Ms. Schaeffer advises on international strategic acquisitions in a broad range of industries; brings expertise in competition regulatory enforcement and litigation matters; experience spans US, Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP has made an important addition to its antitrust, regulatory and corporate litigation capabilities with the arrival of international antitrust lawyer Fiona Schaeffer as a partner in its New York office.

Ms. Schaeffer regularly advises multinational corporations in strategic cross-border acquisitions, as well as joint ventures and other significant transactions. She counsels clients in a variety of industries, with a particular focus on healthcare, financial services, energy, media and communications. Clients have entrusted her to lead the antitrust defense of their most complex strategic transactions and coordinate regulatory approvals on a global basis, including with the most active antitrust regulators in the US, EU, China and Brazil, as well as many other jurisdictions around the globe.

Ms. Schaeffer frequently represents clients in FTC and DOJ enforcement actions and other regulatory investigations in the US and internationally, and helps clients maximize commercial opportunities while minimizing antitrust risks in their intellectual property, distribution and marketing practices. She has represented corporate defendants in criminal investigations and enforcement actions and in federal and state class actions and other private antitrust suits, as well as in arbitration.

Her list of accolades within the antitrust community is extensive. In the Chambers USA directory, she draws praise from one client as “a trusted adviser who understands our business as well as our in-house lawyers.” She was also named a “Top 40 Under 40” competition lawyer by Global Competition Review.

Milbank Chairman Scott Edelman said, “Fiona Schaeffer is an outstanding addition to our global corporate and regulatory practices. She brings a sophisticated skill set for our clients who need to navigate antitrust regulatory and enforcement issues in the US and internationally. Her track record in Latin America, Europe and Asia fits perfectly with our strengths in those regions.”

“Our international M&A practice has been extremely active and we expect the pace and scale of transactions to continue,” Mr. Edelman added. “Fiona has played a key role advising major corporations undergoing antitrust review for large, cross-border deals and she is intimately familiar with the competition compliance process in antitrust regimes worldwide. We are delighted she has joined Milbank.”

Mr. Edelman noted that Ms. Schaeffer’s arrival also complements the expansion of Milbank’s securities enforcement group, highlighted by the addition earlier this year of George Canellos, former Co-Director of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission, as Global Head of Litigation.

Ms. Schaeffer has spent almost 20 years practicing on both sides of the Atlantic.  She began her legal career in the UK, and has appeared before courts and regulators in Brussels, Luxembourg, the UK and other EU member states.

Ms. Schaeffer said, “Milbank has established world class corporate, restructuring and litigation practices and the firm’s achievements are well known throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. I am delighted to be joining a partnership of incredibly talented lawyers who have established a strong platform to grow the US and international antitrust practice. I am looking forward to contributing to the firm’s further expansion in global M&A and high stakes regulatory and litigation matters that increasingly play out in an international arena.”

Ms. Schaeffer, who is widely published and speaks frequently on antitrust matters, is chair of the Antitrust & Trade Regulation Committee of the New York City Bar Association, a member of the NYSBA Antitrust Section Executive Committee, and member of the Council of the ABA’s Section of Antitrust Law. She earned a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the University of Oxford, and a Bachelor of Laws and in Economics from the University of Adelaide in Australia.