DLA Piper expands Antitrust and Competition Practice with the addition of three former government enforcement attorneys

DLA Piper is pleased to welcome litigation partners Amanda Wait, Victor Domen, and Carsten Reichel, further expanding the firm’s Antitrust and Competition practice. All three partners are former government antitrust enforcers and will be based in the firm’s Washington, DC office.

Wait, a former Federal Trade Commission lawyer, advises deal makers and litigants across a wide variety of industries and is particularly active in the healthcare, energy, and retail sectors. She led the team responding to the Department of Justice’s investigation of US Sugar’s proposed acquisition of Imperial Sugar. The team ultimately defeated the DOJ’s attempt to block the transaction in court. Some of her notable representation includes successfully advising a major health system in connection with its strategic, cross-market combination in review by the FTC; advising a major US energy company in connection with a vertical acquisition; and developing and leading a global merger clearance strategy for a transportation industry manufacturer in connection with a multi-billion euro transaction.

Domen is a government antitrust investigations and prosecutions attorney with more than 25 years of state and federal antitrust experience. As a former antitrust enforcer for the Tennessee Attorney General’s office, Domen served as the lead lawyer in the investigation and prosecution of federal and state antitrust matters brought on behalf of the state of Tennessee. During his time as Chair of the National Association of Attorneys General Multistate Antitrust Force, Domen coordinated antitrust enforcement efforts of the State Attorneys General with officials at the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, FTC, and international antitrust enforcement agencies in multiple significant merger and conduct matters. 

Reichel, a former federal prosecutor with nearly 15 years of experience at the DOJ, represents corporations and individuals in government antitrust and other white-collar investigations and follow-on civil litigation, and he counsels clients on a variety of business decisions and in the development of compliance programs to navigate and mitigate antitrust risks. During his time with the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, Reichel spearheaded some of the DOJ’s most significant criminal cartel matters, working across a wide range of industrial sectors to investigate and prosecute cross-border price-fixing, bid rigging, market allocations, conspiracy, and fraud. Reichel brings a unique global perspective to his clients, having worked with numerous competition agencies across the globe to advise on cartel investigative practices and to coordinate international cooperation in enforcement activity. 

"Amanda, Vic and Carsten are first-rate lawyers with a proven track record of success in high stakes merger counseling, antitrust litigation and government investigative matters. We know our clients will quickly value their advice and counsel in many of their most significant matters," said Loren Brown, US vice chairman and chair of the US Disputes practice.

"Antitrust and competition laws permeate virtually every aspect of business, and the addition of Amanda, Vic and Carsten enhances our ability to help clients navigate this changing landscape. They bring years of experience in and insight into the complicated US and global antitrust enforcement environment," said John Hamill, co-chair of the US Antitrust & Competition group.