Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider

Antitrust

Axinn Antitrust Group Chair

Mike Keeley, chair of Axinn’s antitrust practice, has nearly 30 years of experience guiding clients through antitrust clearance for multibillion-dollar mergers, trying complex antitrust cases, and guiding companies through the increasingly challenging antitrust landscape. His business-focused approach has built lasting partnerships with some of the world’s most recognized companies.

Lauded as a leading antitrust attorney by the prestigious Chambers USA and The Legal 500 United States, clients appreciate Mike’s unique commitment to immersing himself in the intricacies of their business. He immerses himself in their unique challenges to provide clear, actionable, and strategic advice tailored to their needs.

Mike’s strategic transactions work includes advising on major deals like Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.‘s $13 billion acquisition of Zynga, Dell Technologies Inc.‘s $67 billion acquisition of EMC Corporation, Choice Hotels International, Inc., in its proposed $8 billion acquisition of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.’s $13.6 billion acquisition of Life Technologies. He’s also played a crucial role in several strategic moves for Tyson Foods Inc. and Cummins Inc.

Where mergers have been challenged, Mike has tried and prevailed in multiple cases, including the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division’s challenge to the sale of Tyson Foods’ poultry processing complex to George’s Inc. as well as the City of New York’s challenge to the combination of health insurers Group Health Incorporated (GHI) and Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York (HIP) to form EmblemHealth.

American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Committee, Co-Chair (2018–2021) American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Committee, Vice-Chair (2015–2018) American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law, Task Force on Foreign Investment (2013–2015) American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Committee, The Threshold, Co-Editor

JD, cum laude – Fordham University School of Law (1995) BS, with Honors – Fordham University (1992)