Steptoe & Johnson LLP has its sights set on expanding its European Union competition practice, and it has tapped Washington partner Robert Fleishman to lead that effort.
Fleishman will head to Steptoe’s 18-lawyer Brussels office--the heart of its antitrust practice in Europe--early next month. He called the move “an open ended chapter” in the story of his career.
Fleishman is a former chair of the firmwide antitrust practice and advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, criminal antitrust investigations and business counseling. According to his online biography, his past clients include Stratos Global Corp. and MCI Inc.
Fleishman said the move is not driven by any one client but that he has “several” matters that will benefit from his being in Brussels. He declined to comment on which clients were involved in those matters.
“This is a great move for me professionally as well as personally,” he said. “There is a lot of ongoing work in the Brussels office as well as the prospect of being able to pitch in and help grow and develop matters others are working on.”
Kenneth Ewing, the current practice chair, said Steptoe would like to increase its number of antitrust lawyers in Europe from six in Brussels and a few in London who do at least some antitrust work to “between 10 and 20 lawyers with a range of experience.”
“One of the key goals with Bob’s move is to build the practice across Europe,” Ewing said. “He’s well beloved here in D.C. But this is a tremendous opportunity to contribute to the practice there.”
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