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Chris Williams focuses his practice on antitrust issues related to commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A); joint ventures and other strategic collaborations; licensing of intellectual property; and pricing, supply, and distribution agreements. His experience includes cross-border matters involving regulatory authorities in China, Japan, South Korea, and Europe.

Chris advises on all aspects of merger control, including evaluating regulatory clearance; advising on transaction structure and antitrust risk allocation in M&A agreements; preparing phases of merger notification filings, including under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR Act); advocating for clients in Second Request investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); directing strategy in merger reviews by foreign competition authorities; advising on remedy proposals and negotiations; representing interested third parties and divestiture buyers; and providing guidance on diligence, integration planning, and other pre-closing matters.

In April, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter noted in a speech that the DOJ’s enforcement of Section 8 of the Clayton Act (which prohibits interlocking directorates) would not be limited to its merger review process and that the DOJ is “ramping up efforts to identify violations across the broader economy, and we will not hesitate