McDermott Will & Schulte has hired competition lawyer Kristina Nordlander as a partner in London to boost its European antitrust team.
She brings with her more than 20 years’ experience across a range of antitrust matters, with extensive experience before the European Commission and the EU courts, including the Court of Justice of the European Union. She advises global clients on merger control and regulatory issues arising from acquisitions, collective damages proceedings before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal and precedent-setting EU state aid litigation.
Ryan Tisch, global head of McDermott’s antitrust practice, said: “Kristina is a force in European competition law. Her ability to navigate the most complex and contentious regulatory issues instantly elevates our global offering. Clients want advisers who shape the market conversation, and Kristina does exactly that.”
Nordlander joins McDermott following a period of practice on her own account, having left A&O Shearman – where she was a partner – in January 2025. She joined legacy Allen & Overy in 2022, and remained following the subsequent merger.
She previously served as global antitrust co‑head at Sidley Austin, where she spent 16 years, becoming a partner in 2008 and working with established partners such as Stephen Kinsella OBE, Maurits Lugard and Ken Daly, among others. She trained and qualified at Cleary Gottlieb’s New York and Brussels offices; the latter being regarded as one of the premier antitrust firms in the EU. She has practised in London, Brussels and New York.
In recent years, her work has focused extensively on digital markets, online platforms and the impact of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, but she is equally expert at handling mainstream antitrust issues that affect companies doing business in the EU. Nordlander has advised in-house counsel at companies in sectors including life sciences, healthcare and big tech, as well as individual US and EU multinationals, and regularly assisted the European Company Lawyers Association.
Aymen Mahmoud, McDermott’s London managing partner, said: “We have seen extraordinary, dynamic growth across our global platform, and Kristina’s arrival is a marker of that momentum.”
The move enables Nordlander to practise more freely with a reduced risk of potential conflicts, at a firm that is expanding. McDermott’s links to tech clients and pharmaceutical and life sciences companies also mirror the strengths of her time at both Sidley and Cleary.
She is the founder of the Women’s Competition Network, an officer of the IBA Antitrust Committee and an active participant in the International Competition Network, all of which add lustre to her appointment.
Nordlander told this title: “I wanted to be part of building and maintaining a great team… rather than practising on my own; McDermott enables me to be part of a team in Europe, while I can help them build out in London.”
She said that she was impressed by the firm’s ambition and culture, adding: “Having worked at US firms, I felt the fit was right for me: a firm that will support my clients, enable me to build something better together and offer a structure that suits my background.”
Her arrival follows the departure of London antitrust partner Omar Shah, who left the firm just six months after joining from Morgan Lewis, where he was a partner for eight years.
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