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Lawyers

Howard Shelanski

Lawyers

Howard Shelanski

Partner
Antitrust & Competition
Washington DC

National authority on antitrust and regulation. High-level experience at the FTC, the FCC and the White House.

Howard is one of the nation’s leading authorities on antitrust and regulation, with high-level experience at the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and in the Executive Branch. He is also a Professor of Law at Georgetown University.

Howard regularly advises clients on the antitrust aspects of their most important mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships across a range of industries. He also represents clients in conduct investigations by federal, state and non-U.S. antitrust authorities, and provides counsel on a variety of general competition and regulatory matters.

From 2013 to 2017, Howard served as Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Before that, he was Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Economics. Howard also served as the FCC’s Chief Economist and as a Senior Economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.

Languages
French
Spanish
Languages
French
Spanish

Experience highlights

  • Summit Materials in its proposed acquisition of Argos USA
  • Campbell’s in its proposed acquisition of Sovos Brands
  • Livent Corp. in its merger with Allkem Ltd
  • Spectrum Brands in civil antitrust investigation and litigation filed by the U.S. Department of Justice relating to Spectrum’s proposed sale of its Hardware and Home Improvement division to ASSA ABLOY
  • Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits in ongoing civil antitrust litigation
  • Two healthcare-related companies and one major food distributor in ongoing civil conduct investigations by U.S. antitrust agencies
  • One of the world’s largest technology companies in a major government investigation
  • Republic Services on its $2.2 billion acquisition of US Ecology and its acquisition of JRM Hauling and Recycling
  • Rentokil Initial on its $6.7 billion acquisition of Terminix Global Holdings
  • Williams on its $1.5 billion acquisition of MountainWest Pipelines Holding Company
  • IHS Markit on its $44 billion all-stock merger with S&P Global 
  • TPG in its acquisitions of Centrify and Thycotic
  • The Charles Schwab Corporation on its $26 billion acquisition of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation
  • Roche on its $4.3 billion acquisition of Spark Therapeutics
  • Advanced Accelerator Applications on its $3.9 billion acquisition by Novartis
  • Services Group of America on the $1.8 billion sale of its SGA’s Food Group of Companies to US Foods
View more experience

Insights

Credentials

Recognition

National Law Journal – “Washington DC Trailblazer,” 2020

National Law Journal – “Mergers & Acquisitions and Antitrust Trailblazer,” 2018

Chambers USA – Antitrust, District of Columbia

Education
Ph.D., Economics, UC Berkeley
J.D., UC Berkeley School of Law
  • Order of the Coif
B.A., History, Haverford College
Clerkships
Law Clerk, Hon. Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court of the United States, 1994-1995
Law Clerk, Hon. Louis H. Pollak, U.S. District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania, 1993-1994
Law Clerk, Hon. Stephen F. Williams, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, 1992-1993
Professional history
  • Partner, Davis Polk, 2017-present
  • Professor of Law, Georgetown University, 2011-present
  • Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, White House Office of Management and Budget, 2013-2017
  • Director, Bureau of Economics, Federal Trade Commission, 2012-2013
  • Counsel, Davis Polk, 2011-2012
  • Deputy Director, Bureau of Economics, Federal Trade Commission, 2009-2011
  • Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley, 1997-2009
  • Chief Economist, Federal Communications Commission, 1999-2000
  • Senior Economist, White House Council of Economic Advisers, 1998-1999
Qualifications and admissions
  • District of Columbia
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