Helen has extensive experience in all aspects of competition law, including merger control, cartels, dominance, vertical restraints and state aid. Clients value her in-house and private practice expertise, which allows her to understand business drivers and offer clear and practical advice, even in the most complex of matters. She has particular expertise and interest in digital markets, including mergers in this field and the convergence of competition law with consumer and data protection.
Helen joined De Brauw in September 2018, moving from her position as director of competition law at Akzo Nobel NV, where she was responsible for competition law and merger control matters globally. Prior to this, Helen spent 12 years advising clients on competition law at two international law firms in London, Brussels and Amsterdam. She has worked extensively with economists across a range of matters.
Deal highlights include advising: Takeaway.com on its acquisitions of both Just Eat and Grubhub; the shareholders’ committee of Eneco Groep NV in the context of its privatisation and ultimate sale to Mitsubishi; DAF Trucks in relation to multiple follow-on damage claims; DSM and Cargill in relation to their global joint venture for the development and commercialisation of fermented stevia; and Akzo Nobel on the antitrust aspects of PPG’s takeover bid, and on the sale of the Specialty Chemicals business to Carlyle for €10 billion.
Helen is a non-governmental advisor to the Dutch competition authority supporting its membership of the International Competition Network. She is part of the leadership team of the Dutch branch of W@, which aims to promote and mentor female competition law specialists. She teaches competition law to students of the Grotius Academie and is dual-qualified as both a solicitor (England & Wales) and Dutch advocaat.
WWL says: Helen Gornall is “vastly knowledgeable on legal analyses” and praised for her “strong ability to condense assessments into clear and coherent advice”.
Peers and clients say:
“Helen is easy to work with and very responsive. She provides pragmatic, to-the-point advice”.
“She always seeks to understand the business drivers and potential impacts in competition briefs.”
15 April 2021
Below-threshold referrals to Commission may make all M&A deals subject to review
31 March 2021
18 March 2021
EU and UK extend toolkit to force review of M&A transactions
17 February 2021
Guidance on green cooperation: Dutch competition authority leads the way
17 February 2021
Green competition: how consumer law can help prevent misleading sustainability claims
17 February 2021
Signed charter needed for foreign in-house counsel to have legal privilege
18 December 2020
17 December 2020
Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act: Commission flexes its muscles
16 November 2020
Fake online reviews – back as area of enforcement by competition authorities
14 October 2020
Foreign investment screening in Dutch vital sectors – what we know so far
14 October 2020
Investment screening in the Dutch telecoms sector as of 1 October 2020
29 September 2020
16 September 2020
Dutch competition authority first to give provisional view on sustainability initiatives
13 July 2020
Mind the gap: European Commission publishes White Paper on Foreign Subsidies
16 June 2020
Dutch regulator guidelines on online consumer protection – what these mean in practice
16 June 2020
Ex-ante regulation and new competition tool: now is the time to decide direction of travel
2 June 2020
29 May 2020
24 April 2020
20 March 2020
Coronavirus and competition law – state aid, merger control, crisis cartels and price hikes
16 March 2020
Trend: discrimination between online customers remains firmly on EU’s radar
12 February 2020
28 January 2020
16 December 2019
Our IAPP panel on convergence of data-related enforcement in digital age – key insights
15 October 2019
More scrutiny of data in M&A deals under merger control, including traditional sectors
16 September 2019
The real deal: rulings against M&A deals show need for the right merger control strategy
16 September 2019
Industry politics and digital economy drive new European Commission’s competition agenda
17 July 2019
Trend: parallel trade and geo-blocking in the distribution chain scrutinised
10 July 2019
Competition Law in the Digital Age: platforms and digital mergers – Best Friends newsletter
17 April 2019
Trends: anti-trust, consumer and privacy regulation increasingly converge
14 March 2019
ECN+ Directive misses the boat on compliance and one-stop-shop leniency programmes
14 February 2019
No industrial politics exception for European rail champion under EU merger control
14 February 2019
Adword restrictions: Commission’s Guess decision creates uncertainty for brand owners
15 January 2019
Competition authorities to empower consumers, employees, and smaller businesses in 2019
13 December 2018
New regulation bans geo-blocking and discrimination in online EU sales
14 November 2018
14 September 2018
Tech giants beware: Google’s record-breaking fines may have global ripple effect
14 September 2018
14 September 2018
Decisive influence can create parental liability for cartel wrongdoing of ‘subsidiary’
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek
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1082 MD Amsterdam
The Netherlands
P.O. Box 75084
1070 AB Amsterdam
The Netherlands