Leading Antitrust Lawyer Joins Jenner & Block

WASHINGTON, DC, September 7, 2016 – Jenner & Block is pleased to announce that antitrust lawyer Lee Van Voorhis is joining the firm as a partner in its Washington, DC office.  Mr. Van Voorhis will be a member of the Antitrust and Competition Law Practice as well as the Corporate and Private Equity Practices.  With 20 years of experience in antitrust law, he is a multi-faceted antitrust practitioner who has handled a variety of litigation and transactional matters.

Mr. Van Voorhis has represented clients before United States federal antitrust agencies as well as competition agencies in the European Union, United Kingdom and other jurisdictions.  He has extensive experience shepherding transactions through merger clearance and helping clients conduct business efficiently while mitigating the risk of violating antitrust and competition laws.  In particular, he has advised clients on structuring business relationships and counseling their employees on a wide range of antitrust and competition issues.

“Lee is a great addition to the firm,” said Jenner & Block Managing Partner Terrence J. Truax.  “He provides a specific skill set that will help increase our antitrust and competition capabilities to better serve our clients.  His experience in both litigation and transactional areas is a great fit with our platform.”

Mr. Van Voorhis has successfully defended clients’ transactions from government challenges as well as represented them in litigation and arbitration proceedings.  He has particular experience representing organizations in the technology, retail and consumer products, healthcare and media sectors.

Mr. Van Voorhis is one of only a handful of lawyers who have litigated mergers in federal district court, federal circuit court and in FTC administrative proceedings.  He led the team for Phoebe Putney Hospital System in defense of its acquisition of a rival hospital.  Under his leadership, the team won at the District Court and again in the Eleventh Circuit.  After the FTC won at the US Supreme Court (in which Mr. Van Voorhis did not represent Phoebe), he led the team in the FTC administrative litigation, ultimately securing a settlement allowing Phoebe to keep the target hospital.

“We are delighted to welcome Lee to the firm,” said Ross Bricker, chair of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Law Practice.  “His capabilities will add to our existing litigation strengths and help continue Jenner & Block’s long history of handling significant antitrust matters in state and federal trial and appellate courts, and other tribunals throughout the country.”

Added Joseph P. Gromacki, chair of the firmwide Corporate Practice, “Lee’s deep transactional and counseling experience adds to our depth as we continue to grow the corporate practice.  His counseling experience in the context of complex HSR and other antitrust and competition law issues will be invaluable to our clients, particularly in the context of strategic combinations.”

Mr. Van Voorhis has represented numerous large institutions in multi-billion dollar combinations, including representing Reuters in its $17.2 billion combination with the Thompson Corporation.  He represented Avaya in its acquisition of Nortel's enterprise solutions business for $900 million as well as achieved antitrust clearance for the transaction in multiple jurisdictions.  In addition, he represented Getty Images Inc. in its $96 million acquisition of Jupiterimages Corporation and has provided counsel to a number of institutions including Virtual Radiologic in its acquisition of NightHawk Radiology Holdings and Keystone Foods in the $1.26 billion sale of Keystone to Marfrig Alimentos, the second largest producer of beef in South America.

“I am excited to be joining Jenner & Block and being part of its rich and historic tradition in the antitrust field.  This is the right firm for my antitrust and competition skills and I look forward to adding to the firm’s existing strengths in this area,” said Mr. Van Voorhis.

Mr. Van Voorhis joins the firm from Baker & McKenzie, where he was head of the North American Antitrust & Competition Law Practice Group.  He received his J.D. in 1996 from Cornell University and his B.A. from Yale University in 1989.

ABOUT JENNER & BLOCK’S ANTITRUST AND COMPETITION LAW PRACTICE
For more than 30 years, Jenner & Block’s Antitrust and Competition Law Practice has had an exceptional record representing both defendants and plaintiffs in high-stakes civil antitrust and competition law matters as well as advising clients on a variety of mergers, acquisitions and other transactions.  With new legislation and government involvement, the potential risks of non-compliance for antitrust matters can result in lengthy prison terms for individuals and multimillion dollar fines for companies as well as greater civil accountability for both.  We use our knowledge and experience to achieve the best possible outcome for our clients facing antitrust exposure.

ABOUT JENNER & BLOCK
Jenner & Block (www.jenner.com) is a law firm with global reach, with more than 500 lawyers and offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC.  The firm is known for its prominent and successful litigation practice and experience handling sophisticated and high-profile corporate transactions.  Firm clients include Fortune 100 companies, large privately held corporations, financial services institutions, emerging companies and venture capital and private equity investors.  In 2016, The American Lawyer named Jenner & Block to the A-List, which recognizes the top 20 US law firms.  The American Lawyer also recognized the firm as the #1 pro bono firm in the United States six of the past nine years; the firm has been ranked among the top 10 in this category every year since 1990.