Expertise
Elaine serves as a Managing Associate within the EU, Competition & Procurement group in Ireland. Her expertise spans the full spectrum of Irish and EU competition law, encompassing regulatory investigations, dawn raids, merger control, dominance abuse, anti-competitive agreements, and EU state aid law. With a keen interest in consumer protection law, Elaine offers guidance to clients on compliance with consumer protection legislation, CCPC consumer investigations and product safety issues. Beyond these areas, Elaine provides advice on Irish FDI Screening and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), as well as public procurement and other regulated areas.
Elaine brings over 12 years of experience from her tenure at the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), where she served as a solicitor in both the Competition Enforcement and Mergers Divisions. Her experience encompasses a wide range of civil and criminal investigations, merger assessments, and advising on procedural and legal issues. Elaine's notable contributions include advising on Freedom of Information, Data Protection, Document Retention, summons procedures, securing search warrants, and leading the first investigation and criminal prosecution of gun jumping in Ireland.
Elaine's tenure at the CCPC also saw her spearheading training initiatives on investigation procedures and practices. Her involvement extended to legislative work, contributing to the development of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 and the Competition Act 2022, showcasing her deep legislative knowledge and experience.
- Experience
- A client in relation to a cartel investigation by the European Commission.
- A client in relation to a consumer law investigation by the CCPC.
- A client relating to an internal competition audit.
- Various clients relating to the application of Irish FDI Screening and FSR rules.
- Shorecal in relation to the CCPC merger notification in M/24/016 – Domino’s/Shorecal.
- Various clients on commercial arrangements.
Representative Clients include: Bertelsmann, BMW, Colas, Digital Manufacturing Ireland, Harvey Norman, Marks & Spencer, Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI), Zara.
- Education
- Kings Inns Dublin – Advanced PG Diploma in Quasi-Judicial Decision Making – 2021
- Kings College London – PG Diploma in Economics for Competition Law – 2015
- Kings Inns Dublin – Advanced PG Diploma in Corporate, White Collar and Regulatory Crime – 2012
- Admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in England and Wales - May 2010
- Law Society of Ireland - Diploma in Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law – 2010
- Admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Ireland - April 2007
- University College Dublin - LLM Masters Degree in European Law (Honours) – 1997
- University College Dublin - Bachelor Degree in Business & Legal Studies (Honours) - 1996
- Publications
- AG Insights – Dawn Raids in Ireland Series 2025.
- AG Insights – Ireland's new FDI screening mechanism Navigating the Challenges for Dealmakers.
- EU Member States: Ireland Food labelling, European Union Food and Feed Law Review: Vol. 3, No. 3 (2008), p. 183 (1 page)
- Testimonials
- ‘Eoghan Ó hArgáin as partner and Elaine Cahill as senior associate are both exceptional to deal with. They are both extremely approachable and speak in a way that everybody dealing with them clearly understand. They impressed everybody in our organisation who dealt with them.’ Legal 500 2025
- Professional Memberships
- Law Society of Ireland
- Law Society of England and Wales
- Member of disability Legal Network (Ireland)
