Dr. Saskia King

I am a partner in our Competition & EU Law team in London with over 20 years' experience at the cutting edge of UK and EU competition law and policy having worked at regulators, competition authorities, in academia and private practice.

I am a competition enforcement specialist having joined Bird & Bird from the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) where I was a senior lawyer leading the PSR's first competition cartel investigation in the payments space. I also worked for several years at the Competition and Markets Authority, where I advised on a broad range of complex and high-profile antitrust investigations and mergers (both at Phase 1 and 2). I also represented the UK's interests internationally at the OECD Competition Committee. This experience has given me valuable insight into antitrust enforcement, policy and regulatory practices, which means I am extremely well-placed to advise clients on every aspect of competition compliance as well as investigations from inception to closure, including complaints, cartel leniency applications, dawn raids, requests for information, evidence gathering, interviews, settlement as well as merger filings, remedies, sector enquiries and market studies/investigations.

My team and I bring in-depth and extensive experience on the application of EU and UK competition and merger control rules (both contentious and non-contentious) to sectors such as sport, retail, consumer, financial, fintech, payments, life sciences and technology/data/AI markets, where we support our clients on the full range of competition law issues affecting businesses. We regularly represent our clients before the Courts and arbitration panels and advise high-profile businesses on cross-border transactions, including on complex foreign direct investment matters. My team prides itself on its technical excellence and strategic, commercial approach.

I previously taught UK and EU competition law at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where I completed my doctorate in EU competition law. I have written widely on competition law, particularly on the most egregious restrictions of competition and my published work is often cited in academic texts and papers.

I advise clients on some of the most complex and commercially significant competition law matters, particularly affecting the sport, retail and consumer sectors. Advising on the intersection between competition law and sport is a particular passion. I am also interested in the fast pace of developments in AI and digital markets, advising clients on how to navigate the challenges these developments will bring.