Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider

Antitrust; Antitrust: Cartel

Partner

James (“Jimmy”) Attridge is an antitrust partner trusted to guide clients through cartel investigations, antitrust litigation, and complex merger reviews. With deep government experience across the Trump and Biden administrations – including as chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division and a federal prosecutor – Jimmy has helped clients successfully navigate some of the most challenging government investigations and litigation.

His skills span antitrust compliance issues, cartel investigations, defense, and follow-on civil litigation, as well as advising clients on DOJ matters, particularly in areas with heightened enforcement like merger reviews and civil conduct investigations. Clients trust Jimmy’s guidance in cartel defense, consistently ranking him among the top nationwide lawyers in Chambers USA and The Legal 500 United States. Praised for his “excellent” work and “extraordinary client service,” Jimmy represents both companies and individuals facing cartel matters. In 2024, Jimmy was honored in Global Competition Review’s prestigious “40 Under 40” list, highlighting his influence and achievements in the field. He’s also a recognized thought leader, winning the Concurrences Antitrust Writing Award and Mondaq Thought Leadership Award for his top-tier analysis in antitrust law.

During his time as chief of staff of the DOJ ’s Antitrust Division, Jimmy was a key player in shaping policy, leading investigations, and driving enforcement efforts. He managed a team of advisors, oversaw work product ranging from articles to speeches, and represented the division with fellow antitrust enforcers and within the DOJ. As counsel, Jimmy advised senior leaders on a record-high docket of criminal investigations and litigation, including scores of recommendations to open and resolve investigations, grant leniency, and seek indictments. Additionally, he implemented policy changes to bring criminal charges for collusion in the labor markets, to incentivize and assess corporate compliance, and to create the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, an interagency effort to detect and prosecute cartels and fraud affecting government procurement. Jimmy also served as a criminal prosecutor during his time at the DOJ.

Before his government service, Jimmy practiced in the antitrust department of a global law firm. He clerked for the Honorable Liam O’Grady at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia after graduating from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was also a Charles H. March Fellow and clerked for Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Chairman Jon Leibowitz.

American Bar Association, International Cartel Task Force

JD – Georgetown University Law Center (2011) BA – Dartmouth College (2007)