Jonathan Klarfeld > Ropes & Gray LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile
Ropes & Gray LLP Offices

2099 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20006-6807
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States
- Firm Profile
- Go to...
Jonathan Klarfeld

Career
Jonathan S. Klarfeld is a veteran antitrust enforcer and practitioner who led many significant merger investigations and challenges during his 13 years at the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition in Washington, D.C. Jonathan brings to Ropes & Gray clients a broad range of experience and knowledge about how antitrust reviews of transactions proceed, how consents are reached and how matters are litigated. Since joining Ropes & Gray in the summer of 2014, he has represented and counseled clients across a broad range of antitrust issues and government investigations.
A staff attorney with the FTC from 2000 to 2008, Jonathan was named counsel to the director in 2008, where he oversaw several merger and non-merger divisions within the FTC. In 2009, Jonathan was appointed a Deputy Assistant Director in the Mergers I Division. In that role, he managed all aspects of the antitrust enforcement division in case selection, oversight and enforcement recommendation development. He also oversaw and participated in investigational hearings and depositions, negotiated consent agreements and litigated matters across a wide range of industries. Jonathan has supervised and led milestone antitrust cases, including toward the end of his agency tenure, the commission’s enforcement actions in Omnicare/PharMerica and Nielsen/Arbitron and its investigation of Express Scripts/Medco.
During his time at the FTC, Jonathan was detailed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia where he served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, trying several cases and participating in all aspects of criminal prosecutions, including arraignments, plea negotiations, trials and oral arguments, witness preparations and sentencings.
Jonathan began his legal career in private practice as a litigation associate at Reboul, MacMurray, Hewitt, Maynard & Kristol.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Antitrust > Merger control
The team at Ropes & Gray LLP combines a strong record in DOJ and FTC approval processes with capabilities in international reviews and investigations, with the team regularly collaborating with its European offices on a range of cross-border mandates. The practice excels particularly in the life sciences sector, where it adeptly handles HSR filings, investigations and regulatory actions. Leading the team is Mark Popofsky,who is recommended for his expertise in antitrust litigation, representing clients across the telecoms, semiconductor and healthcare sectors. Elsewhere in the team, Michael McFalls regularly represents clients before the FTC and DOJ, while Jonathan Klarfeld continues to advise clients on significant merger investigations and challenges. The team has been strengthened by the arrival of Jacqueline Grise , who joined from Cooley LLP in early 2024. Attorneys mentioned are based in Washington DC.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Investment fund formation and management > Alternative/hedge funds
- Finance > Financial services regulation
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Healthcare > Service providers
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Tax > Not-for-profit (Fortune 1000 private foundations, national trade associations, and charities)
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- Real estate > Real estate
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Government > State attorneys general
- Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Finance > Fintech
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- International trade and national security > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism