Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider

Antitrust

James Attridge, a former Antitrust Division Chief of Staff, Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, and federal prosecutor, counsels clients in cartel investigations, antitrust litigation, and complex merger reviews. Having most recently acted as the Antitrust Division’s Chief of Staff during the Biden Administration and Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division across multiple administrations, Jimmy draws on first-hand government experience to provide a strategic and comprehensive perspective on a wide range of government investigations and litigation.

His unique background in government and private practice has given Jimmy the insight and extensive experience needed to advise clients on antitrust compliance, cartel investigations and defense, and follow-on civil litigation. He also counsels those interacting with the Antitrust Division in the range of areas where the Division has committed to heightened enforcement, such as merger reviews and civil conduct investigations.

During his time at the Department of Justice, Jimmy served as a criminal prosecutor and in a variety of leadership roles at the Antitrust Division. As Chief of Staff, he was a key advisor on policy changes, investigations, and enforcement efforts. He managed a team of advisors, oversaw work product ranging from articles to speeches, and represented the Division with fellow antitrust enforcers and within the Department of Justice. As Counsel, Jimmy advised the Division’s senior leadership team on a record-high docket of criminal investigations and ongoing litigation, including scores of recommendations to open investigations, resolve investigations, grant leniency, and seek indictments. Jimmy also implemented policy changes to bring criminal charges for collusion in the labor markets, to incentivize and assess corporate compliance, and to create the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, an interagency effort to detect and prosecute cartels and fraud affecting government procurement.

Prior to his government service, Jimmy practiced in the antitrust department of a large, global law firm. His practice focused on criminal investigations, civil litigation, civil investigations, and merger reviews. Following law school, he was a law clerk for the Honorable Liam O’Grady of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. During law school, Jimmy was a Charles H. March fellow and law clerk for Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz.

American Bar Association, International Cartel Task Force

JD – Georgetown University Law Center (2011) BA – Dartmouth College (2007)