Experience

Laura joined McCann FitzGerald in July 2011 and has been a Partner in our Antitrust and Competition practice since May 2019. She has broad experience across all areas in competition and antitrust law including merger control, abuse of dominance issues, horizontal and vertical agreements, Irish and EU competition law investigations, State aid and telecoms. Laura was based in our Brussels office for over four years and is acutely aware of European competition law developments. She also has an important network of European officials and competition lawyers. Laura was educated in NUI Galway and Oxford University.

Key highlights include advising:

• Lakeland Dairies on its merger with LacPatrick, a significant deal creating the second largest dairy processor on the island of Ireland, and requiring Irish and UK merger clearance.
• Exponent PE backed waste management group, Enva (previously DCC Environmental) on the Phase 2 merger clearance of its acquisition of Rilta and ClearCircle, the Ireland and Northern Ireland waste management group.
• ESB on competition, State aid and regulatory issues associated with its innovative fibre to the building JV with Vodafone Ireland, SIRO.
• Irish Government in relation to the sale of the Irish State’s 25.1% shareholding in Aer Lingus to IAG Group.
• Coillte on the sale of its operating windfarm assets to Greencoat Renewables plc.
• ITV plc. on the media merger clearance for the sale of UTV Ireland to Virgin Media- a deal that united UTV Ireland and TV3 under the same ownership.
• ArcelorMittal on its joint venture with Ecocem Materials.
• A major international broadcaster and merchandising company on its defence of a European Commission investigation into its EEA distribution practices.
• A national provider of critical transport infrastructure during a criminal investigation.
• Vodafone Ireland on a wide range of competition and communications law matters, including regulatory litigation before the Irish courts.