Niall Lynch is a partner with Latham Watkins based in the firm’s San Francisco office. Niall E. Lynch represents leading US and global companies in United States Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal antitrust investigations and follow-on litigation. Mr. Lynch helps clients successfully navigate the unique intricacies of DOJ antitrust investigations, drawing on 15 years of experience as a former prosecutor in the DOJ’s Antitrust Division. His distinctive experience in international antitrust and competition matters includes cartels, civil conduct, and criminal investigations, as well as follow-on class action litigation. Notably, Mr. Lynch has represented multinationals and their managers in criminal and administrative price-fixing investigations in Brazil, Canada, Europe, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. His experience spans a variety of industries, including semiconductors, information technology, electronics, chemicals, oil and gas, consumer food products, government contracts, and media. Mr. Lynch handles every stage of criminal antitrust investigations, including: negotiating compliance with DOJ grand jury subpoenas quickly and efficiently; resolving DOJ investigations with no enforcement action; securing favorable terms in plea agreements; and achieving winning results at trial. Prior to joining Latham, Mr. Lynch served as Assistant Chief in the DOJ’s San Francisco Field Office. He led several of the Division’s most significant criminal prosecutions, including the liquid crystal display (LCD) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM) grand jury investigations, which resulted in US$1.6 billion in criminal fines and dozens of individual prosecutions. He also prosecuted numerous cases in the General Crimes Section while serving as a Special Assistant United States Attorney. Mr. Lynch tried several jury trials and received numerous awards during his tenure at the DOJ, including the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, the second-highest award for DOJ employee performance. Mr. Lynch has repeatedly earned recognition as one of the world’s foremost competition practitioners, including by The International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers & Economists every year since 2013. He is one of seven lawyers in California to be named a 2019 Thought Leader by the publication. Mr. Lynch currently ranks in Chambers USA as Band 1 for Nationwide Antitrust Cartels. In 2020, Mr. Lynch was recognized by The Legal 500 US as a Hall of Fame lawyer for his Antitrust: Cartel work. Mr. Lynch is a member of the American Bar Association Antitrust Section’s International Cartel Task Force, and previously chaired the Executive Committee of the California State Bar’s Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section. He also previously served as Local Chair of Latham & Watkins’ San Francisco Litigation & Trial Department.
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This article has been nominated for the 2023 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. PE firms with non-competitor, majority-owned portfolio companies will face reduced risks of antitrust liability under Section 1 of the Sherman Act in the (...)
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This article has been nominated for the 2021 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. With increased scrutiny of anticompetitive conduct in labor markets, companies need to adopt proactive compliance efforts to avoid prosecution. The US (...)
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This article has been nominated for the 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. On Nov. 5, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice announced a major new initiative focused on antitrust enforcement in the area of public (...)
