Mr Mike Cowie > Dechert LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile
Dechert LLP Offices
1900 K STREET, NW
WASHINGTON DC 20006
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States
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Mr Mike Cowie
Work Department
Antitrust/Competition
Position
Partner
Career
Mike Cowie, Co-Chair of Dechert’s global antitrust/competition group, has handled high-profile, strategic projects for some of the world’s largest and most successful companies. His advice builds upon insights gained while directing antitrust investigations for the government.
Mr. Cowie served in the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition as Assistant Director, where he managed a 25-attorney team responsible for antitrust merger investigations. Mr. Cowie earlier served as the FTC’s Senior Litigation Counsel responsible for leading the Commission’s antitrust litigation. The FTC awarded Mr. Cowie several honors, including the FTC’s Meritorious Service and Superior Service awards, and selected him to represent the FTC in its Merger Investigation Best Practices Initiative.
He has led the work obtaining government approval for transactions that have been recognized as Global M&A Deal of the Year by the American Lawyer, Deal of the Year by The Deal, Merger Control Matter of the Year by Global Competition Review, and Innovative Project of the Year by the Financial Times.
Memberships
- ABA Antitrust Section, Long Range Planning Committee (2016), Foreign Investment and Antitrust Interface Task Force (2013-2015)
- Vice Chair, Antitrust Programs (2011-2013)
- Vice-Chair, Mergers & Acquisition Committee (2008-2010)
- Editorial Board, Competition Law 360 (2011-2013)
- Editor, Antitrust Law Journal, Antitrust Magazine, and The Antitrust Source (1997-2005)
- Chair, Antitrust Committee, ABA’s Administrative Law Section (2004-2005)
Education
- Hobart and William Smith Colleges, B.A., Economics, 1986, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Honors in Economics, Omicron Delta Epsilon Economics Honorary Society
- Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1989, cum laude, Editor of The Georgetown Law Journal
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Antitrust > Merger control
Dechert LLP handles merger clearances for public companies, private equity funds, and their portfolio companies, combining work on HSR filings and joint venture approvals with notable litigation capabilities and regular roles representing third-party challengers to high-profile mergers in proceedings brought by the FTC and DOJ, as well as before international antitrust regulators and state attorneys general. The team has broad sector expertise, with notable involvements in the retail, healthcare, and energy industries, with practice co-head Mike Cowie a go-to for contentious merger work in the life sciences and healthcare space, and a former FTC official alongside James A Fishkin , who has in-agency experience of merger trials. Steven Bizar co-leads the team from Philadelphia, while Shari Ross Lahlou is noted for her expertise in investigations and merger-related litigation, and Rani Habash continues to expand his reputation with regular work for major healthcare clients such as CVS Health and Aetna. The team was bolstered by the February 2023 arrival of the experienced Jay Jurata, a specialist in tech platforms deals, from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. Lawyers are in Washington DC unless otherwise stated.
United States > Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
Dechert LLP offers global and nationwide antitrust capabilities to its growing client base which features names such as Endo Pharmaceuticals and Marriott International. The firm is well-versed with a range of litigation including conspiracies related to advertising, bid rigging and price fixing as well as antitrust patent litigation and rule of reason standards. Based in Philadelphia is co-head Steven Bizar, who focuses his practice on trial work, particularly antitrust and trade regulation and is well-regarded for his success in defending against section 1 and 2 Sherman Act cases and class action lawsuits. Also co-heading the team from Washington DC is Mike Cowie, a healthcare and life sciences law expert who focuses on government merger investigations and litigation. Also in Philadelphia are George G Gordon who has significant experience in representing companies in class actions and investigations concerning patent enforcement, pricing concerns and marketing, and Julia Chapman, who is well-versed in all stages of litigation particularly in the life sciences, specialty chemicals and tech fields. Experienced trial lawyer Shari Ross Lahlou, based in DC, acts for Fortune 500 clients including Johnson & Johnson. The group has expanded its team and strengthened its high-tech antitrust expertise with the hires from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in January 2023 including Jay Jurata in DC, former head of Orrick’s antitrust and competition group, Russell Cohen and Howard Ullman in the San Francisco office.
Lawyer Rankings
- Civil litigation/class actions: defense United States > Antitrust
- Merger control United States > Antitrust
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management and licensing)
- Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Real estate > Real estate finance
Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Finance > Fintech
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Dispute resolution > International litigation
- Tax > International tax
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- Antitrust > Merger control
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: global offerings
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Intellectual property > Patents: prosecution (including re-examination and post-grant proceedings)
- International trade > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation