Ethel Fonseca

Dr Ethel Fonseca joined RBB Economics in 2008 and is a Partner based across the London and Brussels offices. Ethel is described in Who’s Who Legal as “an excellent economist” who is “very easy to work with”. Clients credit her “great understanding of what, when and how lawyers need things” as a key to her success.

Having specialised in applied microeconomics and econometrics during her PhD studies, Ethel has particular expertise in the application of quantitative techniques to the assessment of competition policy issues.

Ethel advises on all aspects of competition economics and policy, and across all sectors of the economy. She has represented clients on competition cases before the European Commission and various national competition authorities, including the UK, Brazil, France, Portugal and South Africa.

Ethel has extensive experience in merger assessment, having worked on many in-depth Phase II investigations raising horizontal, vertical and conglomerate concerns. She has also worked on transactions involving the development and coordination of economic analysis across multiple jurisdictions globally.

Ethel has also advised clients on other aspects of competition policy including market enquiries, abuse investigations, cartels and follow-on damages.

She has acted as an expert witness before an arbitration court in the UK and has presented orally on numerous occasions before the European Commission and other competition authorities around the world.

Ethel teaches regularly at the Academy of European Law (ERA) and has taught at the Postgraduate Diploma/Masters in Economics for Competition Law at Kings College, London.

Ethel is a member of the W@Competition Board and is featured in Who’s Who Legal. She joined RBB after completing her PhD in Economics at Rutgers University, USA. Before joining the firm, Ethel worked as a consultant at the World Bank.

A Brazilian national, Ethel is fluent in Portuguese and English.