Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP announced that Bernard “Barry” A. Nigro Jr. will rejoin the Firm from the US Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, where he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General (2019-2020) and as Deputy Assistant Attorney General (2017-2019). He will serve as chair of the Firm's Global Antitrust and Competition Department and will be based in Washington, DC. His first day back at the Firm is Monday, November 2, 2020.
As chair of the Firm's Antitrust and Competition Department, Mr. Nigro will focus on clearance of mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures, as well as investigations and litigation under federal and state antitrust laws, criminal grand jury proceedings, and antitrust compliance counseling and training.
“We are pleased to welcome back Barry as chair of our Antitrust and Competition Department,” said David J. Greenwald, chairman of Fried Frank. “His experience leading significant antitrust matters at the Department of Justice and previous service as Deputy Director overseeing the FTC's Bureau of Competition, coupled with his extensive experience in private practice, will provide critical insight to our clients in M&A transactions and antitrust investigations and litigation.”
Mr. Nigro was a partner in the Firm's Antitrust and Competition Department from 1999 to 2003 and served as Deputy Director for the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition from 2003 to 2006. He previously chaired Fried Frank's Antitrust and Competition Department from 2009 to 2017 before joining the DOJ, where he served as the second highest-ranking Division official responsible for overseeing all civil and criminal antitrust enforcement.
“I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve at the Department of Justice and look forward to returning to Fried Frank, where I have spent most of my career,” said Barry Nigro. “Fried Frank's antitrust group has been extremely active in recent years, obtaining outstanding results for clients in prominent transactions. I am thrilled to reconnect with the team and use my experience at the DOJ and FTC to advise M&A and other clients on their most complex antitrust needs.”
While serving at the Department of Justice, Mr. Nigro played a critical role in advancing the department's antitrust enforcement priorities. He directed numerous policy developments, including the 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines and Merger Remedies Manual, implementation of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, and modernization of the Department's merger review process. Additionally, while at the Department of Justice, Mr. Nigro oversaw the investigations of a number of notable transactions, including Bayer's US$63 billion acquisition of Monsanto; Sprint Corporation's US$26 billion merger with T-Mobile US, Inc.; BB&T Corporation's merger of equals with SunTrust Banks, Inc.; and CVS Health's US$69 billion acquisition of Aetna; as well as numerous investigations in the technology, media, and financial services industries.
Mr. Nigro received his JD from the George Washington University Law School and his BA from Georgetown University. In addition, he served as a clerk for the Honorable Charles R. Richey on the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Fried Frank's Global Antitrust and Competition Department represents a wide range of major corporations and investors in high-profile transactions before the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the European Commission, as well as national regulatory authorities throughout Europe and Asia. Together with members of the Firm's Corporate and Litigation Departments, the team provides seamless global coverage from its offices in the United States and Europe.