We are happy to announce that on Tuesday 20 September 2016, we are holding the fifth edition of our European & Competition Law Speakers series, and the first for the new 2016-2017 season.

Prof. Dr. Wouter Wils will be our guest speaker for the evening. Dr. Wils is a Hearing Officer for competition proceedings at the European Commission and Visiting Professor at King’s College London. He was educated both as an economist and as a lawyer at Louvain, Utrecht and Harvard. As a Member of the Legal Service of the European Commission from 1994 to 2010, he represented the European Commission in more than 300 cases before the EU and EFTA Courts. He is the author of a variety of legal and economic publications, including Efficiency and Justice in European Antitrust Enforcement (Hart Publishing 2008), Principles of European Antitrust Enforcement (Hart Publishing 2005) and The Optimal Enforcement of EC Antitrust Law (Kluwer Law International 2002).

Dr. Wils will speak about the European Commission's enforcement action against cartels, and more specifically the Commission's leniency programme, under which companies cooperating with the Commission's cartel investigations can obtain immunity from fines or a reduction of fines. Twenty years after its introduction, leniency today plays a prominent role in EU cartel enforcement. Wouter will discuss the experience of the past twenty years of leniency, and present his views as to the positive and the possible negative effects of leniency. A Q&A session will follow. The talk will be held under Chatham House rules.‎

The event will be hosted by ‎Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, at their offices on Avenue Louise 480, 1050 Brussels. The talk will start at 20:00, with doors opening at 19:30. A drinks reception will be held after the talk. This is event is free for KCL Alumni and Students with limited space for Guests.

KCLA ECL Speakers - The Use of Leniency in EU Cartel Enforcement: An Assessment after Twenty Years, featuring Wouter Wils (20 September 2016)