People
Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte is a partner resident in the Brussels office of King & Spalding and heads the Antitrust & Competition practice in Europe. She provides strategic and legal advice to companies and investors in complex competition matters, with a particular emphasis on EU and multijurisdictional merger control, antitrust investigations and State aid. She represents clients before the European Commission, national competition authorities and the European Courts. Recognized by Chambers as one of the leading antitrust lawyers in Europe, Salomé was named one of the world’s top antitrust lawyers by Global Competition Review in their latest “Women in Antitrust” report. In 2018, Politico Europe ranked her as one of the 20 “Women Who Shape Brussels” for her work as a competition lawyer.
Praised by clients for her "brilliant" and "spot-on advice on the legal issues, as well as on the required strategy to get the best results,” companies come to Salomé for solutions on their most complex antitrust issues. She advises on all aspects of EU competition law and has substantial experience in cross-border mergers and joint ventures, high-stakes investigations and complex vertical issues.
Salomé regularly advises public and private companies and private equity firms in phase I and phase II merger cases before the European Commission and national competition authorities. With increasing cooperation among antitrust agencies, she helps clients navigate complex reviews, negotiate remedies and obtain clearance, while coordinating filings and strategy all over the world. Salomé routinely counsels on competition issues relating to the digital and sustainable economy, such as distribution and e-commerce, cooperation agreements and technology licensing agreements.
Recognized as a leading EU competition lawyer by legal directories, such as, Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, Global Competition Review and Who's Who Legal, she also frequently writes and lectures on EU competition law. Politico Europe named her one of the 20 “Women Who Shape Brussels” for her work as a competition lawyer.
Salomé graduated in Law and Economics (summa cum laude) from the University of Deusto (Spain) and received her LL.M. from Harvard Law School (USA) and her Ph.D. in law from the European University Institute (Italy). She speaks Spanish, German, English, Italian and French.
She currently serves on the Harvard Awards Committee and is a former Elected Director on the Board of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) in Cambridge (US) and the past President of the Harvard Club of Belgium. In 2021 she was appointed Fellow of Aspen Spain.
Prior to joining King & Spalding, Salomé was a leader at other world-class law firms in the Antitrust & Competition space.
Executive Education from the International Directors Program, INSEAD
Ph.D. Law, European University Institute, Florence
LL.M., Harvard Law School
B.A., University of Deusto, Spain
J.D., University of Deusto, Spain, summa cum laude
Brussels
Madrid
ABA Antitrust Section
Asociación Española para la Defensa de la Competencia (Spanish Association for Antitrust Law)
Aspen Spain, Fellow
Elected Director, Board of Directors, Harvard Alumni Association (HAA)
IDArb, IDI arbitrator for international distribution
International Bar Association (IBA), Antitrust Committee
Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht (German Association for Antitrust Law)
English
French
German
Italian
Spanish
April 26, 2023
Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte comments on large tech companies facing regulatory scrutiny over mergers
April 12, 2023
Legal 500 EMEA 2023 Recognizes King & Spalding among the Top Firms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa
Obtained unconditional merger clearance from the European Commission for Transurban, one of the world’s largest toll-road operators, on its US$2.1 billion sale of a 50 percent interest in its Transurban Chesapeake assets to investors AustralianSuper and UniSuper, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Advised Dana Incorporated on the merger control and competition aspects related to its planned acquisition of the thermal automotive management business of Modine and coordination of filings in Europe and Asia.
Advised One Rock Capital Partners on the merger control aspects relating to the acquisition of CastFutura, a leading provider of combustion, safety and ignition products for cooking and heating applications, by its affiliate Robertshaw, a global engineering and manufacturing company.
See more
January 9, 2023
The EU Regulation on Foreign Subsidies is published – What does it target and what does it involve for companies?
August 5, 2022
Ruling On EU Commission Merger Reviews Signifies U-Turn
April 26, 2023
Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte comments on large tech companies facing regulatory scrutiny over mergers
April 12, 2023
Legal 500 EMEA 2023 Recognizes King & Spalding among the Top Firms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa
Obtained unconditional merger clearance from the European Commission for Transurban, one of the world’s largest toll-road operators, on its US$2.1 billion sale of a 50 percent interest in its Transurban Chesapeake assets to investors AustralianSuper and UniSuper, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Advised Dana Incorporated on the merger control and competition aspects related to its planned acquisition of the thermal automotive management business of Modine and coordination of filings in Europe and Asia.
Advised One Rock Capital Partners on the merger control aspects relating to the acquisition of CastFutura, a leading provider of combustion, safety and ignition products for cooking and heating applications, by its affiliate Robertshaw, a global engineering and manufacturing company.
See more
January 9, 2023
The EU Regulation on Foreign Subsidies is published – What does it target and what does it involve for companies?
August 5, 2022
Ruling On EU Commission Merger Reviews Signifies U-Turn
April 26, 2023
Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte comments on large tech companies facing regulatory scrutiny over mergers
April 12, 2023
Legal 500 EMEA 2023 Recognizes King & Spalding among the Top Firms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa
Executive Education from the International Directors Program, INSEAD
Ph.D. Law, European University Institute, Florence
LL.M., Harvard Law School
B.A., University of Deusto, Spain
J.D., University of Deusto, Spain, summa cum laude
Brussels
Madrid
ABA Antitrust Section
Asociación Española para la Defensa de la Competencia (Spanish Association for Antitrust Law)
Aspen Spain, Fellow
Elected Director, Board of Directors, Harvard Alumni Association (HAA)
IDArb, IDI arbitrator for international distribution
International Bar Association (IBA), Antitrust Committee
Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht (German Association for Antitrust Law)
English
French
German
Italian
Spanish