Job Description
You went into antitrust because it's one of the few practice areas where the law actually moves. Every administration rewrites the playbook. Every major merger becomes a case study. The HSR thresholds shift, the agencies pick new fights, and the framework you learned as a first year is half-obsolete by your fifth. That's the appeal — you're not papering the same deal on repeat. You're advising on transactions and conduct where the legal terrain is genuinely contested. Except you're not really advising. You're drafting Item 4(c) summaries, building privilege logs for second requests, and coordinating with economists on documents you don't get to discuss with the client directly. The partners take the calls with the DOJ and FTC staff. The partners argue the substantive theories. You build the record so they can. That's a normal mid-level antitrust associate experience. It's also why most antitrust associates leave by their sixth year. DC is the center of gravity for merger clearance work, and the deal pipeline isn't slowing down — second requests are up, the agencies are litigating more challenges to completion, and private antitrust litigation has expanded into algorithmic pricing, labor markets, and platform conduct. The work is getting more sophisticated, not less. You should be at a platform that lets you grow into it. A top tier AmLaw firm with one of the most recognized antitrust practices in the country is adding a mid-level associate to its DC team. This is a full spectrum group — merger clearance, government investigations, private litigation, and counseling — not a pure HSR shop or a pure litigation team. The work includes: HSR filings, second requests, and merger clearance before the DOJ and FTC Defending and prosecuting private antitrust litigation in federal court Government investigations into unilateral conduct, monopolization, and cartel matters Day-to-day counseling on competitor collaborations, joint ventures, and distribution arrangements What you bring: 3+ years of antitrust experience at a major law firm or federal antitrust agency (DOJ Antitrust Division or FTC Bureau of Competition) Merger clearance experience strongly preferred DC bar admission (or eligibility) What you get: A practice that runs the full antitrust stack — clearance, litigation, investigations, and counseling — instead of siloing you into one workstream Direct exposure to agency staff and substantive client work earlier than most BigLaw antitrust seats Cravath scale ($260K-$365K depending on class year) plus discretionary bonus Reach out directly or send your resume confidentially to srushing@laterallink.com