Ruben is one of the leading and most influential competition law experts in the Netherlands. Ruben has more than 20 years of experience with all sorts of antitrust investigations and merger control proceedings before various competition authorities. He also assists clients across numerous business sectors with advice on cooperation agreements, distribution and relations, abuse of dominance and state aid. Ruben is also experienced in dealing with consumer law investigations and complex regulatory issues involving sector specific EU legislation and the allocation of scarce resources such as airports slots. 

With countless representations before administrative and civil courts, Ruben is a trusted, well-versed litigator on matters of EU law and the private enforcement of competition law, including cartel and dominance damages cases as well as class actions. 

Ruben regularly speaks at national and international conferences and has published extensively on competition law cases and issues. Ruben is a member of the Dutch Association of Competition Law.

For more than 10 years, Ruben is recommended in the EU/Competition section of all leading legal directories, including Chambers & Partners (Band 2), Legal 500 (Leading Individual), GCR and Who’s Who legal (Thought Leaders– Competition Law 2025), a respected peer review of the best competition lawyers in key jurisdictions.

• Representing the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) in competition litigation proceedings on the legality of the FIFA Football Agent Regulations 
• Representing a variety of companies and trade associations in more than 30 competition and consumer law investigations before various authorities, including several successful leniency applications
• Representing a variety of companies in more than 40 civil and administrative competition litigation proceedings before various Dutch courts 
• Representing Corendon on the sales of its tour operator activities to Triton/Sunweb in merger control proceedings before the European Commission and the Dutch Competition Authority (phase II)
• Representing telecom company Simpel on the acquisition of Tele2 by T-Mobile before the European Commission and its shareholders on the acquisition of Simpel by T-Mobile in merger control proceedings before Dutch Competition Authority
• Representing various complainants and third parties in second phase merger proceedings, including in Talpa/RTL and Sanoma/Iddink. 
• Advising and representing NVB (Nederlandse Vereniging van Banken) and the largest five banks in the Netherlands on competition law matters in relation to establishment of joint venture Transaction Monitoring Netherlands
• Advising and representing the Dutch association of grid operators (Netbeheer Nederland) in the first approved sustainability cooperation under the its (draft) sustainability guidelines 
• Representing a global electronics manufacturer in two parallel follow-on damages claims before the Dutch courts
• Representing a global cargo airline in follow-on damages claims before the Amsterdam court
• Representing a European airline in a State Aid matter before the EU General Court
• Representing several European airlines in injunction proceedings against the slot coordinator (ACNL), the Dutch State and Royal Schiphol Group 

• LL.M, Utrecht University [2004]
• LL.M. European Law, University of Amsterdam [cum laude, 2005]

_{Ruben Elkerbout has registered competition law in the Netherlands Bar’s register of legal practice areas (rechtsgebiedenregister). Based on this registration, he is required to obtain ten training credits per calendar year in this legal practice area in accordance with the standards set by the Netherlands Bar.}

Amsterdam, February 2006

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