Cleary Gottlieb Strengthens UK Competition Practice With New Partner Jackie Holland

Jackie Holland will join the firm as a partner in the London office, focusing on competition practice, including antitrust enforcement, merger control, State aid, competition litigation, and sectoral regulation.

Jackie is a leader of the UK antitrust bar. She has over 25 years’ experience in private practice and, among other things, 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, helped to reform the agency’s merger control regime and antitrust procedures, and introduced a Procedural Officer to oversee the agency’s casework.

Jackie will join Cleary Gottlieb’s leading global antitrust practice, which includes some of the most 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 honored 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.”

“This is a really exciting time for UK competition enforcement,” said Nicholas Levy, competition partner in London. “The CMA’s increased role after Brexit has accelerated the growth of our London practice 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.”

“Cleary has one of the strongest competition law practices in the world,” said Maurits Dolmans, competition partner in London. “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.”

“Jackie is an exceptional lawyer,” said Paul Gilbert, competition partner in London. “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.”