Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Announces Plans to Open Office in Brussels

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The law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati  announced in recent days that it will open an office in Brussels, Belgium.

Michael Rosenthal, who was formerly the managing partner of Hunton & Williams’ Brussels office, will lead the office. He will be joined by Gotz Drauz, the former Deputy Director-General for Competition at the European Commission, and former Hunton & Williams partner Paul McGeown, along with a counsel and three associates.

  

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The team of attorneys combines private practice, industry, and high-level government experience. As well, it offers a broad spectrum of antitrust and competition services at the European Union and national levels in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Chairman Larry Sonsini was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “In recent years, the European Commission has become an increasingly important forum for our clients when it comes to antitrust review, particularly concerning mergers and acquisitions and global cartel investigations. Opening an office in Brussels, the seat of the European Commission, is a natural evolution of our mission to serve our clients as they seek to grow and compete on a global basis, and we are excited by the opportunities that it represents.”

CEO Steve Bochner was quoted as saying: “We couldn’t have asked for a finer team to lead our efforts in the European Union than Michael, Götz, and Paul. They are all highly accomplished attorneys whose talents and experience mesh extraordinarily well with the firm’s thriving M&A and antitrust practices. It is with great pride that we welcome them to the firm.”

Dr. Michael Rosenthal joins the firm from Hunton & Williams, where he successfully built that firm’s Brussels office and chaired the European arm of its competition practice. He advises clients on all aspects of EU and German competition law. He is also listed as a leading competition lawyer in the major legal directories, including Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers.

Named as an “elite” practitioner by Global Competition Review, Götz Drauz joins the firm from Shearman & Sterling. There, he practiced antitrust and competition law. Before that, he was a partner in Howrey’s Brussels office. Over the course of his career, he has represented companies in some of the biggest merger, conduct, and cartel investigations in Europe. Before entering private practice, Drauz served for 25 years at the European Commission.

Paul McGeown also joins from Hunton & Williams. He advises clients in a broad range of industries on all aspects of European competition law; he has particular expertise in complex merger cases, industrial partnerships, and State aid matters. He has significant experience representing clients before the EC and United Kingdom competition authorities. McGeown was formerly a partner at Linklaters and, earlier, an associate at Salans in Paris and Slaughter & May in Brussels and London. In addition, he served as in-house competition counsel at a major global engineering corporation.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s antitrust team is uniquely positioned to assist clients on the most important bet-the-company matters as well as with regular counseling and compliance matters. With over 525 attorneys, the firm is recognized as the premier provider of legal services to technology, life sciences, and other growth enterprises worldwide.