The international law firm Simmons & Simmons is further expanding its German and international antitrust and competition law practice, with new senior appointments in both Brussels and Frankfurt.
Dr. Jens Steger and Dr. Robert Hardy join the law firm as counsel. Jens Steger will be responsible for advising in German and European antitrust law in Frankfurt. He previously worked for Arnold & Porter in Frankfurt. Robert Hardy comes from Skadden Arps and will be working in Brussels on antitrust and international competition law.
Robert has extensive merger control experience and a particular interest in the interface between IP and competition law. He represents clients before the Dutch Competition Authority and the European Commission on antitrust issues, such as abuse of dominance and merger control procedures. He also advises on questions of antitrust investigations and damages claims.
Robert studied in Maastricht as well as at Harvard Law School (Fulbright Scholar). From 2008 to 2011 he worked for Stibbe. Later, he handled antitrust and competition law matters at Latham & Watkins until 2015 and then at Skadden.
Jens specializes in German and European antitrust law. He advises German and international clientsand was most recently, part of the team that advised Monsanto on the merger with Bayer in a complex merger control case before the European Commission. He also advised CISCO on the acquisition of AppDynamics (purchase price of US $ 3.7 billion) and Broad Soft (purchase price US $ 1.9 billion) as part of the German merger control proceedings before the German Federal Cartel Office and General Electric on the merger from GE Oil & Gas with Baker Hughes, with new full year revenues of $ 23 billion. Jens studied at King's College London and at the universities in Bonn and Cologne. Since 2012 he has worked for Kaye Scholer (Arnold & Porter since 2017) in Frankfurt am Main, covering both German and European antitrust law along with data protection.
Koen Platteau, head of the firm’s Brussels office, commented: “We are pleased to welcome Robert and Jens to the firm. Their arrival is integral to the firm’s continued growth of its international EU/competition offering. It comes just a few weeks after the arrival of partner Satyen Dhana, who joined our EU/competition team in London”.
Robert Hardy commented: "I look forward to joining the EU and competition practice of Simmons & Simmons in Brussels and becoming part of this ambitious team and I am committed to sustain the further growth and development of the practice”. “Belonging to the strong antitrust practice of Simmons & Simmons is a clear added value, as it enables me, through the integrated worldwide deployment of Simmons & Simmons, to serve my global clients in many other EU Member States, and especially in Asia. Particularly in antitrust law, a cross-border advisory approach is essential, as antitrust authorities worldwide are increasingly working together more closely. I am therefore very pleased to continue to build up and expand the German and international antitrust practice together with our colleagues in Frankfurt and the other offices, " notes Jens Steger.
