Kirkland Boosts Antitrust and Competition Practice with Hire of Former Federal Trade Commission Assistant Director Matthew J. Reilly in Washington D.C.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that former U.S. Federal Trade Commission Assistant Director Matthew J. Reilly has joined the Firm’s Washington, D.C., office as a partner in the antitrust and competition practice. Mr. Reilly joins from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he was a partner in the antitrust practice and focused on a wide range of matters, including litigation, complex transactions and counseling, and government investigations.
“Matt is a talented and respected attorney with a strong reputation for successful outcomes, whether representing corporations or the government,” said Jeffrey C. Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland’s Global Management Executive Committee. “His significant experience handling high-profile and complex merger clearance and antitrust litigation matters, as well as his senior government enforcement experience, will be an enormous benefit to our clients executing sophisticated transactions in a complex regulatory environment. We are delighted to welcome him to our premier antitrust and competition practice.”
While in government, Mr. Reilly served as the head of the FTC’s Mergers IV division where he led some of the division’s most high-profile merger challenges and investigations in industries such as hospitals, retail and consumer products. In total, Mr. Reilly spent 13 years at the FTC where he devoted himself to merger litigation work since joining as a staff attorney in the Mergers I unit.
Mr. Reilly joined Simpson Thacher in 2012, and has represented a diverse group of companies across a broad spectrum of industries. Since leaving the FTC, Mr. Reilly has represented clients in numerous high-profile merger reviews and antitrust litigations.
Mr. Reilly earned his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, his M.A. from Duke University, Sanford Institute of Public Policy, and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Colby College. He is recognized as a leading antitrust lawyer by Chambers USA, The Legal 500 U.S., and Benchmark Litigation. He was honored by The National Law Journal as one of the “Top Outside Counsel” to America’s Outstanding General Counsel for his representation of Office Depot in obtaining antitrust clearance in connection with its $1.2 billion merger with OfficeMax.
“Kirkland has a great group of talented antitrust lawyers, and I am excited to be a part of that top-tier practice and to begin working with my colleagues in Washington and across the Firm,” Mr. Reilly said. “The heightened scrutiny by antitrust enforcers means that M&A is more complex than ever and I look forward to helping our clients navigate these evolving challenges.”
Mr. Reilly’s appointment bolsters the recent growth of Kirkland’s antitrust and competition team, which now includes nearly 120 lawyers globally, with experience in criminal and civil antitrust litigation, government investigations, transaction clearances and counseling. In September 2016, Katherine A. Rocco joined the Firm’s New York office as a partner in the antitrust and competition practice from Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.
About Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis LLP (www.kirkland.com) is a 1,700-attorney law firm representing global clients in antitrust and competition, litigation and dispute resolution/arbitration, private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions, restructuring, and intellectual property and technology matters. The Firm has offices in Washington, D.C., Beijing, Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Shanghai.
