Veteran DOJ Antitrust Official William Stallings Joins Mayer Brown

Monday, August 3, 2015
Tags:  Mayer Brown LLP | Washington

Mr. Stallings to continue growth of firm’s global Antitrust & Competition practice and DC office

Mayer Brown announced today that William H. Stallings has joined the firm’s global Antitrust & Competition practice as a partner in Washington DC. Previously, he was the Chief of the Transportation, Energy and Agriculture (TEA) Section of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division.

“Bill is a terrific addition to our expanding antitrust practice,” said Mike Lackey, leader of Mayer Brown’s global Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice. “His extensive substantive antitrust expertise and decades of government experience in significant areas, including energy, agriculture and transportation, will greatly benefit our clients.

Mr. Stallings is the most recent addition to Mayer Brown’s global Antitrust & Competition practice. In May, Mark W. Ryan, the first-ever Director of Litigation at the DOJ Antitrust Division, rejoined the firm in Washington DC to lead the global practice. Additionally, David Harrison joined the firm in May from Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP as a partner in the London office, where he co-leads the European antitrust team and is one of the leaders of the global Antitrust & Competition practice.

Mr. Stallings held several key positions in the DOJ’s Antitrust Division. Since 2011, he served as Chief of the TEA Section, which is responsible for civil antitrust enforcement, competition advocacy and competition policy in areas such as domestic and international aviation, electricity, oil field services and agricultural commodities. Mr. Stallings supervised the section’s investigations of mergers and civil non-merger antitrust violations, shaped substantive analyses, engaged with international antitrust authorities, presented matters to DOJ leadership and litigated enforcement actions. Mr. Stallings served as Assistant Chief of the section from 2005 to 2011.

Under Mr. Stallings’ supervision, the section handled many high-profile matters, including litigating merger cases (such as challenges to the American Airlines/US Airways, JBS/National Beef and National CineMedia/Screenvision deals), crafting settlements to resolve competition concerns arising in numerous investigations involving multi-billion dollar transactions and developing the legal precedent in the KeySpan and Morgan Stanley financial derivative cases for the use of disgorgement as a Sherman Act remedy.

Mr. Stallings began his Antitrust Division career as a trial attorney in the Litigation III Section from 1998 through 2005. During that time, he was the lead staff attorney on numerous investigations, including several media merger reviews. He was also a key member of the successful trial, appellate and judgment compliance teams in United States v. Visa.

In 2001, Mr. Stallings served on detail as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, where he prosecuted felony and misdemeanor criminal violations. He began his legal career in the private sector as a litigation associate at another AmLaw 100 firm, where he handled private antitrust cases.

“I am thrilled to be joining Mayer Brown’s growing global Antitrust & Competition practice,” said Mr. Stallings. “I had the tremendous privilege to serve in the Antitrust Division of the DOJ for over 15 years, working with outstanding attorneys and economists on important and challenging competition issues. I look forward to building on that experience and reuniting with my former DOJ colleague, Mark Ryan. Mayer Brown’s strong platform, strategic vision and international reach make it an ideal firm to handle the complexities associated with antitrust enforcement in today’s global environment.”

“Bill and Mark Ryan’s arrivals from the DOJ, along with nearly 40 other exceptional new colleagues within the past 18 months, further illustrate that our DC office continues to attract high-ranking government officials and notable laterals,” said Dan Masur, partner-in-charge of Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office. “It’s an exciting time to be a lawyer in our DC office as we continue to strategically expand to meet evolving client needs.”

Mr. Stallings is a member of the American Bar Association and currently serves as a vice chair of the Transportation and Energy Industries Committee of the Antitrust Section. He earned his JD and BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.