Willkie strengthens London antitrust team with ex-CC practice head

Willkie has hired veteran competition lawyer Greg Olsen as a partner in its London office, strengthening its UK and EU antitrust and competition capabilities.

He currently serves as an ordinary member of the Competition Appeal Tribunal and is expected to step down once his commitments end. He previously led Clifford Chance’s London antitrust practice and before that, was a partner at Jones Day.

Olsen brings more than 30 years of experience advising on mergers, joint ventures and cartels and antitrust investigations across UK and EU competition matters.

Regulatory backdrop

The hire comes as competition risk continues to shape deal strategy across the UK and EU. The Competition and Markets Authority has taken a more interventionist approach to merger reviews and market investigations.

Post-Brexit, major cross-border transactions are also increasingly subject to parallel reviews in London and Brussels, adding timing complexity and execution risk to high-value deals.

Market moves

Willkie recently promoted Alaric Green to partner in its London antitrust and competition group which currently includes five partners. The promotion was part of a seven-strong London round for the New York firm - the largest intake of any of its offices.

Elsewhere, McDermott hired senior competition lawyer Kristina Nordlander in London, quickly backfilling after Omar Shah’s short stint at the firm. In December, Kirkland brought in Nafees Saeed and Chris Thomas from Weil as partners in its London antitrust practice, following the departure of senior competition partner Sally Evans to Paul Hastings.