David A. Higbee
Shearman & Sterling (Washington)
Partner / Global Co-Head
David Higbee is a partner in the Antitrust practice, Global Antitrust Practice Group Leader and Head of the Washington, D.C. Office. He focuses on antitrust government and internal investigations, merger review and complex litigation matters. He has represented clients in varied industries including defense, oil and gas, financial services and technology. David works regularly on matters before the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. David previously served at the Department of Justice as Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Chief of Staff of the Antitrust Division. In that capacity, he advised the Assistant Attorney General on all matters related to the enforcement of the U.S. antitrust laws and oversaw investigations, civil litigation, and criminal prosecutions. At the Department of Justice, David also served as Deputy Associate Attorney General, and as Counsel to the U.S. Attorney General and White House Liaison. He was designated a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. David led transition planning for the Antitrust Division during the change in Administrations between 2016-2017. David also served at the White House under President George W. Bush as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director for Presidential Personnel, advising the President on the appointment of senior officials throughout the Executive branch.
Distinctions
Nominee, 2022 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, General Antitrust
Nominee, 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, Procedure
Nominee, 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, Mergers
Nominee, 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, Concerted Practices
Nominee, 2018 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, Mergers
Linked authors
Elvira Aliende Rodriguez
Shearman & Sterling (Brussels)
Sultan Almasoud
Shearman & Sterling (Riyadh)
Hundt Brendan
Shearman & Sterling (Dubai)
Christopher Bright
Shearman & Sterling (London)
Brian G. Burke
Shearman & Sterling (New York)
6099 | Events
Videos
Articles
5477 Bulletin
54
Introduction Last week, the FTC announced two significant moves. First, the FTC brought its first major standalone Section 5 actions, targeting certain companies’ employment noncompete agreements as unfair methods of competition. The very next day, the FTC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (...)
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On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 also known as The Omnibus Funding Bill (the “Bill”). The Bill includes the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act which provides for significant changes to the current filing fees under the (...)
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On November 10, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a policy statement (the “Policy Statement”) radically expanding the FTC’s interpretation of prohibited “unfair methods of competition” under Section 5 of the FTC Act. According to the Policy Statement, in determining whether something (...)
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On Wednesday, October 19, 2022, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) announced that seven directors resigned from their board positions because of DOJ’s concerns that holding the positions violated the Clayton Act’s prohibition on interlocking directorates. Discussed more fully (...)
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On January 21, 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”). The official publication is expected to be released in the Federal Register on January 24, 2022. (...)
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What This Means for Merger Enforcement, Technology Platforms, Healthcare, Banking and Consumer Finance and Labor Markets On Friday, July 9, 2021, President Biden signed a sweeping Executive Order (and provided an accompanying FACT Sheet) with the stated goal of using existing antitrust laws (...)
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On February 2, 2021, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”). The new size of transaction threshold is $92 million. The new HSR Act thresholds will go into (...)
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Overview The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ” and collectively, the “Agencies”) recently proposed changes to two aspects of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“HSR Act”).The proposed rules are subject to public comment and are unlikely to come into (...)
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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, “Agencies”) released the final version of the Vertical Merger Guidelines (“Vertical Guidelines”) on June 30, 2020. The new Vertical Guidelines, which had not been updated in more than 35 years, outline how (...)
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The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has, at least temporarily, reshaped the way that many companies do business. Nevertheless, companies must continue to be vigilant about compliance with the antitrust laws and understand that the U.S. antitrust agencies will continue to scrutinize their behavior (...)
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On January 28, 2020, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”). The new size of transaction threshold is $94 million. The new HSR Act thresholds will go into (...)
160
On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released joint draft Vertical Merger Guidelines (“Guidelines”) for public comment. This much anticipated revision to the Guidelines, which had not been updated in more than 35 years, (...)
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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. The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (Division) finally will consider the existence of effective antitrust compliance programs at the (...)
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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has revised, and once again raised, the thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”). The new HSR Act thresholds were published in the Federal Register on March 4, 2019 and will go into effect on April (...)
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On Thursday, 7th February, the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives approved the No Producing and Exporting Cartels Act 2019 (NOPEC), potentially setting up a vote by the full House. NOPEC was followed by similar bill, introduced in the Senate by Republican Senator Chuck (...)
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This article has been nominated for the 2018 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. On November 3, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint challenging Red Ventures’ proposed acquisition of Bankrate. The FTC alleged that the deal (...)
