Riccardo Celli

Riccardo Celli is the managing partner of O’Melveny’s Brussels office and head of the European antitrust and competition practice. He has a double qualification as an Italian avvocato and a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. Riccardo has practised in Brussels since 1992 and has extensive experience advising on EU, Italian and UK competition law, as well as regulatory law. Riccardo has been successful in high-profile cases covering all main areas of EU competition law (article 82, mergers, and cartel cases). Most recently, he advised AMD in its article 82 complaint against Intel that culminated on 13 May 2009 when the European Commission fined Intel a record €1.06 billion for its anti-competitive practices. Additional highlights include representing Norsk Hydro in obtaining EU merger control clearance for the merger of its oil and gas activities with Statoil – a US$30 billion deal – and obtaining the acquittal of Firma Léon van Parys, the European importer of ‘Bonita’ bananas, of all charges in the EC banana cartel investigation following dawn raids in 2005 and extensive follow-up inquiries prior to the issuance of formal charges in mid 2007.Riccardo is a frequent speaker and author on competition law and regulatory matters, and recently served as a non-governmental adviser to the International Competition Network’s 8th Annual Conference. He is recognised globally as a leading antitrust and competition lawyer in many specialised publications, and was recognised as runner-up ‘Litigator of the Week’ by American Lawyer Litigation Daily for his work on the AMD/Intel case.