Ann O’Brien > Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP Offices
2099 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W.
SUITE 100
WASHINGTON DC 20006
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States
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Ann O’Brien
Position
Ann O’Brien is a partner and co-leader of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group. She also leads the firm’s Criminal Antitrust and Cartels team. Ann is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.
Ann’s practice focuses on advising clients facing criminal and civil government antitrust investigations or litigation. Ann’s insight on antitrust agency priorities, goals and policies are a valuable asset to companies facing international, domestic and multi-agency exposure. She has substantial experience leading every aspect of domestic and international antitrust and white collar investigations and prosecutions, including litigating federal criminal jury trials. Additionally, she provides clients with cutting-edge compliance counseling and training that can help deter or quickly detect antitrust exposure, informed by what is most important to the Antitrust Division and the courts.
Ann has extensive knowledge of antitrust enforcement practices and policy decisions, gained from her time working at the U.S. Department of Justice in the Antitrust Division and as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Maryland. During her nearly 20-year tenure, she assumed numerous senior leadership and management positions in the Antitrust Division, notably as the Assistant Chief of two sections and as the Acting Director of Criminal Enforcement. She was involved in virtually every major criminal enforcement and policy decision made by the Antitrust Division for nearly two decades, and reviewed and approved hundreds of case recommendations, leniency recommendations, search warrants, and requests for grand jury or preliminary inquiry authority. Notably, she gained comprehensive knowledge of antitrust corporate compliance and developed strong relationships with domestic and foreign antitrust enforcers and regulators. Additionally, Ann served as the Antitrust Division representative on the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, as well as a member of the Grant Fraud Working Group and Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group. Ann also has extensive experience advising clients on price-gouging issues and representative client’s facing state price-gouging investigations.
Having established herself as a thought leader in the antitrust community, Ann regularly speaks and writes on a broad-range of antitrust topics, including serving as co-editor of Competition Policy International’s Cartel column. She has also trained hundreds of antitrust prosecutors and law enforcement agents, and served as a liaison to other DOJ components and government agencies. Utilizing her in-depth understanding of antitrust policy and prosecution, Ann skillfully guides clients through their unique antitrust and white collar matters.
Education
J.D., Northeastern University School of Law, 1999
B.A., Government and International Studies, University of Notre Dame, 1996
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
The antitrust practice at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP has an expertise in the multifamily, technology and food and beverages sectors, and offers experience acting for key clients such as Samsung Electronics in multidistrict litigation alleging monopolization and exclusionary conduct, and Cyient in an antitrust class action concerning no poach agreements. In Washington DC, head of the antitrust team Leo Caseria has successfully litigated many cases involving allegations of antitrust violations under the Sherman and Clayton Acts and advises clients on many competition issues relating to compliance and intellectual property. Of counsel Michael Cohen has recently been involved in private civil antitrust lawsuits for the firm’s longstanding client The Reynolds and Reynolds Company. Ann O’Brien, formerly at BakerHostetler, joined the firm’s DC office in February 2023. Michael Scarborough and Dylan Ballard left the firm in January 2023.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
Firm Rankings
- Government > Government contracts
- Healthcare > Health insurers
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Tax > Not-for-profit (nonprofit and tax exempt organizations)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Healthcare > Service providers
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Real estate > Real estate
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
- Real estate > Construction (including construction litigation)
- Tax > International tax
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions)