Gowling WLG is delighted to welcome Rhiannon Pugh as a Partner in its Competition, Foreign Investment & Trade team.

As a dual-qualified lawyer (England and Wales, and Germany) who speaks fluent English and German, Rhiannon brings more than a decade's experience of advising international clients on UK, German, and EU competition law, with a particular focus upon complex merger control matters, foreign direct investment (FDI), cartel investigations, and abuse of dominance cases. While she specialises in advising clients in the energy and retail sectors, Rhiannon has experience of advising international clients active in a very wide range of sectors.

Having trained and qualified at Slaughter and May (UK and Brussels), Rhiannon has held senior roles at Hengeler Mueller (Germany) and, most recently, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang (UK).

Her recent work includes advising on major cross-border transactions, securing merger control and FDI clearances, and representing clients before the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal in standalone damages litigation. She has also successfully led upon strategic interventions before both of the European Courts in Luxembourg and has successfully defended clients in cartel investigations by the European Commission.

Rhiannon has also assisted clients in defending against and raising complaints to the European Commission about abuses of dominance. She has coordinated global compliance efforts for a range of clients headquartered in Germany and is an expert on advising clients on complex issues arising in distribution agreements under UK and EU competition law.

Rhiannon will be based at the firm's London office, and will work closely with colleagues in the UK, and in Germany, as well as across the firm's wider network.

She said: "I'm thrilled to join Gowling WLG at such an exciting time for the firm's Competition, Foreign Investment and Trade practice. I'm really looking forward to working alongside a talented team to give clients the answers they need to solve increasingly complex regulatory challenges. I am particularly excited about the prospect of being able to continue to provide UK clients with EU competition law support, post-Brexit, and to assist with the firm's continued successful expansion into the German market."

Samuel Beighton, Head of Competition, Foreign Investment and Trade at Gowling WLG, added: "We are proud to strengthen the team with Rhiannon's cross-jurisdictional expertise and deep sector knowledge. Her appointment reflects our continued investment in delivering an outstanding service to clients across Europe and beyond."

Lars-Gerrit Luessmann, Head of Gowling WLG's practice in Germany, said: "We're delighted to be joined by Rhiannon. Having lived and worked in Germany for a number of years, Rhiannon is excellent at communicating clear solutions to business leaders across Europe. Given her dual qualification, she is an excellent addition to our international practice significantly strengthening our German offering at the same time. We look forward to working with her on a range of projects, both in the UK and Germany, as well as internationally."

In addition to Rhiannon's appointment, the Competition, Foreign Investment and Trade team has recently seen the promotion of James Stunt to Principal Associate, highlighting the depth of expertise within the practice.