Vinson & Elkins is expanding its international footprint, hiring a former Mayer Brown partner to open an office in Brussels to build antitrust work, the firm announced Monday.
V&E named as leader of the office May Lyn Yuen, a former Hogan Lovells partner who has more than a decade of experience representing clients in antitrust and European Union Foreign Subsidies Regulation investigations in Brussels.
This move represents the Houston-founded firm’s “commitment to both our cross-border investigations and transactional practices,” Vinson & Elkins chair Keith Fullenweider said in the statement.
The move follows a broader trend of US-led law firms strengthening their presence in the Belgian capital. Baker Botts, another Houston-founded firm, opened its Brussels office in 2012 to build its antitrust and competition law practice. Reed Smith launched its Brussels office in 2020, while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Kirkland & Ellis followed the next year.
New York firms including Weil, Gotshal Manges entered Brussels in 2022, followed by Davis Polk & Wardwell in 2023. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
V&E’s new office in Brussels will be located near the European Commission, the EU’s main executive body and top antirust enforcer. The office will work in collaboration with the firm’s London post.
Yuen is expected to bolster the firm’s ability to deliver practical, strategic counsel to clients facing complex competition issues, including major transactions and European Commission investigations of market conduct, partner Hill Wellford, co-head of the antitrust group, said in the statement.
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