Manish Bahl

Manish Bahl is the founder and partner of Bahl & Co., a Dutch law firm based in Amsterdam that advises on commercial, compliance and regulatory matters, including work before the Netherlands' competition authority. Under his leadership the firm has been recognised as Competition Law Firm of the Year in the Netherlands at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2025, an award that reflects its engagement with competition and regulatory questions and its standing as a modern, client-focused practice. The recognition marks a significant achievement for a firm established only in recent years.

Manish Bahl founded Bahl & Co. in 2021, building a practice that he describes as modern and progressive and grounded in the needs and requirements of its clients. From its Amsterdam base the firm offers tailor-made solutions in commercial, compliance and e-commerce law, handling litigation, regulatory and transactional matters. This combination reflects the realities of contemporary business, where commercial activity is closely bound up with regulatory obligations and where companies increasingly need advisers who can move fluently between transactional work, compliance and disputes.

Competition and regulatory matters form an important dimension of the firm's work. Bahl & Co. engages with the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, the Dutch competition and consumer regulator, as well as with the European Commission and various sector-specific agencies. This experience of dealing with competition and regulatory authorities is central to the recognition the firm has received, since it places the practice at the point where commercial strategy meets the oversight of regulators. Competition and regulatory scrutiny in the Netherlands and across the European Union has intensified in recent years, particularly in digital and e-commerce markets, and businesses increasingly need advisers who can engage confidently with authorities such as the ACM and the European Commission. For businesses operating in regulated or competitive markets, access to advisers familiar with these authorities and their expectations is a considerable asset.

The firm's client focus rests on quality and on sustainable, successful outcomes for the businesses it represents. Bahl & Co. positions itself as an adviser that builds its work around the specific circumstances of each client rather than offering standardised services, an approach well suited to the nuanced questions that arise in competition, compliance and e-commerce matters. Handling commercial, compliance and regulatory work within a single practice allows the firm to advise clients on how their commercial decisions will be viewed by regulators before problems arise. Its concentration on these connected fields allows it to serve companies whose commercial ambitions must be pursued within an increasingly detailed framework of Dutch and European regulation.

As the founder of the firm, Manish Bahl has shaped both its practice and its ethos, establishing an Amsterdam practice that combines commercial acumen with regulatory and compliance expertise. His leadership has driven the firm's development since 2021 into a recognised name in its field, reflecting a clear vision of a contemporary law firm attuned to the demands of regulated commerce. The naming of Bahl & Co. as Competition Law Firm of the Year in the Netherlands at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2025 recognises that vision, the firm's engagement with competition and regulatory authorities, and the client-centred approach that Manish Bahl has made central to its work.