Profile details
About Dr. Ole Schley
Ole advises clients on the full spectrum of EU and German competition law, encompassing antitrust and regulatory aspects of global M&A transactions, antitrust litigation, cartel and abuse of dominance proceedings, and compliance with the EU Digital Strategy.
A key member of the firm's TMT group, Ole has deep sector expertise advising tech and digital platform clients, particularly regarding the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), Digital Services Act (DSA), and the German GWB10 "gatekeeper" amendments. He is a seasoned litigator, having represented clients in antitrust cases against the European Commission, the Federal Cartel Office, and private plaintiffs before the European Court of Justice, German regional and higher regional courts, and arbitration tribunals.
Ole regularly guides clients through complex cross-border transactions, coordinating filings under applicable merger control, foreign direct investment (FDI) and EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) regimes. He also advises on sustainability collaborations and is a frequent author on diverse legal topics.
His experience includes working in the firm's New York, Berlin, and London offices.
Recent work
Ole's experience includes advising:
- Meta on the newly enacted EU Digital Markets Act, including Meta’s “gatekeeper” designation, the specification of its “core platform services” and its ongoing global compliance preparation.
- Meta on its ongoing appeal before the European General Court against the European Commission’s designation of certain of its “core platform services” under the DMA – one of three first-ever challenges to be brought before the Court.
- An industrial client on its appeal before the European Court of Justice against the European Commission’s decision to block a merger.
- A leading automotive company on its defence in the landmark “Car Emissions” antitrust proceeding by the European Commission, which for the first time applied a “sustainability” theory of harm.
- A private equity fund on its acquisition of genome editing company focused on developing curative therapeutics using CRISPR/Cas9 technology.
- A private equity fund on its acquisition of a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of next-generation immunotherapies.
- Catalent on its acquisition of RheinCell Therapeutics, a developer of human induced pluripotent stem cells.
- Altor and SMS on the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in KAEFER Isoliertechnik, a provider of technical industrial services.
- Etex on its acquisition of acquisition of URSA, a European provider of insulation solutions.
- Beiersdorf on its acquisition of Chantecaille, a producer of skincare and cosmetics.
- An industrial client on its defence in an antitrust proceeding by the Federal Cartel Office.
- A tech company on its defence in an abuse of dominance investigation by the Federal Cartel Office.
- A leading automotive company on its global data strategy.
Qualifications
Education
- PhD, University of Hamburg and Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg
- Legal Traineeship (Referendariat) at the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, with placements at commercial law firms in Hamburg and New York, the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection in Berlin and the Foreign Office, German Embassy in Beijing
- Law studies at the Universitiy of Hamburg and the China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing
Professional qualifications
- Attorney at law (Rechtsanwalt), Germany
Professional memberships
- Antitrust Law Study Group (Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht)
- Competition Litigation Forum
- German-Chinese Lawyer's Association