Michael Keeley > Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider is a specialist antitrust firm with a successful record in high-value, strategic merger clearances, focusing on complex and business-critical transactions for major US businesses facing regulatory scrutiny by US and international agencies on a hired gun basis. The firm combines its active merger work with contentious and litigation expertise, representing major corporations in fields such as manufacturing, pharma, and tech against government actions arising from merger activity. The firm is headed up by Michael Keeley, who is prolific in the merger space, representing major repeat clients such as Thermo Fisher and Tyson Foods, alongside New York-based John Harkrider, a vastly experienced antitrust counsel who successfully advised VMWare on its $69bn pending acquisition by Broadcom, and Lisl Dunlop. Bradley Justus is also a key team member, regularly handling FTC, DOJ, and global merger reviews in diverse jurisdictions and industries, with former senior DOJ official Leslie Overton noted for her combination of contentious and non-contentious merger work. James Attridge joined the team in September 2022, having previously served as Chief of Staff at the Antitrust Division. Lawyers are in Washington DC unless otherwise stated.

The team at Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider has extensive experience as lead counsel in private treble damage actions and in representing companies and individuals in follow on litigation arising from cartel investigations across the manufacturing and pharmaceuticals industries. Recent work includes defending Fortune 500 companies like Tyson Foods in strategically important disputes including multiple class action suits and private arbitrations. Heads of team include John Harkrider in New York, who acts as lead counsel in cross-border litigation involving claims under section 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act and Michael Keeley in Washington DC, who has experience in trying monopolization and patent jury cases with recent involvement in the Avogen generics price-fixing litigation. Also in DC is Rachel Adcox, who defends major corporations in multidistrict litigation especially in cartel disputes, John Briggs, who offers extensive experience in large antitrust class actions work and Tiffany Rider who is known for her work in international cartel cases and civil follow-on multi district and class action litigation. In New York, Craig Reiser’s litigation spans federal and state courts at both trial and appellate level while Denise Plunkett often defends clients in the payments, financial services and pharmaceutical sectors. New arrival James Attridge, who offers experience as previous deputy chief of staff of the antitrust division in the DOJ, joined the DC office in September 2022.

Boutique firm Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider is noted for its ‘near-total focus on antitrust‘ and full-service cartel offering, notably acting for Tyson Foods in the DOJ’s criminal investigation into the chicken broiler sector. The cartel practice is jointly headed by New York-based John Harkrider and Washington DC’s Michael Keeley, while Tiffany Rider has a strong record in defending companies and individuals in international cartel cases, focusing on criminal cartel investigations and follow-up litigation. Daniel Oakes takes point on the litigation side, representing domestic and foreign corporate clients in multidistrict conspiracy and monopolization claims. Former Antitrust Division prosecutor James Attridge joined the firm in September 2022, strengthening the team’s government experience. Unless otherwise stated, all lawyers are based in Washington DC.