Irene Fraile

• Represented a multinational health care equipment manufacturer in its acquisition by a large private equity firm before the European Commission, the UK Competition, and Markets Authority, as well as various national foreign direct investment (FDI) screening authorities.
• Acted for a global telecommunications infrastructure company in the $10.5 billion sale of its division before the European Commission and multiple other antitrust regulators and FDI authorities.
• Represented a leading international provider of consumer credit in relation to the antitrust aspects of a UK public takeover.
• Advised a major sports equipment company on the compliance with UK and EU competition law of selective distribution systems post-Brexit.
• Advised a leading restaurant franchisor regarding the UK and EU competition law aspects of their franchise and distribution system in Europe.
• Represented a global payments company in standalone antitrust litigation against Visa and Mastercard in the Competition Appeal Tribunal involving multimillion-pound damages claims, selected as one of The Lawyer’s “Top 20 cases for 2023.”
• Acted for several leading merchants in competition damages litigation against Visa and MasterCard in the High Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal.
• Represented a client active in the payments sector before the European Commission in relation to an investigation of alleged industry-wide anticompetitive practices.
• Advised a large global retailer on potential anticompetitive practices in the fintech sector.
• Acted for a payment services provider in disputes with a payment system.
• Represented clients’ interests before the European Parliament and the European Commission in connection with the EU payments legislative framework.

Irene Fraile is dual-qualified and focuses her practice on all aspects of EU and UK competition law and foreign investment laws. With extensive knowledge of the EU regulatory framework of technology and network industries, she has developed significant industry knowledge in the payments sector. She advises corporate clients, including leading global and European manufacturers, retailers, payment service providers, mobile network operators, and car rental companies.

Irene previously represented clients before the European Commission in European-wide investigations and complaint filings and has experience acting for clients in competition damages claims before the English courts. With specialist studies to become a legal adviser to the Spanish Parliament, Irene has represented clients’ interests before European institutions, including the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Languages

• Spanish
• Italian

Bar Admissions

• Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales
• Madrid Bar Association
• Brussels, Belgium (Not Admitted)

Education

• King’s College London (LL.M., 2012)
• Complutense University of Madrid (LL.B., 2005)