Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Antitrust, Competition and Trade

Partner - Litigation and Investigations

Rebecca Nelson devotes her practice to antitrust law, providing training, counseling, transactional analysis, and defense of merger and conduct investigations. She works with clients to understand their business and industry conditions, and tailors antitrust training and compliance solutions for them. As a full-time antitrust lawyer, she serves as a trusted advisor that clients can call for routine antitrust questions that arise in connection with supplier, customer, and competitor interactions. In that role, she regularly advises clients with respect to the full range of antitrust issues associated with contracts, pricing and sales practices, trade association activity, bidding arrangements and distribution.

Rebecca has defended dozens of clients under investigation for antitrust offenses by state Attorneys General, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, and the Federal Trade Commission. Her successful defense efforts have often led to the non-public resolution of antitrust inquiries such that follow-on private litigation is avoided. She works with clients to formulate the best defense strategy for responding to investigations and navigating to the optimal result.

A core part of Rebecca's practice is her antitrust work in all phases of mergers and acquisitions, including advice regarding antitrust risk allocation in deal agreements, analysis of the antitrust implications of proposed business combinations, and defense of merger investigations by the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, state Attorneys General and multi-jurisdictional reviews. In that capacity she has served as lead antitrust counsel on many multi-billion dollar transactions and coordinated merger defense strategies on a worldwide basis.

In her twenty three years as an antitrust counselor and defense lawyer, Rebecca has experience in a tremendous number of industries, including telecommunications, automotive, personal care products and services, construction and other heavy equipment, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, retail, food and agricultural products, software, and more.

Prior to joining the firm, Rebecca served as law clerk to the Hon. P. Trevor Sharp, Middle District of North Carolina.

CIVIC INVOLVEMENT & HONORS Board of Directors, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Saint Louis Chapter, 2010-present Board of Directors, Contemporary Art Museum of Saint Louis, 2012 - 2016 America’s Most Honored Professionals, 2016 The Best Lawyers in America©, Antitrust Law, 2012-2020 The Best Lawyers In America©, St. Louis Antitrust Lawyer of the Year, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019 Wall Street Journal, The Best Lawyers in St. Louis, 2015 - 2017 KC Magazine, Top Attorneys In Missouri & Kansas Martindale-Hubbell, AV Preeminent, Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers Women’s Justice Award, Outstanding Business Practitioner, 2009 Duke Law Alumnae Leadership Council PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS Illinois Bar Association - Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section Council, Chair 2015-present Missouri Bar Association – Member, Antitrust Committee American Bar Association - Member, Antitrust Section Harvard Law School - Women’s Leadership Roundtable, 2016 Participant