Recognised as one of 50 Future Female Leaders by the Financial Times, Sharon is a specialist EU and UK competition lawyer based in London. Having also spent time working in Brussels, she has experience of working on all aspects of EU and UK competition law including behavioural antitrust investigations, competition litigation, sector-wide market inquiries and global M&A.
As a leading member of the firm’s TMT and Digital practice, Sharon has particular experience in advising global technology, digital platform, healthcare and financial services infrastructure clients on contentious and non-contentious matters before the European Commission, the UK Competition and Markets Authority and the English High Court: particularly matters with a focus on data, innovation and/or the intersection of competition law with intellectual property law.
She has also served as a Visiting Lecturer at Kings College London for the LLM Advanced Competition and Patent Law module, focusing in particular on FRAND SEP technology licensing; and has co-authored a chapter in the fourth edition of Garzaniti et al, Electronic Communications, Audiovisual Services and the Internet - EU Competition Law and Regulation.
Sharon was a Non-Executive Director and Trustee of Rosa - the UK Fund for Women and Girls. She has also co-chaired the Freshfields Women’s Network, of which she is a founding member.
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Matter highlights include advising:
- Hellman & Friedman on successfully obtaining merger control approval from the European Commission in relation to its acquisition of payments businesses Nets and Concardis.
- London Stock Exchange Group in relation to the European Commission's in-depth investigation into its proposed merger with Deutsche Börse; and in successfully obtaining merger control approval from the UK Office of Fair Trading when acquiring a majority stake in LCH.Clearnet.
- A global pharmaceutical company on successfully obtaining merger control approval from the UK Competition and Markets Authority in relation to its acquisition of a biotech company.
- A global technology company on its successful resolution of and defence before the English High Court in the landmark Unwired Planet v Huawei litigation concerning the transfer and licensing of standard essential technology patents.
- A global technology company in relation to the UK Competition and Markets Authority's Online Platforms and Digital Advertising market study; and its defence and co-ordination of antitrust investigation proceedings and sector inquiries before the European Commission and other global competition authorities.
- A global technology company in relation to an antitrust complaint made to the European Commission concerning standard essential patent technology licensing.
- Visa on its successful resolution of the European Commission's antitrust investigation into its international interchange fees; and on successfully dismissing an urgent application for interim measures made to the UK Competition and Markets Authority - the first application made under revised UK antitrust legislation for interim measures.
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University education
- University of Bristol, LL.B
Professional qualifications
- BPP Law School: Legal Practice Course, Distinction
- Solicitor, England and Wales and Ireland
Current and previous memberships and additional responsibilities
- Member of the Competition Law Association, British Group of the LIDC
- Visiting Lecturer at Kings College London: LLM Advanced Competition and Patent Law
- Non-Executive Director and Trustee of Rosa: the UK Fund for Women and Girls
- Co-Chair and founding member of the Freshfields Women’s Network
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