International law firm Van Bael & Bellis (VBB) is pleased to announce the appointment of Claire Simpson as a partner in Brussels in the competition team.

Previously EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) senior counsel responsible for the pursuit and defence of competition and internal market cases before the EFTA Court and European Court of Justice (CJEU), Claire has over 25 years of courtroom and advisory experience in EU/EEA competition, State aid and internal market law.

She has acted on numerous landmark cases and has appeared regularly before the CJEU grand chamber. Illustrations of her recent cases include Google Shopping, Illumina, Grail, Alphabet (Android Auto), Apple, Ireland v Commission, Banco BPN and CK Telecoms.

Before joining ESA, Claire was Group Head of Competition Law at Euroclear, where she provided legal and strategic guidance to global business teams.

Managing Partner Andreas Reindl said: “We are excited to welcome Claire to VBB. Her outstanding EU advocacy expertise across a wide range of competition and EU law issues, coupled with a deep understanding of how the EU and EEA institutions operate and her in-house counsel experience in a highly regulated sector, make her a perfect fit for our competition team and EU appellate practice. The expansion of the team with Claire’s arrival reflects our continuing commitment to providing our clients with premium competition and EU law litigation and advisory support.”

Speaking about her new role, Claire said: “I am delighted to be joining the VBB competition team and to contributing to the ongoing development of VBB’s impressive appellate practice. I look forward to using my skills and experience to help clients engaged in high-stakes litigation before the EU Courts.”

Claire’s hire follows the earlier recent hires of partners Tanguy Van Overstraeten (data/digital) and Tim Vermeir (energy) – evidencing the firm’s investment in areas of strategic importance to our clients.