Dentons has appointed Warsaw-based partner Agnieszka Stefanowicz-Barańska and Amsterdam-based partner Marc Kuijper as Co-Heads of the Europe Competition and Antitrust practice for the term ending December 2027.
In addition to her new European role, Agnieszka Stefanowicz-Barańska also heads Dentons’ Competition practice in Poland. She has more than 30 years’ experience representing clients in EU and Polish competition authority merger control, cartel, abuse of dominance, and consumer protection proceedings. She provides competition law support on M&A deals, including foreign direct investment screening. She assists clients in designing distribution networks and implementing compliance initiatives, including risk-mapping and comprehensive antitrust audits. A leader in her field, she is ranked in Band 1 for Competition/Antitrust in Chambers Europe, and in the Hall of Fame in Legal 500. She has served as head of the Polish Competition Law Association continually since 2003 and is a co-author of the “Commentary to the Polish Act on private antitrust enforcement claims”, published in 2018.
Agnieszka Stefanowicz-Barańska commented, “I am excited to lead Dentons’ Competition and Antitrust practice in Europe, jointly with Marc, at such an interesting time. The current geopolitical landscape and dynamic enforcement trends in the competition law sector continuously present new challenges. Having been with Dentons for over 30 years, I’ve seen firsthand our lawyers’ ability to adapt and react creatively in order to bring clients out-of-the-box solutions—especially when cross-border cooperation is key.”
Marc Kuijper is Head of the EU Competition practice and Co-head of the Antitrust Litigation team in the Netherlands, in addition to his European leadership role. He also served as Netherlands Managing Partner at Dentons from 2021 to 2024. He represents companies before the Netherlands and EU competition authorities, and before national courts and the European Court of Justice. He advises companies in national and international cartel investigations, abuse of dominance investigations, merger filings, state aid matters and compliance audits. He also handles compliance work in relation to trade associations, joint purchasing organizations, joint ventures, e-commerce and vertically integrated companies. He is known for his extensive track record in cartel damage cases as well as litigations on failing markets and government intervention. Marc Kuijper is ranked in Band 2 for Competition and EU law in Chambers Europe, and as a Leading Partner in Legal 500.
Marc Kuijper commented, “I am very happy to be co-leading our stellar Competition and Antitrust practice in Europe with Agnieszka. We are seeing increased regulatory pressure within the EU, at a time when many are calling for a reduction of the regulatory burden to help increase competitiveness. In this environment, our global and pan-European team is well placed to help our clients gain or maintain unfettered market access, wherever they do business.”
Wendela Raas, Europe Chief Executive Officer at Dentons, commented, “We are privileged to have Marc and Agnieszka as leaders of our Competition and Antitrust practice across Continental Europe. Both are recognized among the top lawyers in their respective markets and their appointment has received the overwhelming support of their fellow partners.”
