Drink - DG COMP trainees – 28 October 2026

The antitrust team in Brussels forms part of Clifford Chance's Global antitrust team, which advises on ground-breaking, high-profile cases across antitrust, merger control, and state aid. We work in small teams, giving team members responsibility and opportunities for client exposure early in their careers.

Lawyers in the Brussels antitrust team work closely with our global network of over 180 antitrust lawyers. Our team covers all the key hubs of Europe, Asia-Pacific and the US, enabling us to support our clients on their most complex and important antitrust matters across the world. We work together to solve multinational antitrust issues, taking into account the interplay between different practices and rules, and always mindful of the practical implications antitrust issues may have on our clients' business.

Following your traineeship at the Commission, you may be looking for further career options. One of the options we would like you to consider is to join the competition practice of our law firm, Clifford Chance. The lawyers of the competition/antitrust practice assist clients with merger clearance matters, when necessary through phase II and in the European Courts. They defend clients in cartel investigations and provide compliance advice. They also assist governments and institutions in the context of state aid notifications and investigations.

We would like to invite you for a cocktail reception to get to know you – and to enable you to get to know us. This will be an opportunity for you to speak to our partners and lawyers. Although we have an open mind on this, ideally you should have studied law in your home jurisdiction. You do not need to be a qualified lawyer though, but a clear feasible path to European bar qualification while working in a law firm.

The event will take place in our Brussels office on avenue Louise 149 on Wednesday, 28 October as of 18:30 to 21:00.

Given we can only host about 50 guests in our premises, we will have to be strict when it comes to adding people to our guest list. May I therefore suggest the following:

If you are interested in attending the drink and you think you meet the requirements, I am inviting you to upload a copy of your curriculum with passport photo before 26 October.

Requirements

You have a background in competition law; You are interested in doing antitrust law in a private practice in Brussels