Vishal Mehta is a partner in the firm’s Antitrust, Competition, and Trade Regulation practice group. He advises clients on all aspects of antitrust law, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions.
Vishal has extensive experience representing clients before the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state attorneys general, and foreign competition authorities in all phases of merger review. He leads high-profile merger investigations, advising clients on all aspects of the deal process, including risk assessment, negotiations, due diligence, information exchanges, gun jumping, Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act issues, global merger control, Second Request compliance, advocacy, enforcer engagement, economic analysis, remedies, litigation, and integration planning.
Vishal’s practice encompasses sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), agriculture, agtech, automotive, banking, consumer, digital advertising, education and educational technology, financial services and financial technology (fintech), gaming, health care, insurance, life science, real estate, streaming and music, robotics, semiconductors, software, and sustainable infrastructure. He supports a wide range of clients, including public and private firms, private equity sponsors, venture capital firms, emerging companies, and other businesses, and his work spans a broad range of deal types. Vishal is well-versed in the language of both antitrust and transactional law. His knowledge of deal structuring and mechanics uniquely positions him to steer clients through the most challenging HSR and competition issues.
Vishal is also one of the world’s leading professionals handling antitrust issues implicated by AR/VR, video games, app stores, and smart tech, advising on issues such as vertical restraints, restrictive covenants, collaborations, information exchanges, app store policies, dealings with developers, and business strategy. He has a deep understanding of digital ecosystem architecture and the evolving global regulatory landscape as it relates to digital platforms.
Vishal also counsels clients on the spectrum of antitrust issues arising in the ordinary course of business. His prior work as a secondee in-house at a global natural resources company gives him a unique perspective on how to assess risk; provide clear, practical guidance to business; and mitigate risk through effective compliance guardrails. In addition to M&A, counseling, and compliance, he has represented companies in antitrust litigation involving claims of price-fixing, hub-and-spoke conspiracy, and monopolization, and defended clients in civil non-merger government investigations at the state, federal, and international levels.
- Recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a recommended lawyer for Antitrust: Merger Control, 2022
- Panelist, GCR Live: Antitrust in the Digital Economy, San Francisco (May 17, 2022).
- Panelist, Competition Policy International MootComp Conference, Digital Economy & Merger Control: Lessons and Implications for Latin America (Oct. 15, 2021).
- Panelist, MassBio GC Roundtable, Lessons Learned: Navigating License and Collaboration Agreements in an Evolving Life Sciences Market (Sept. 28, 2021).
- Panelist, The Knowledge Group, Heightened Antitrust Scrutiny on Technology Companies: A Comprehensive Compliance Guide (Oct. 8, 2019).
- FTC Announces New Increased HSR Filing Thresholds for 2023, Client Alert, 24 January 2023
- Congress Increases Merger Filing Fees for Large Deals and Makes Other Significant Changes, Client Alert, 10 January 2023
- The Vampire Diaries: Antitrust Scrutiny Intensifies Around Private Equity, Competition Policy International, 27 October 2022
- U.S. Antitrust Authorities’ Recent Scrutiny of Interlocking Directorates Signals Escalation of Enforcement Under Section 8 of the Clayton Act, Client Alert, 21 October 2022
- Antitrust Scrutiny Intensifies Around Private Equity Healthcare Transactions, Client Alert, 22 June 2022
- Cargotec/Konecranes: Failed Shipping Equipment Merger Illustrates Aggressive UK/U.S. Enforcement and Increased Skepticism of Remedies, Client Alert, 18 April 2022
- Shortlisted for Concurrences Antitrust Writing Award, Best Business Article (Mergers)
- What to Expect from Merger Guidelines Modernization, Law360, 25 January 2022
- U.S. Antitrust Agencies Announce Review of Merger Analysis Framework, Client Alert, 20 January 2022
- New FTC Policy Restricts Future Acquisitions for Some Merging Parties, Client Alert, 28 October 2021
- Senate Passes Bill to Increase HSR Filing Fees for Large Transactions, Client Alert, 21 June 2021
- FTC Announces Temporary Suspension of Early Termination, Client Alert, 9 February 2021
- FTC Announces New Decreased HSR Filing Thresholds for 2021, Client Alert, 3 February 2021
- FTC-Proposed HSR Amendment Could Make It Easier for Activist Investors and Hostile Bidders to Keep Positions Confidential from Issuers, Client Alert, 25 September 2020
- Trends in State Antitrust Enforcement: Colorado Expands Attorney General’s Authority to Challenge Transactions on Competition Grounds, Client Alert, 15 April 2020
- Antitrust Filing Obligations in the Time of COVID-19 and Financial Distress, Client Alert, 30 March 2020
- The Impact of COVID-19 on U.S. Antitrust Enforcement: Updates and Practical Guidance for M&A, Client Alert, 19 March 2020
- New HSR Filing Thresholds for 2020, Client Alert, 29 January 2020
- Uncharted Territory: U.S. Antitrust Enforcement in the Technology Sector, Client Alert, 24 September 2019
- FTC Hearings Examine the Antitrust Implications of Common Ownership, Client Alert, 1 February 2019
- FTC Announces that Owner of New York Knicks, Rangers Agrees to Pay Civil Penalty for HSR Act Violation, Client Alert, 20 December 2018
- Criminalization of Wage-Fixing and No-Poaching Agreements, Competition Policy International, May 2017
- Note on Behalf of The Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, Hearing on Big Data, Big Data: Bringing Competition Policy to the Digital Era, November 2016
- FTC v. Staples/Office Depot: The Limits of Putting the Government on Trial, The Threshold, Summer 2016
- Program Review: Deviation in Dominance—Why is Your Client a Monopolist There, But Not Here?, Monopoly Matters, Fall 2014
- The Failing Firm Defense: Alive and Well, The Antitrust Source, August 2011