Marie-Claire Strawbridge

Marie-Claire Strawbridge is a partner based in the London office and is a member of the Global Antitrust Law Practice Group.

Marie-Claire is an antitrust specialist with over 14 years of experience advising on merger control and foreign investment aspects of complex global transactions, as well as broader antitrust issues including investigations, abuse of dominance and complex vertical agreements.  

She has advised corporate clients and financial investors across a range of sectors including technology, energy, retail, healthcare, sports rights and industrials. In addition to coordinating complex multi-jurisdictional advice and delivering EU and other global merger control and foreign investment clearances, she has extensive UK CMA experience, having acted for clients on a number of complex CMA investigations, both at Phase 1 and Phase 2 and having delivered multiple informal CMA clearances. She regularly advises on CMA engagement strategy in global deals.

Marie-Claire is recognized in each of the annual editions of Who’s Who Legal: Competition – Future Leaders from 2017 to 2021.

Marie-Claire studied law and French at the University of Glasgow and completed a Masters in European Legal studies at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, in 2003. 

Before joining Morrison & Foerster, Marie-Claire trained and practiced antitrust law for 16 years at a London magic circle law firm. 

Marie-Claire is qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales and she is admitted to practice law in Belgium. She also speaks French.

Representative Experience

• Advising a major record label in relation to a CMA market study into music streaming
• Advising a major financial investor on series of strategic investments in the sports sector
• Advising a private healthcare group in the defence of a foreign takeover bid and a UK CMA investigation into price fixing
• Advising a major energy company and fund manager, active in retail, generation and fund management in relation to the merger control and foreign investment aspects of strategic investment in the company
• Advising a global software company in relation to a CMA merger control investigation into its acquisition of a competitor
• Advising a global luxury car manufacturer on a strategic partnership with a competitor
• Advising a UK grocery retailer in relation to a CMA investigation into a failed merger between two of the four major UK grocery retailers
• Advising a consortium of financial investors on the global merger control and UK and foreign public interest aspects of a takeover of UK-based satellite telecommunications company
• Advising a global coffee brand in relation to an exclusive global licensing and distribution deal
• Advising a major financial institution in relation to global investigations into alleged anti-competitive information exchange in foreign investment markets