Antitrust
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has a widely-praised merger control practice, with clients spanning the chemicals, pharma, finance, entertainment and media, energy, and software industries. The team’s international reach, working closely with colleagues in the UK and EU, means that it is able to ‘operate seamlessly on trans-Atlantic transactions’. Its litigation, investigations, antitrust counselling and cartels expertise is also notable. New York-based Peter Guryan acts as global co-chair of the firm’s antitrust and trade regulation practice along with Sara Razi and John Terzaken. Guryan offers longstanding experience of civil and criminal antitrust matters, supporting major corporates and private equity funds, while Razi leverages extensive private-sector and government antitrust experience to represent clients in investigations by the Department of Justice, FTC, and states. ’A true superstar’, Preston Miller focuses his practice on merger review, while Karen Kazmerzak is ‘a natural choice for any company’ managing a complex deal before the FTC or DOJ. All attorneys based in Washington DC unless otherwise stated.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
- Profile
Profile
Work Department
Litigation/Antitrust
Position
Peter Guryan, Global Co-Chair of the Firm’s Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice, is a leading antitrust lawyer with extensive experience in civil and criminal antitrust matters for major corporations and private equity firms. He has represented clients in obtaining antitrust approvals in numerous high-profile and challenging transactions, often global in scope, and in other government antitrust investigations before the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and competition authorities outside of the United States. Prior to joining private practice, Peter was a trial attorney in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Peter is consistently recognized as a leading antitrust lawyer by Chambers USA and The Legal 500, where sources describe him as “a careful and considered lawyer” who is “extremely bright and business friendly” and “gives very nuanced advice on how law and business interact.” Peter was recently shortlisted for “Dealmaker of the Year” by Global Competition Review in its GCR 2024 Awards.
Education
- Cornell Law School, 1996 J.D.
cum laude - Cornell University, 1992 B.A.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Karen Kazmerzak is a stand-out on the team. A consummate advocate with an eye for detail and excellent relationships with the government, she’s a natural choice for any company trying to get a tough deal through the FTC or DOJ.’
‘The team is very deep in the US, UK and EU, allowing it to operate seamlessly on trans-Atlantic transactions. It also has a network of strong contacts among local competition counsel in the jurisdictions in which it does not have operations.'
- 'The team is deep in terms of the range of counsel, including very senior and experienced counsel like Peter Guryan, excellent counsel like Richard Jamgochian and Josh Hazan, and a large team of dedicated associates.'
- 'There isn't a merger control matter that they cannot handle.’
‘Peter Guryan is, easily, one of the best US merger control lawyers in the US. He is extremely smart, practical, a fantastic team player and focused on getting the deal done rather than on ego.'
- 'Preston Miller is a true superstar. Preston is an excellent technical lawyer who gets the job done. Really a great person to work with on the same side and opposite of - a real team player.'
Key clients
- Acadia Healthcare
- AGCO
- Amedisys
- Apax
- Blackstone Real Estate
- BorgWarner
- Bright Health Group, Inc.
- Brightspring
- Circana
- Cohesity
- COPEC, Inc.
- Envision Healthcare
Work highlights
Advised Mattress Firm in FTC litigation to block its proposed $4 billion acquisition by Tempur Sealy.
Advised KKR in its joint venture with T-Mobile to acquire Metronet.
Advised Truist Insurance Holdings in connection with its sale of McGriff Insurance Services to Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.