Corporate & Securities Law

Christine Varney to lead Antitrust Division

By Manfred Gabriel

The Wall Street Journal reports that Christine Varney (currently a partner at Hogan & Hartson, and a former member of the FTC), has been picked as Assistant Attorney General, to head the DoJ Antitrust Division.

WASHINGTON — President Obama is expected to name a new antitrust enforcement team shortly, signaling stiffer merger-review standards and more cases against dominant companies that use market power to raise prices. The White House is expected to nominate Christine Varney, a former Federal Trade Commission member and Internet-law expert, as Justice Department antitrust chief, people briefed on the move said. Jon Leibowitz, a current FTC member, is the leading candidate for commission chairman, but the decision isn’t final, these people said.

Full post as published by Antitrust Review on January 22, 2009 (boomark / email).