Michaël Cousin

"Michaël Cousin is an excellent practitioner who stands out for his excellent interpersonal skills and, above all, good understanding of his clients' business." Legal 500

Partner, Competition
France

Expertise

Michaël is a partner in the EU/Competition department in Paris. He represents clients in antitrust litigations, merger control, foreign direct investment control, State aid and compliance matters. He is also specialised in distribution law and unfair trade practices.

Michaël has extensive experience in competition matters across the retail, energy and transport sectors. He has also advised clients in matters related to banking, industrial equipment and private equity.

Michaël lectures competition law at the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Assas).

He is Vice-President of the French competition Law Society (AFEC).

He is a member of the board of the French competition Law Society.

Experience

Represented a major French retail group in connection with follow-on damages actions against suppliers involved in a cartel sanctioned by the European Commission.
Advised a leading industrial company in connection with an investigation by the French Competition Authority concerning practices applied within a trade association.
Represented a manufacturer of consumer goods in relation to several follow-on competition damage claims.
Assisted a major European financial institution in relation to the competition law aspects of its proposed acquisition, as a suitable purchaser, of a number of businesses divested further to a European Commission merger decision.
Acted for an expert in business revitalisation in relation to the merger filing of their acquisition of a retail network.
Acted for a leading energy group in relation to the merger filing of their acquisition of an oil retail distribution businesses.
Assisted one of the defendants in the "Home Products/Personal Care Products" cartel case before the French Competition Authority.
Assisted Colgate-Palmolive in relation to the merger filing of the acquisition of Filorga.

Education

University of Paris II (Panthéon-Assas), DEA (postgraduate degree) in EU law - 1998
University of Lille II, Maîtrise in private law - 1997
Universities of Warwick (UK), Saarland (Germany) and Lille II (France), integrated certificate of legal studies (legal diploma in English law, German law and European business law) - 1997PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Member of the Paris Bar Association.
Member of the board of the French Competition Law Society (Association Francaise d'Etude de la Concurrence).

Publications

"Autorité de la concurrence : les vraies raisons du départ d'Isabelle de Silva" interview with Michaël Cousin in Challenges (15 November, 2021) - Read the article here >

" Le mur de Facebook se remplit de scandales " interview with Michaël Cousin in Challenges (14 October, 2021) - Read the article here >

Professional Memberships

Member of the Paris Bar Association.
Member of the board of the French Competition Law Society (Association Francaise d'Etude de la Concurrence).

Testimonials/Rankings

The competition team was ranked “Tier: 5” by Legal 500 in 2025.
- The competition team was ranked “Firms to Watch” by Legal 500 in 2024.
Michaël Cousin has been ranked as "Recommended" in Distribution in "Décideurs Leaders League" (edition 2021).
Michaël Cousin has been ranked as "Highly recommended" in Antitrust in "Décideurs Leaders League" (edition 2021).
Michaël Cousin has been ranked as "Highly recommended" in Merger control in "Décideurs Leaders League" (edition 2021).
Michael is a "business-oriented" lawyer who is responsive and 'very easy to work with - CHAMBERS EUROPE, COMPETITION/EUROPEAN LAW, 2018
Competition and Distribution teal ranked "FIRM TO WATCH" in the Legal 500 EMEA guide 2023
Michaël Cousin has been ranked by Best Lawyers (editions 2023, 2024) in the following category: "The Best Lawyers in France" for competition and antitrust law.

Awards