Ariane Le Strat is a senior associate in the Competition & EU law team of Bird & Bird in London, advising on UK and EU competition law with a particular focus on distribution and e-commerce. She joined Bird & Bird in 2015 from the Competition and Markets Authority, where she worked as a case officer on a number of high profile investigations. Since joining the team, she has attended dawn raids by the CMA and the European Commission advising on privilege, compliance and seize and sift issues in real time. Her background on the enforcement side comes very useful when advising clients subject to competition investigations. She regularly provides strategic advice to clients including on the structure of their distribution arrangements ensuring compliance with the vertical agreement and technology transfer block exemption regulations. She also advises clients on UK and international merger control. In the last year, she has expended her expertise to contentious matters by acting for a claimant in a follow on cartel damages claim in the High Court.