LAWYER PROFILE

Helen Gornall

Europe 2026

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek

Ranked in 1 practice area

Competition/European Law

Netherlands

7 years ranked

About

Provided by De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek

Europe

Practice Areas

Competition & Regulation, Artificial Intelligence, and Business & Human Rights Litigation

Career

Helen has extensive experience in all aspects of competition law, including merger control, cartels, dominance and vertical restraints. Clients value her in-house and private practice expertise, which allows her to understand business drivers and offer clear and practical advice, even in the most complex of matters. She regularly advises international companies on their European and international M&A and competition law matters including AkzoNobel, Booking.com, Just Eat Takeaway, Celanese, DSM-Firmenich, TomTom and SHV.

Personal

- Non-governmental advisor to the Dutch competition authority ("ACM") supporting its membership of the International Competition Network

- Lecturer in competition law (Grotius Academie)

- Member of the Dutch leadership team of W@, which promotes and mentors female competition law specialists

Experience

Helen's recent work includes advising:

SHV on its sale of ERIKS to Lone Star, requiring multiple regulatory filings.

Akzo Nobel on its attempted acquisition of paint competitor, Kansai, in Africa requiring multiple merger control filings, including a South African Phase-2 merger control litigation process.

Booking.com in relation to litigation in the Court of Amsterdam and before the European Court of Justice in relation to price parity clauses.

Takeaway.com on all competition aspects of its acquisitions of Delivery Hero in Germany, Just Eat in the UK and Grubhub in the US.

A large IT provider in relation to the ACM's Cloudservices market study.

Various digital and tech clients in relation to digital regulation, including the Digital Markets Act, the Data Act, parity clauses, online advertising and abuse of dominance.

Two clients on consumer law matters examined by the Dutch ACM, linking to issues of transparency, algorithms and data provision.

HEMA on its sale to Parcom and Mississippi Ventures.

Coca Cola in relation to a sustainability-related packaging reduction initiative with competitors.

various other companies in relation to sustainability collaborations and preventing greenwashing / consumer law concerns.

Key sectors

Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT)Energy and UtilitiesEnvironmental and WasteHealth and Life Sciences

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Chambers European Guide

Competition/European Law - Netherlands

Band 2

Individual Editorial

Helen Gornall has a broad competition law practice, advising clients on high-value merger control filings and representing them in significant competition law litigation.

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Strengths

Provided by Chambers

She is strong in terms of her knowledge.
Competition/European LawChambers European Guide
Helen Gornall is very knowledgeable and extremely pleasant to work with.
Competition/European LawChambers European Guide