Benoît Keane is an associate in the Brussels office of the international law firm McDermott Will & Emery/Stanbrook LLP. He advises on EU law and is a member of the Firm’s European Competition Group.
Benoît’s competition practice focuses upon antitrust (restrictive practices and abuse of market dominance), State aid and merger control before EU competition authorities.
Benoît has extensive experience in EU law. He provides advice on the free movement of goods and services, the free movement of persons and the treatment of intellectual property rights within the European Union. He has substantial experience in EU legislative procedures. Benoît’s practice focuses particularly on the application of EU law to professional sports and the media sector where he has acted in some high profile cases.
Benoît read law at the University College Cork in Ireland and obtained a Master’s degree in European law at the College of Europe, Bruges in Belgium. He qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales having worked in the United Kingdom, France and undertaken a stage with the European Commission. Benoît’s native language is English and he is fluent in French.
Benoît is the Chair of the Institute of International & European Affairs – Brussels. He is a member of the Editorial Board of World Competition. He is a regular speaker and has written extensively on developments in EU law. Articles include: “The Lisbon Treaty: Does Ireland need a Referendum?”, Irish Law Times (2008); “Fine Needle Work: Should Sport be Exempt from Competition Rules?”, Competition Law Insight (2009) and “The Shadow of Silhouette”, Yearbook of European Law (2000).
Representative Experience
- Assisting in a case before the European Court on the broadcasting rules for events listed as being of major importance to society
- Acting successfully in a case before the European Court on access to EU documents
- Assisting in a litigation to defend the regulatory rules of a sports governing body
- Notifying mergers to the European Commission, UK and Irish competition authorities
- Advising on investments in major redevelopment projects in order to comply with State aid and public procurement rules
Recent Conferences:
- What Next for the Lisbon Treaty? (Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels, December 2008)
- Update on EU Competition Law (American Bar Association seminar, December 2008)
- Intercultural Ireland: Sports and Culture (Brussels, November 2008)
- Listed Sports Events under EU Law (International Sports Law Conference, London, November 2008)
- Public Procurement Law and Environmental Service Companies (Conference on ESCOs, November 2008)
Education
- College of Law, Guildford, 2001
- College of Europe, Bruges, Master’s Degree in European Law, 1999
- University College, Cork, BCL, 1998
- Presentation Brothers College, Cork, 1995
Languages Spoken
- English
- French
- Gaelic
- German
