Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP announced an expansion of its highly regarded global competition practice. Steven A. Newborn, James C. Egan, Jr., John E. Scribner and Laura A. Wilkinson will be joining the firm as partners, resident in its Washington, D.C., office. They join Weil, Gotshal & Manges from Clifford Chance.
Stephen J. Dannhauser, Chairman of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, said, “We welcome Steve, Jim, John and Laura to Weil Gotshal. Not only do they have combined experience of more than 50 years working for the Federal Trade Commission, but in private practice they have counseled clients on what are considered among the leading antitrust matters of the day. We have been looking to expand our global competition and antitrust activities in the Washington, D.C., office for a number of years, and are pleased that we are able to do so with the addition of four of the most well-respected antitrust practitioners in the nation.”
Steven A. Newborn, who will be co-head of Weil Gotshal’s Global Competition practice, said, “The addition of our group to Weil Gotshal’s already well-established, high-quality and full-service antitrust group creates a truly preeminent practice.”
Helene D. Jaffe, Co-Head of Weil Gotshal’s Trade Practices and Regulatory Law Department, a member of the firm’s management committee and Co-Head of its Global Competition practice, said, “Globally, we are seeing increased consolidation activities. However, while some companies are merging, others are divesting, and regulatory pressures and oversight are at all-time highs. That said, I can not recall a time when our practice has been as active as it is right now.” She added, “I have long had great respect for the team of antitrust practitioners that will be joining Weil Gotshal. I am looking forward to working with the team to grow our Washington, D.C. and worldwide practice capabilities, as we continue to be a one-stop-shop for clients.”
David R. Berz, Managing Partner of Weil Gotshal’s Washington, D.C., office, said, “The addition of these four talented and recognized partners to our Washington office fulfills an important strategic objective of the firm to provide a broad range of competition and antitrust capabilities for our clients.”
Recently at Clifford Chance, Mr. Newborn led Shell’s acquisition of Pennzoil, Gart Sports’ merger with The Sports Authority as well as the combination of Kluwers Academic Publishers with BertelsmannSpringer. He regularly advises some of the world’s largest companies, such as DaimlerChrysler, Citibank, Johnson & Johnson and Siemens. From 1991-1994, Newborn served as director of litigation at the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition where he headed its merger enforcement program and was a major contributor to the 1992 Federal Merger Guidelines.
Mr. Newborn received the Brandeis Award as the FTC’s finest litigator, and in the only survey ever conducted, was voted by his peers as the best lawyer at the FTC. According to Chambers & Partners USA Guide (2003-2004), an annual listing of the ranking of business lawyers and law firms, Mr. Newborn was endorsed by competitors and clients for his “ability to hit on exactly the right arguments.” The prior year, some commentators rated Mr. Newborn as being in “a class of his own” and “someone you’ll turn to on a life and death merger transaction.”
While at Clifford Chance, James C. Egan, Jr. represented, among other clients, Shell Oil and Pioneer Hi-Bred International in multidistrict, class-action antitrust litigation. According to Chambers & Partners USA Guide (2003-2004), Mr. Egan was “praised by peers as a low-key, strategic thinker.” Previously, Mr. Egan was director for litigation of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, and held various other FTC positions including assistant director for mergers and acquisitions and assistant director for general litigation.
John E. Scribner played a significant role in obtaining antitrust approval for Amerisource/Bergen Brunswig in which the FTC approved a merger of two of the four largest drug wholesalers. Prior to joining Clifford Chance, Mr. Scribner was a litigation attorney with the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, and served as lead attorney in the FTC’s investigation of Boeing’s acquisition of McDonnell Douglas. Mr. Scribner received the FTC’s Award for Superior Service in 1997 and the Award for Meritorious Service in 1995 and 1996.
Prior to joining Clifford Chance, Laura A. Wilkinson served as deputy assistant director for the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, where she oversaw one of the bureau’s litigation divisions and was responsible for merger enforcement in a wide range of industries. In addition, Ms Wilkinson served as senior counsel in several of the FTC’s successful merger enforcement actions and was the 1992 recipient of the Paul Rand Dixon Award for major contributions to the FTC’s competition enforcement program. As a lawyer in private practice, she has been involved such large mergers as Shell’s joint venture with Texaco and Siemens’ acquisition of Atecs.
