International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer announced that Mary Lehner, advisor to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and former FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, has joined the firm as Counsel in its Washington, DC-based antitrust practice

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Mary brings to Freshfields both government service and private practice expertise on the full range of antitrust issues, as well as  experience with  consumer protection and foreign investment review  matters.  This expertise has been developed across numerous industries including healthcare, energy, technology, airlines, construction, and publishing.

While serving two FTC chairs, Mary advised on antitrust investigations, enforcement actions, domestic and international policy initiatives, and congressional strategies.  She was also closely involved in the Commission’s standard-essential patent enforcement and policy initiatives and in two notable Commission cases ultimately brought before the Supreme Court, FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health Systems and, most recently, FTC v. Actavis, Inc., in which the Court held that reverse settlement agreements between brand and generic drug companies are subject to antitrust scrutiny.  Prior to her role in the Chairman’s office, Mary was an attorney in the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.

“Agency experience and expertise are important to our work and our clients.  Mary’s service as a trusted advisor to both the current FTC Chairwoman and her immediate predecessor not only contributes valuable expertise to the practice but also complements very well our team’s impressive agency experience,” said Paul Yde, a senior partner in Freshfields’ US antitrust practice.  “Mary’s mix of government and private experience makes her an ideal fit with our existing practice and ensures that she will hit the ground running.”

This is the latest in a series of significant steps Freshfields has taken to add to its highly acclaimed antitrust practice and its antitrust capabilities in the US.  The practice regularly counsels Fortune 500 clients on mergers and acquisitions, cartel and multijurisdictional agency investigations and litigation matters that are both national and international in scope. 

Additionally, Freshfields’ global network of experienced antitrust litigators enables the firm to seamlessly counsel clients on, and then coordinate and defend simultaneous, parallel investigations, proceedings and litigations.  The firm added to this strength in the US with the hiring of Michael Lacovara, who served as trial counsel to Microsoft in the landmark antitrust case, United States v. Microsoft, as a partner in its US litigation practice in 2012.

According to John Davies, co-head of Freshfields’ global antitrust practice, “We are building our bench strength internationally so that we can be sure of offering genuinely leading antirust expertise on an integrated platform.  We are thrilled that a lawyer of Mary’s skills and agency insight has agreed to join us.”

International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer announced that Mary Lehner, advisor to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and former FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, has joined the firm as Counsel in its Washington, DC-based antitrust practice

.

Mary brings to Freshfields both government service and private practice expertise on the full range of antitrust issues, as well as  experience with  consumer protection and foreign investment review  matters.  This expertise has been developed across numerous industries including healthcare, energy, technology, airlines, construction, and publishing.

While serving two FTC chairs, Mary advised on antitrust investigations, enforcement actions, domestic and international policy initiatives, and congressional strategies.  She was also closely involved in the Commission’s standard-essential patent enforcement and policy initiatives and in two notable Commission cases ultimately brought before the Supreme Court, FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health Systems and, most recently, FTC v. Actavis, Inc., in which the Court held that reverse settlement agreements between brand and generic drug companies are subject to antitrust scrutiny.  Prior to her role in the Chairman’s office, Mary was an attorney in the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.

“Agency experience and expertise are important to our work and our clients.  Mary’s service as a trusted advisor to both the current FTC Chairwoman and her immediate predecessor not only contributes valuable expertise to the practice but also complements very well our team’s impressive agency experience,” said Paul Yde, a senior partner in Freshfields’ US antitrust practice.  “Mary’s mix of government and private experience makes her an ideal fit with our existing practice and ensures that she will hit the ground running.”

This is the latest in a series of significant steps Freshfields has taken to add to its highly acclaimed antitrust practice and its antitrust capabilities in the US.  The practice regularly counsels Fortune 500 clients on mergers and acquisitions, cartel and multijurisdictional agency investigations and litigation matters that are both national and international in scope. 

Additionally, Freshfields’ global network of experienced antitrust litigators enables the firm to seamlessly counsel clients on, and then coordinate and defend simultaneous, parallel investigations, proceedings and litigations.  The firm added to this strength in the US with the hiring of Michael Lacovara, who served as trial counsel to Microsoft in the landmark antitrust case, United States v. Microsoft, as a partner in its US litigation practice in 2012.

According to John Davies, co-head of Freshfields’ global antitrust practice, “We are building our bench strength internationally so that we can be sure of offering genuinely leading antirust expertise on an integrated platform.  We are thrilled that a lawyer of Mary’s skills and agency insight has agreed to join us.”