Carmen advises a wide range of domestic and multinational clients about all aspects of Belgian and EU competition law, including cartel cases, distribution networks, technology transfer agreements, joint ventures, abuse(s) of dominance, and State aid matters. Carmen also represents clients in antitrust cases before the Belgian and European competition authorities and courts. She regularly assists various multinational clients in the setting-up of compliance programmes and training. In merger control cases, Carmen assists clients in obtaining merger control clearance from the Belgian Competition Authority and the European Commission and in the coordination of merger filings in numerous other countries.
Carmen has also developed solid experience in providing advice on a broad range of complex contractual matters and the drafting of all types of commercial agreements.
Carmen has been appointed an Assessor in the Belgian Competition Authority and Maître de Conférences at the University of Liège, teaching in the LLM in European Competition and IP law.
She has been elected President of the International League of Competition Law/ Ligue Internationale du Droit de la Concurrence (LIDC) and is board member of the Belgian association for the study of competition law (AEDC).
Carmen has been appointed as an expert in the Commission created under the law on pre-contractual information obligations in commercial cooperation agreements and is a member of the legal committee of the Belgian Franchising Federation.
Clients highlight her work in contentious matters, saying that she is "good in negotiations and before judges". - Chambers Europe, 2020
Carmen Verdonck "quickly and thoroughly understands the issues raised in cases. She is also very pleasant to work with, and has a good sense of humour." - Legal 500, 2020
Carmen Verdonck is "the lawyer to go to!" - Legal 500, 2020
Carmen Verdonck is "super easy to work with, very responsive and very good with people." – Chambers Europe, 2019
Carmen Verdonck is a “flexible but strong lawyer who stands behind her advice” and "has a vision in terms of how a case should go” – Chambers Europe, 2018
Sources value that Carmen is "pragmatic and can grasp difficult and complex problems quickly and give you a quick recommendation on what to do." – Chambers Europe, 2017
Education
- LL.M. in European Law (University of Bristol)
- Erasmus Exchange Program (Universität Bayreuth, Germany)
- Lic. Juris (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
- Cand. Juris (Université de Namur)
Selection of publications
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“Sports and competition law: An overview of EU and national case law”, Concurrences, e-Competitions Sports, Art. N° 92775, 16 July 2020 (with Quentin Silvestre, Hanne Baeyens and Nina Methens)
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"Contributor to The Merger Control Review", Tenth edition, Belgian chapter, Law Business Research Ltd., 2019. (with N. Methens)
