Isabelle Rahman

Isabelle is a partner in the Antitrust and Competition Team and is the managing partner of the Brussels office. She is also a member of the firm’s Retail & Consumer Goods group.

Isabelle has substantial experience in the application of the EU competition rules and counsels clients active in a wide range of sectors on antitrust risk and business compliance issues. She provides strategic advice regarding merger control, cartel and abuse of dominance investigations, assisting clients in EU, Member State and foreign proceedings. She also regularly counsels clients in relation to their pricing strategies and commercial ventures including distribution, licensing and joint ventures.

Isabelle has been consistently recommended for over 20 years as an expert in EU competition law matters by Chambers Europe and Chambers Global, in particular for her business-minded and practical approach to finding legal solutions for clients. Chambers Global reports that Isabelle is valued by clients for her flexibility to handle both specific instructions around merger filings and ongoing questions relating to competition compliance. "She gets straight to the point, raising interesting facts that might be relevant for our business and proactively advising us on issues," says one source. A second client notes: "She is willing to take a clear position on an issue and come up with a practical solution that we can really use in our business."

In the Chambers Global 2024 edition, clients have commented as follows:

“Isabelle Rahman is fabulous to work with and very supportive."
"Isabelle Rahman is a very strong asset. She took over a complex situation and was able to bring together all stakeholders thanks to the combination of her excellent technical knowledge, commercial knowledge and ability to provide substantiated, clear and to-the-point recommendations."
"Isabelle Rahman is very sharp and insightful. She has a deep understanding of business and clients' needs and deep expertise in competition law. She is pragmatic, business-oriented, client-focused and a problem solver. She makes the client's life easier."

She has also been recommended by European Legal Experts, Practical Law Company (PLC) and The Legal 500 EMEA, which noted that ”Isabelle gives top-notch advice with a first class client service and approach”. Clients commented that “Isabelle Rahman always knows when and whom to engage in order to deliver the best work product and in an efficient manner both time- and budget-wise.”

‘Isabelle Rahman is always well-prepared and informed, ahead of the curve, and provides to-the-point advice meeting the client’s business needs. Isabelle listens to the client and their needs which is very important. Never leaves a stone unturned. Always accurate, efficient and works within the set tight timeframes. Very pleasant to work with.’

Experience

Representative matters

Advised leading Belgian shipping company on the competition law and foreign direct investment aspects of its takeover of a competitor.

Advised a European supplier of savoury snacks in relation to a strategic acquisition of a competitor in the UK.

Advising a US wireless carrier on the applicability of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation to their activities.

Advised leading Belgian shipping company on the competition law and foreign direct investment aspects of its takeover of a competitor.

Advised a European supplier of savoury snacks in relation to a strategic acquisition of a competitor in the UK.

Advising a US wireless carrier on the applicability of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation to their activities.

Advising US defense company in connection with acquisition of competitor’s assets.

Advise on antitrust and merger control aspects of a joint venture entered into by a Chinese conglomerate with an investment fund focused on lifestyle, fashion and healthcare.

Antitrust compliance advice to a trade association in the screen entertainment sector.

Advising a global skin health brand on competition law issues in relation to their European distribution network and counselling on various pricing schemes

Distribution advice to Korean multinational active in the European fashion sector.

Advising a company active in the broadband satellite Internet services sector on competition law issues relating to their distribution strategy.

Advising Big Tech company on competition law issues relating to pricing strategies in e-book sector.

Advising Big Tech company on competition law issues in their Ad-tech business.

Advising US venture capital firm in relation to transaction in the sports sector in Europe.

Advising French PE firm on the antitrust risks associated with strategic acquisition of a UK target.

Assisted a global asset management firm in expressing its views as an interested third party in the context of:

Case M.9130 - Société Générale/Commerzbank (Equity, Markets and Commodity).
Case M.9564 - LSEG/ Refinitiv Business, both in Phase I and Phase II.
Case AT.39654 – Reuters Instrument Codes.
Case M.10108 – S&P GLOBAL / IHS MARKIT.

Advised a multinational mineral company on various strategic acquisitions and JVs.

Advised an insulation/construction company with EU competition law advice on various commercial ventures.

Advised a global management consulting firm in relation to competition risks associated with the introduction of a new payment system by a consortium of banks.

Partnered with a global management consulting firm to advise a worldwide collaboration between generics manufacturers, aiming to accelerate and improve the global supply of certain drugs on humanitarian grounds in the fight against COVID-19.

Supported a beverage closure solutions client with worldwide expansion activities by providing competition law advice in relation to acquisitions, divestitures of existing businesses and strategic alliances (distribution, licensing).

Worked on a litigation strategy to counter unfair commercial practices by competitors in relation to misleading sustainability claims (“greenwashing”).

Advised a global travel management company in relation to various EU Commission, DOJ and CMA investigations in the airline ticket distribution sector as well as in relation to significant mergers in the travel industry.

Advised a global management consultancy in relation to key client projects including mergers in the automotive, pharmaceutical and airline industries, pricing strategies in the pharma and beverage sectors and benchmarking in the banking sector.

Advised a global food company on European competition law investigations in the super market retail sector.

Advised dominant companies on pricing strategies (including in the tobacco, metal packaging, pharma and construction sectors).

Recognitions

Ranked in Chambers Global for Belgium Competition: EU, 2006 - 2025
Ranked in Chambers Europe for Belgium Competition: EU, 2007 - 2025
Leading Lawyer: Competition and Antitrust; Women in Business Law, Euromoney Expert Guides, 2020 - 2021