Associate - Antitrust & Competition

Position Title: Mid-level / Senior Associate – Antitrust & Competition

At McCann FitzGerald, we are a group of committed and passionate people who together create the strength of our firm. We combine world-class legal thinking with a human approach, to create advantage and unlock potential for our clients.

We work collaboratively, bringing the best people and teams together to solve complex issues, seize opportunities, and create better outcomes for clients.

The expectations of our clients, the competitive marketplace and our own ambitions have grown consistently over recent years. To ensure that we have the right structures in place to support the achievement of our goals we are currently recruiting for a Senior Associate for our Antitrust & Competition group.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced competition lawyer to advise domestic and international clients on complex competition law, regulatory and market compliance matters across a broad range of sectors.

The successful candidate will play a key role in delivering strategic legal advice on merger control, antitrust investigations, abuse of dominance, state aid, foreign direct investment (FDI), digital markets regulation and sector-specific regulatory frameworks.

Key Responsibilities

Competition Law Advisory

Advise clients on EU and national competition law matters, including:

• Cartels and anti-competitive agreements
• Abuse of dominance investigations
• Vertical agreements and distribution systems
• State aid notifications and investigations
• Competition compliance programmes
• Dawn raid preparedness and response
• Conduct legal and economic analysis of competition issues and develop practical risk-based solutions for clients.
• Draft legal opinions, submissions, notifications and client briefings
• Lead and support merger control filings before the European Commission and CCPC
• Advise on transaction-related competition risks and regulatory approvals
• Manage foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign subsidies regulatory assessments and filings
• Coordinate with international counsel on multi-jurisdictional transactions

Regulatory & Digital Markets Advice

• Advise clients operating in regulated sectors on governance, compliance and market access matters
• Provide guidance on emerging EU regulatory frameworks, including digital markets and digital services regulation
• Support clients in responding to regulatory investigations, consultations and enforcement actions

State aid law

• Advise clients on application of State aid laws to corporate transactions
• Advise clients on design of grant schemes for State aid compliance (i.e. GBER, SGEI)

Client Relationship Management

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with existing and prospective clients
• Act as a trusted adviser on complex and strategically important matters
• Deliver commercially focused advice aligned with clients' business objectives

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

• Qualified Solicitor in Ireland or England & Wales
• 3+ years' post-qualification experience gained in a leading law firm, competition authority (legal department) or regulatory practice
• Strong experience advising on:
  • EU competition law
  • Merger control
  • Antitrust investigations
  • Competition compliance
  • Regulatory law and market regulation
• Proven ability to manage matters independently while working collaboratively within larger teams
• Excellent legal drafting, analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong project management and organisational skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Commercial awareness and client-focused mindset

Our Offer

Hybrid working options

Pension contributions

Life assurance and income protection cover

Relocation assistance (for those joining from overseas)

A great working environment

A lively sports and social club

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