Biography • Competition

Ellen Braun, LLM (UC Berkeley), is a German Rechtsanwältin and head of the firm's German antitrust practice. She specialises in EU and German competition law.

She has an active practice representing clients in competition proceedings before the EU Commission, the German Federal Cartel Office and the courts. Her practice covers the full breadth of antitrust law including advising on long-term competition and antitrust strategies; complex merger control cases including worldwide multiple filings; structuring of cooperation, joint venture and distribution agreements; compliance advice, audits and design of compliance programmes; EU and German cartel investigations including leniency applications; and actioning and defending private enforcement cases in court.

Her long-standing client relationships encompass all industry sectors, with a particular focus on food, consumer products, general industry, construction, infrastructure and energy, media and entertainment, and financial services.

Recent highlights include advising Bell AG in two cartel investigations; a German national brewery in a cartel and a vertical price-fixing investigation; Cheminova in its design and implementation of a global antitrust compliance management system; Colfax Corporation regarding a new pricing model in one of its businesses; CTS Eventim AG in several merger control cases including an attempt by the competition authority to enforce a de-merger; several clients, among them Bilfinger Berger SE, HC Starck, Gruner + Jahr AG, and Pubbles (both from the Bertelsmann Group), in cooperation and joint venture arrangements; Novo A/S in EU and German merger control matters; a number of clients, among them Bergmann Automotive, Harke Pharma, Samsung Germany, and Villeroy & Boch AG, in antitrust aspects of their distribution agreements; Rosneft in several EU and German merger control matters; P&G (Purity) and Scania (Trucks) on the German aspects of EU cartel investigations; TTS Tooltechnic Systems in a price maintenance investigation; Villeroy & Boch AG in a German leniency application (Tableware) and an EU cartel investigation (Bathroom); an international consumer products company on recourse claims against its board members based on antitrust infringements; a global consumer electronics company in several compliance audits and in a defence against a customer complaint based on alleged vertical price-fixing; and several clients, among them Rexam and WAS, in refusal-to-supply and private damage claims before the civil courts.

Ellen is recognised by all the principal legal directories, including Chambers Europe 2012 who say she 'regularly demonstrates the ability and willingness to go the extra mile'.

She regularly speaks and publishes on EU and German antitrust law issues. Her publications include the chapters on horizontal agreements under EU law, horizontal and vertical agreements under German law, and energy antitrust law and competitor cooperation in Langen/Bunte's leading German-language commentary on EU and German antitrust law.

Ellen holds an LLM from UC Berkeley and a doctorate in antitrust law from the University of Hamburg. She is also admitted to the New York Bar. Ellen speaks German as a native language and is also fluent in English and French.

Allen & Overy's antitrust and competition team comprises over 100 specialists located across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the United States. We advise corporates and financial institutions on their global antitrust policies, litigation and regulatory strategies and have acted on some of the highest-profile and most complex cases in recent years.