Paul Hastings Bolsters Antitrust Practice with Partner Duo in Washington

WASHINGTON – Adding depth and breadth to the firm’s antitrust and litigation practices, Paul Hastings LLP announced today that Ryan Phair and Craig Y. Lee have joined the firm as partners in Washington, D.C. Phair will co-chair the firm’s antitrust practice.

Phair and Lee bring impressive experience representing companies, executives and other individuals across a broad spectrum of complex civil and criminal litigation matters. That spans cases ranging from antitrust, securities, RICO, ERISA, fraud, and other individual and class actions to civil and criminal investigations before federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, as well as internal, congressional, state attorneys general, and grand jury investigations.

Previously co-chairs of the antitrust and consumer protection practice at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Phair also co-chaired that firm’s retail and consumer products industry group, while Lee led that firm’s cartel and investigations practice.

“Ryan and Craig expand our capabilities across the competition and litigation landscape in areas involving antitrust at a time when companies face increasing antitrust risks ranging from criminal and regulatory investigations, enforcement actions and litigation to blocked or restricted transactions, including many imposed by federal and state agencies,” said firm Chair Frank Lopez. “Their deep agency and diverse industry experience, particularly in antitrust litigation and criminal investigations, will be invaluable to clients.”

Representing both plaintiffs and defendants at the trial and appellate levels in his complex litigation practice, Phair’s numerous antitrust representations include litigated merger challenges under the Clayton Act, antitrust market manipulation cases involving prominent financial institutions, DOJ and FTC investigations into a wide variety of allegedly anti-competitive practices, and multiple Fortune 500 corporate opt-outs in strategic supply chain price-fixing antitrust litigation matters. He is one of few antitrust litigators to have successfully recovered more than $1 billion for clients and is a well-known resource for many Wall Street bankers, investors, hedge funds, litigation funders, and private equity interests seeking to thoroughly assess antitrust risk as part of their investment due diligence process.

Phair advises numerous retail clients in areas including antitrust and competition, data security and privacy, product labeling and advertising, and consumer class actions. He also counsels clients on matters involving public policy, strategic counseling, and crisis communications, and is a member of the adjunct law faculty at Georgetown University Law Center.

“Paul Hastings offers numerous capabilities that complement our practice and its strong global brand and broad geographic footprint will enable us to continue to grow our practice while also working alongside the firm’s talented teams,” said Phair.

Lee focuses on domestic and international criminal antitrust matters, such as government investigations, cartel defense, and litigation. He has represented companies and C-level executives in numerous criminal antitrust and civil price-fixing cases, in addition to matters ranging from Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), False Claims Act (FCA), and other white collar investigations to grand jury subpoena responses, internal investigations, and corporate compliance programs. He was recognized in Global Competition Review’s 2022 edition of its GCR 100.

“We are excited to join Paul Hastings,” said Lee. “The firm’s impressive growth, along with its global platform and litigation strength in Washington, D.C., will allow us to add value to the firm while also expanding our practice and providing enhanced client outcomes during a time of increased regulatory scrutiny.”

As a former assistant chief of the Washington Criminal 1 Section of the DOJ and former special assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia with 13 years of experience, Lee led trial teams in a number of prominent prosecutions and investigations. He played key roles in several criminal antitrust trials, multiple domestic and international cartel matters, and was the first to successfully litigate the extradition of a foreign national for an antitrust violation. Lee is a four-time recipient of the Antitrust Division Assistant Attorney General Awards of Distinction (for criminal and civil antitrust enforcement); he also earned the Washington Field Office's FBI Service Award for work prosecuting government fraud.

Carter Simpson, whose antitrust practice focuses on matters ranging from investigations and merger challenges to litigation, also will be joining the firm as a partner with Phair and Lee.

About Paul Hastings

With widely recognized elite teams in finance, mergers & acquisitions, private equity, restructuring and special situations, litigation, employment, and real estate, Paul Hastings is a premier law firm providing intellectual capital and superior execution globally to the world’s leading investment banks, asset managers, and corporations.