Languages
- English
- German
Social media
Bernt Elsner is a leading expert in the fields of EU competition/antitrust law, public procurement law and public law. He was Managing Partner at CMS from 2004 to 2010. He has more than 24 years of professional experience in Vienna and Brussels.
Elsner advises and represents national and international companies in national and European merger control proceedings, especially cross-border mergers, advises on horizontal antitrust law, especially in the area of bidding cartels, vertical distribution structures, abuse control and state aid law. Here's what he hopes to achieve in the antitrust department: “I want to position CMS as the first port of call for companies seeking comprehensive top advice in merger and antitrust proceedings in multiple European jurisdictions.”
Explaining CMS's biggest asset, he says: “The CMS network offers access to more than 150 antitrust experts in 27 countries and thus significantly greater coverage in Europe than any of our competitors. This is particularly important in the case of house searches, because we can support our clients on site at very short notice thanks to our numerous locations.”
Publications
Memberships & Roles
Awards & Rankings
Lectures list
Education
Bernt Elsner is a partner and head of the Austrian practice groups for public procurement law, EU competition law and public law. He is a leading expert in the fields of public procurement law, EU competition/antitrust law and public law. He was Managing Partner at CMS from 2004 to 2010. He has more than 24 years of professional experience in Vienna and Brussels.
Elsner is one of Austria’s leading experts in the dynamic and constantly changing field of public procurement law. His publications and lectures have had a decisive influence on Austrian public procurement law.
Bernt Elsner defines his goals as head of the global CMS Public Procurement practice group as follows: “I want to position CMS as the first port of call for companies seeking comprehensive top advice for tenders in several European jurisdictions.”
“The aim of public procurement law is to provide fair rules for competition that allow contracting authorities to identify the offer with the best value for money. The best solution is the right combination of whole life costs, environmental impact and a sustainable outcome for future generations.”
Elsner advises public contracting authorities on the structuring of complex tenders, advises bidders on their participation in procurement procedures, especially public-private partnerships (PPP projects), and represents them in procurement law disputes. He has extensive experience in tender-related compliance issues. He also has in-depth experience in the construction and infrastructure sectors, healthcare, and the financial, energy and climate change sectors.
Elsner studied law at the University of Vienna and business administration at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. In 1993/94 he worked as a research assistant at the Austrian Constitutional Court for the constitutional judges Prof. Dr. Karl Spielbüchler and Prof. Dr. Karl Korinek. In 1997, he practised European competition law at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in Brussels.
Publications
Memberships & Roles
Awards & Rankings
Lectures list
Education
Bernt Elsner is a leading expert in public law, public procurement law and EU competition/antitrust law. He was Managing Partner at CMS from 2004 to 2010. He has more than 24 years of professional experience in Vienna and Brussels.
As a former research assistant at the Austrian Constitutional Court, he has specific experience and expertise in public law matters. He represents clients before various authorities, the Federal and Provincial Administrative Courts, the Constitutional Court, the Administrative Court and the European Courts.
