Howrey has boosted its Brussels antitrust team with the high-profile hire of a senior lawyer from the European Commission.

Lars Kjolbye joins the US law firm on 1 April from the Directorate General for Competition (DG Comp), where he was head of the energy and environment antitrust unit.

At Howrey, the Danish-qualified Kjolbye – who spent more than a decade with the Commission – will lead a new Scandinavian antitrust unit operating from the Belgian capital.

Before heading up the DG Comp energy team, Kjolbye was deputy head of the scrutiny unit, dealing with areas including aviation, banking, cartels, IT and music and sports rights. He has also completed stints in private practice with a Danish firm and at the European Court of Justice.

Howrey Brussels managing partner and European antitrust chief Trevor Soames commented: "[Kjolbye] has been an important player in the modernisation of European competition law in recent years and has a profound understanding of the issues and an ability to analyse complex competition issues across sectors.

"His expertise on intellectual property-related issues will be of particular value given the firm's focus on the IP/antitrust interface."

Howrey's 45-lawyer Brussels arm has previously hired lawyers from DG Comp including former director general Gotz Drauz and Julian Joshua, who oversaw cartel enforcements.

Last month Howrey launched an IP team in its new Madrid office. The office, which initially focused on antitrust, opened in January as Howrey Martinez Lage following a merger with a local firm.

The firm also last month saw City litigation partners Geoffrey Gauci, James Irvine and Charles Pugh exit as Howrey refocuses on its core IP and antitrust practices.