Former San Francisco DOJ Antitrust Chief Joins Covington

Former San Francisco DOJ Antitrust Chief Joins Covington

May 30, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO, May 30, 2014 — Phillip Warren, former chief of the San Francisco office of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, has joined Covington & Burling as a partner. He will practice in the firm’s global antitrust and competition law practice and be resident in the San Francisco office.

Mr. Warren has more than 30 years of antitrust enforcement experience and has led or supervised more than 50 international cartel investigations. He will focus on advising clients in investigations and prosecutions of criminal antitrust violations and related offenses, as well as corporate compliance and internal investigations. Mr. Warren joins a team of antitrust lawyers led by Covington partners Thomas Barnett and Deborah Garza, two former heads of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Phil’s exceptional experience in antitrust enforcement will enhance our cartel capabilities in the U.S. and around the globe,” said Timothy Hester, chair of the firm’s management committee. “His arrival will further strengthen Covington’s global antitrust and competition practice, including our thriving EU competition team.” Last month Covington announced the arrival of Johan Ysewyn and Peter Camesasca, who joined the Brussels office as partners with a focus on EU cartel enforcement.

Mr. Warren served as chief of the San Francisco Field Office of the Antitrust Division from 2002 to 2014. During that time he oversaw all aspects of grand jury investigations and plea negotiations in international cartel matters in more than a dozen industries, including commodity chemicals and five different high-technology products: DRAM, LCD panels, cathode ray tubes, optical disk drives, and lithium ion battery cells. He also closely supervised all aspects of several major criminal antitrust trials. He oversaw some of the largest and most successful prosecutions in the Antitrust Division’s history; under his leadership the San Francisco office secured more than $2.5 billion in fines.

From 1997 to 2002, Mr. Warren served as a trial attorney and then as the assistant chief in the office. He joined the DOJ’s Antitrust Division in Washington, D.C. in 1980.

Mr. Warren said he was drawn to Covington by its reputation and the caliber of its antitrust practice. “Covington, with its strong foundation on the West Coast and international reach in Europe and Asia, provides a platform for me to build a vibrant practice. I look forward to working with my new colleagues to expand the firm’s global cartel investigation and defense capabilities,” Mr. Warren said.

Mr. Warren earned a bachelor’s degree from Santa Clara University and a law degree from UCLA School of Law. He is a frequent speaker on cartel enforcement in the U.S. and abroad, and currently serves on the International Cartel Task Force of the American Bar Association Antitrust Section. Mr. Warren has received numerous awards, including the Attorney General Award for Distinguished Service in 2012 (for the successful prosecution of U.S. v. AU Optronics). This fall, he will be honored as “Antitrust Lawyer of the Year” by the Golden State Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Institute.