Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that J. Robert Robertson has re-joined the Firm as a partner in the Chicago office. He will be a key player in the Firm’s 100-lawyer Antitrust & Competition Law Practice Group.
Robertson returns after a two-year term as the senior litigation counsel for the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. In this role, Robertson was the lead trial counsel in many cases, including the first post-closing merger challenge tried at the FTC for over a decade, the matter of Chicago Bridge & Iron, N.V.
Robertson was also involved in various other competition matters involving the cruise line, pharmaceutical, and software industries.
“Robby Robertson has been a tremendous asset to the Federal Trade Commission,” said Susan Creighton, the FTC’s director of the Bureau of Competition. “He played a pivotal role in the commission’s ability to litigate and prevail in the most difficult and complex antitrust matters. In addition, Robby played an important role in the litigation training of attorneys within the bureau of competition. He has been a marvelous colleague and we will greatly miss him.”
“Robby’s vast knowledge and experience will help our antitrust group to continue to grow,” added Tefft Smith, a key leader in Kirkland’s Antitrust & Competition Law Practice Group. “We are thrilled to have him back on our team.”
After serving more than 10 years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, Robertson first joined Kirkland & Ellis in 1990 and became a partner in 1996. He has represented clients such as BP, General Motors, 3M, Polaris, Illinois Tool Works, and others in various antitrust, competition, merger and distribution law matters.
“I am excited to be back at Kirkland,” Robertson said. “The antitrust and competition group is outstanding and I am looking forward to contributing to its continued growth.”
Robertson attended the University of Chicago Law School and graduated with honors in 1990. He clerked for Judge Milton I. Shadur, at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois for a year after joining the Firm. Robertson is currently a senior editor on the Antitrust Law Journal and has been appointed to become the Editorial Chair of the Journal in July 2004.
