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Partner
Ciara Kennedy-Loest
Languages spoken
English
French
Italian
Career highlights
European Agency for Reconstruction - defending the Agency in proceedings before the CFI regarding a contract for the supply of equipment for the treatment of medical waste
Nintendo - advising Nintendo in relation to its appeal to the European Court of First Instance ("CFI") against the €149million fine imposed on it in 2002 for infringements of the competition rules
European GNSS Supervisory Authority - advising the GNSS on procurement and competition issues in relation to the public private partnership for the management and financing of the deployment and operation of a satellite navigation system for the EU
Ciara is a partner in the Competition and EU law practice. She spent 6 years in Lovells London office before transferring in 1999 to the Brussels office where she is currently based.
From 1992 to 1993 Ciara worked at the European Comission on the PHARE programme where she was jointly responsible for drafting the Commission's public procurement guidelines for Contracting Authorities for Services and Supply Contracts in Eastern Europe.
Since qualifying into the Competition and EU practice in 1995 Ciara has focussed on advice in relation to public procurement, particularly in the context of PFI/PPP projects, ever since.
Her work in this field covers advisory work for public sector purchasers, utilities and bidders, transaction related issues in the context of PPP, outsourcings and development agreements, and litigation before both the UK and European Courts.
On the competition front, Ciara has worked in both London and Brussels. She regularly represents clients before the UK competition authorities and has competition and regulatory experience in a number of utility sectors such as water and electricity. Ciara has also represented clients in front of the European Commission in EC Merger Regulation Notifications, cartel investigations, and State aid notifications, as well as before the European Courts in both competition and public procurement cases.