Profile details
About Alvaro Pliego Selie
Alvaro is a Counsel in our global ACT practice, specializing in:
- Antitrust / competition law
- EU state aid
- EU market regulation (single market, telecoms, tech, energy)
He has acted on many international and high-profile litigious and M&A matters, including a number of appeals against the EU tax ruling decisions in the area of state aid; as well as EU cartel and merger litigation (UPS/TNT, KPN v. Commission). Another core part of Alvaro's practice is advising clients in sectors including (online) tech, telecoms, media, FMCG and energy on complex EU regulatory matters (sector regulation, free movement, consumer protection).
Alvaro is recognized in Chambers Europe (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019): "Alvaro Pliego Selie is an intelligent, sharp and pragmatic lawyer who thinks in terms of solutions and displays a high level of strategic thinking.""He is experienced acting on a range of litigious antitrust and regulatory matters. He often advises clients in the energy and telecoms sectors and offers additional experience in state aid matters. Clients highlight his 'high service level' and quick responses". Alvaro also features in Who's Who Legal: Competition (2022) and previously in Future Leaders Competition (2021) (2020) (2019) and (2018): "Alvaro Pliego Selie is a top name, recommended for his 'pragmatic and straightforward approach'. He is held in high regard by international sources thanks to his 'excellent understanding of market and stakeholder sensitivity'."
Before joining Freshfields in 2011, he spent five years at the Dutch Competition Authority as a member of its Legal Service. During his 2015 secondment to our London office, Alvaro advised on a number of large UK transactions.
Alvaro works in Dutch, Spanish and English
Recent work
- Represents UPS in its damage claim procedure against the European Commission's in relation to the unlawfully prohibited UPS/TNT merger.
- Represented Airbnb at the European Court of Justice in a procedure regarding the qualification of its services under the EU free movement rules.
- Acts for several multinationals on their challenge of the European Commission's state aid decisions involving "tax rulings".
- Represented UPS in its successful appeal of the European commission's UPS/TNT merger control decision, resulting in a landmark European Court of Justice judgment.
Qualifications
Education
- University of Amsterdam (LL.M),
- Grotius Competition Law (postgraduate specialisation training)
Professional memberships
- admitted to the Amsterdam bar