Marie has over a decade of experience working across the spectrum of competition law issues.
She advises clients on EU, UK and multijurisdictional merger control, foreign direct investment, cartel investigations, abuse of dominant position, as well as antitrust compliance.
Marie has been a key adviser to leading PE houses, financial sponsors, global financial institutions and corporate clients in large complex matters before the European Commission, UK Competition and Markets Authority and other global antitrust and foreign direct investment agencies. In 2023, Marie succeeded in overturning the CMA’s Phase 2 provisional findings to block Copart’s completed acquisition of Hills Motors and obtained a full clearance.
Over the years, Marie also developed an extensive expertise in advising leniency applicants in cartels, bid-rigging and resale price maintenance investigations carried out by competition and financial regulatory authorities in the EU and the UK. Recently, Marie successfully defended Sunset + Vine in the CMA’s investigation into suspected anti-competitive behaviour relating to freelance labour in production and broadcasting as well as a generic pharmaceutical client in relation to the CMA’s excessive pricing and anti-competitive conduct investigations of Prochlorperazine and other generic drugs.
Prior to joining Euclid, Marie worked at Clifford Chance’s antitrust (London and Paris) as well as in-house on a secondment with the Competition team of a leading retail bank in the UK.
Marie has been recognised numerous times for her achievements in antitrust and foreign investment. Marie was named ‘Competition Law Lawyer of the Year’ in the Women in Law Awards 2023 and has been recognised by Who’s Who Legal as a ‘Competition Future Leader’ and ‘Competition Expert’ since 2018.
What clients have to say:
- ‘Marie Leppard is brilliant, approachable, very supportive and incredibly smart! ’ – Legal 500, 2024-2025
- “Marie is one of the most impressive competition lawyers of her generation.”
- “Marie Leppard is “an accomplished lawyer”, who is admired for her “excellent judgement” as well as her impressive ability to “quickly establish effective working relationships.”
- “Marie Leppard is widely recommended by clients, who applaud her “humane, reassuring approach in combination with a brilliant understanding of competition law.”
Recent experience includes advising:
Marie’s experience includes work with sectors as diverse as private equity, pharmaceuticals, biotech, financial services, banking, finance services, construction materials, energy, oil and gas, consumer goods as well as healthcare.
- Mastercard on the Payments Systems Regulator’s market reviews into Cross-border Interchange Fees and Scheme and Processing Fees
- Sunset + Vine on the CMA’s Competition Act investigation into suspected anti-competitive behaviour relating to freelance labour in production and broadcasting
- Copart, Inc. on Phase 2 full clearance for its acquisition of Green Parts Specialist Holdings Ltd (Hills Motors) before the CMA.
- Mastercard on settlement of the Payment System Regulator’s Chapter 1 investigation into prepaid cards in the UK.
- Barclays in relation to the Libor and Forex investigations by the European Commission.
- Refresco on Phase 1 clearance with remedies for its acquisition of Cott’s bottling activities before the CMA.
- Unlockd in its litigation against Google for abusing its dominant position by removing Unlockd’s apps from the Google Play Store ecosystem and denying access to its ad server Admob.
- Royal Dutch Shell in relation to the sale of its Harburg refinery to Nynas AB
- Royal Dutch Shell in relation to the acquisition of Repsol’s LNG assets
- a generic pharmaceutical client in relation to the CMA’s excessive pricing and anti-competitive conduct investigation
- an immunity applicant in the European truck cartel as well as the global marine hose and the hydrogen peroxide cartels.
- European Commission together with Europe Economics, appointed to assist and advise DG Comp in its market study in relation to loan syndication in Europe.
- Private Equity Houses on mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures in the UK and Europe.
- Brands in relation to their distribution strategies in Europe
Includes matters handled at Euclid or prior to joining the firm.
Education
LLM, University College of London
LLB, Law and French, University of Surrey
Admissions
England & Wales
Ireland
Brussels (B list)
Languages
English, French and Spanish
Recent Publications and Speaking Engagements
Marie has spoken at a number of events in the last few years, including the European Competition Law Association Conference and a number of Antitrust Compliance conferences on competition law.
Marie is the co-author of a practical guide on the ‘Day-to-Day Competition Law for Businesses’ and has published various articles which can be found here
Contact Details
+44 20 3816 3011
Email: Marie.Leppard@euclid-law.eu