Profile details
About Ermelinda Spinelli
Ermelinda covers EU and Italian competition law, with particular experience
of cartel and dominance investigations, state-aid cases, merger reviews and
antitrust compliance.
She has also conducted several antitrust due diligences in the context of merger proceedings and/or internal audits, and gained antitrust litigation experience before the EU courts. Her experience crosses a range of industry sectors, including financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing, technology and transport.
Ermelinda is recognised in the 2019 edition of Who's Who Legal: Competition - Future Leaders.
In November 2019 Ermelinda was recognized as a Rising Star in Competition and Antitrust at the Legal Media Group’s Europe Rising Stars Awards.
She has also been nominated as one of the ‘Rising Stars’ in Euromoney’s 2022 Expert Guides - Competition and antitrust section.
She speaks Italian, English and French.
Recent work
- Providing merger control and regulatory assistance to a major player in the telecommunications sector in relation to the creation of a joint venture with one of their main competitors in Italy. The merger was cleared in phase two by the European Commission and was subject to a notification to the Italian government under the so-called 'Golden Power' rules.
- Advising a major player in the insurance sector on an investigation started by the Italian Antitrust Authority against the key insurance companies active in Italy with regard to alleged parallel exclusive contractual agreements with agents in the areas of damages insurance, particularly motor vehicle liability insurance. Following the submission of remedies, the case was closed without the finding of infringement (and no fine).
- Advising a major player in the insurance sector on the merger review by the European Commission of the acquisition of a going concern from one of their main competitors in Italy, obtaining unconditional phase-one clearance.
- Advising a major player in the food-packaging sector in relation to a cartel in the retail food packaging industry, obtaining full immunity from the European Commission.
- Advising a major player in the hospitality sector in parallel investigations by various European competition authorities (including in Italy, France and Sweden) against Booking.com and Expedia on MFN/parity clauses adopted vis-à-vis hotels.
Qualifications
Education
- State University of Milan, Italy (PhD in EU law)
- University of Pavia, Italy (law, cum laude)
Professional qualifications
- Admitted to the Italian bar (avvocato)