Özlem is a senior associate at the Financial Conduct Authority. She was previously a Senior Associate at Shearman and Sterling. There, Özlem advised global businesses on all aspects of EU and UK Competition law, with particular experience in international cartels, complex multi-jurisdictional mergers and compliance work for dominant companies. Özlem coordinated complex mergers such as obtaining clearance for the GE/Alstom merger and working for a third party to block the NYSE/Deutsche Börse merger. Through these cases, Özlem had experience of driving mergers from different perspectives to help clients obtain results in a pragmatic, effective and streamlined way. Additionally, Özlem has secured merger control clearance from a number of competition authorities worldwide. Özlem had also worked on novel issues such as advising the only non-settling party for allegedly facilitating a cartel in a hybrid case, and working on an investigation where two competitors’ cooperation allegedly fell outside of the R&D Block Exemption Regulation. Özlem worked across different industry sectors including automotive, consumer electronics, energy, and financial services. Prior to joining the Shearman, Özlem worked in the Brussels office of an international law firm and in the London and Brussels offices of an American law firm.