshfields’ EU foreign subsidies working group and as well as advising clients on the implications of the new regulation I have been involved in many of the first notifications to the European Commission.

Principal Associate at Freshfields

4 years 1 mth • March 2020 - April 2024 • Brussels, Belgium

As a Principal Associate in Freshfields' antitrust, competition and trade team I have advised on all aspects of competition law including complex cross-border merger transactions, investigations before the European Commission, digital market regulation, foreign subsidy as well as foreign investment screening.

Associate at Milbank

4 years 5 mth • September 2015 - February 2020 • Munich, Germany

As an Associate at Milbank's competition team I have advised on all aspects of EU and German competition law including merger control, FDI screenings, antitrust compliance and antitrust investigations.