Overview
McDermott’s Antitrust & Competition team has extensive experience in all facets of the merger review process. We understand the concerns of business leaders and regulators alike and have a reputation for success in even the most difficult, complex deals. Companies with ‘must win’ strategic mergers often turn to our team solely for merger clearance counsel. We have demonstrated success advising as stand-alone antitrust counsel working as a team with the law firm our client has chosen to provide corporate counseling, and have an equally strong record serving an integrated team with our nationally ranked M&A practice.
We regularly defend clients in merger-related antitrust investigations and inquiries before the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). We advise clients at every step, from the earliest transaction consideration through the initial waiting period and, when required compliance with agency requests for additional information, including “second requests.” When necessary, we vigorously defend transactions in court. We also represent third parties that wish to oppose transactions before the FTC and DOJ. We are similarly active in other major jurisdictions, and we manage local counsel effectively when filings are required where we do not have an office.
Clients value our ability to get deals through regulatory hurdles, and to do so quickly. Key to our success is a team composed of many former FTC/DOJ attorneys who possess outstanding relationships with FTC and DOJ lawyers. Additionally, we take a proactive approach in which we anticipate issues rather than waiting for regulators to find problems. We learn the industry, talk to agency staff and explain why the transaction is lawful, so that we can address the issues early on and avoid a lengthy investigation.
We continue to explore creative ways to obtain merger clearances quickly and at a lower cost. For instance, McDermott was the first law firm to use “predictive coding” to comply with the DOJ’s formal information requests. This solution saved significant time and reduced our client’s document production costs by more than $1 million.
