FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andrea Beaty, beaty@therevolvingdoorproject.org
Revolving Door Lawyers Aim To Dismantle Antitrust Enforcement Authorities
Cravath, Swaine & Moore’s Christine Varney, a former head of the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, and other BigLaw lawyers representing Illumina and Grail filed a brief this week seeking to secure a merger which the FTC said would “diminish innovation in the U.S. market” for cancer detection tests. Revolving Door Project Research Director Andrea Beaty released the following statement concerning the brief and its authors:
“Cravath and Latham’s brief attacking the constitutionality of the FTC is a blatant attempt to undermine the very structure of consumer protection in this country. This line of argument is especially egregious coming from lawyers who were once tasked with utilizing antitrust enforcement powers in the public interest. Christine Varney and her fellow revolvers at Cravath and Latham, including former FTC commissioner Noah Phillips, former FTC assistant director Daniel K. Zach, and former FTC Bureau of Competition director Ian Connor, have traded in on their reputations as enforcers of the law for the benefit of corporate clients. Did Varney feel uncomfortable working closely with an entity she now claims was fundamentally unconstitutional — or is this opinion solely one she is adopting for cash? Had Phillips, Zach and Connor taken Constitutional Law before they decided to work at an entity they believe has perpetually existed at odds with the Constitution?”
“It is sad that Cravath and Latham’s high profile revolvers are willing to rent their (diminishing) prestige to clients pursuing anti-competitive mergers that leave fewer choices for American consumers and workers. If the news media and antitrust bar have any integrity, they will deny these charlatans prestige and social standing.”
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