Michael Egge is a leading antitrust lawyer with more than 30 years’ experience defending clients in high-stakes investigations and winning regulatory clearances for transactions around the globe. He is also a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

Mr. Egge represents market leaders in all manner of antitrust investigations, including investigations of strategic transactions, cartel conduct, and other business conduct that draw antitrust scrutiny, primarily before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ), and the European Commission (EC). Mr. Egge is widely regarded for his experience in clearing major transactions that require navigating merger control requirements around the world. He has personally appeared and argued before antitrust authorities in countries across North America, South America, Europe and Asia. In recognition of his leadership shepherding complex deals to a successful close, he was honored as 2023’s Dealmaker of the Year by Global Competition Review. Additionally, in 2018, Mr. Egge’s experience clearing large, antitrust-sensitive transactions won him Antitrust Trailblazer honors from the National Law Journal and he is routinely recognized as a top global antitrust lawyer by:

  • Who’s Who Legal
  • Chambers USA Nationwide Antitrust (2020-2022)
  • Chambers USA Washington DC Antitrust (2015-2022)
  • Chambers Global: USA Competition/Antitrust (2022-2023)
  • Global Competition Review Legal 500 US: Antitrust (2012-2022)
  • Lawdragon: 500 Leading Litigators in America (2022)

Mr. Egge has played a pivotal role in building one of the most comprehensive global antitrust practice platforms in the world today. From 2006-2015 he led the Latham & Watkins Global Antitrust & Competition Practice Group, including three years (from 2012-2015) resident in the Brussels office where he helped expand Latham & Watkins’ practice before the European Commission. Mr. Egge served as Managing Partner of the firm’s Washington Office from 2016 until his election to the firm’s Executive Committee in 2020.

Mr. Egge speaks frequently on antitrust issues and has served in a variety of leadership positions within the ABA Antitrust Section, including as a member of its governing Council, co-Chair of the Annual Spring Meeting, Chair of the Merger Process Working Group, and Chair of several of its expert conferences.

A selection of Mr. Egge’s work includes representation of:

  • GRAIL, Inc. in its US$8 billion acquisition by Illumina and novel post-closing litigation at the FTC and European Courts
  • Siemens Healthineers in its US$16.4 billion acquisition of VarianMedical Systems 
  • Nestle Health Sciences in its acquisitions of Vital Proteins, Nature’s Bounty, and Orgain
  • Agrium in its US$36 billion merger of equals with PotashCorp of Saskatchewan to create Nutrien
  • EssilorLuxottica in its US$6 billion acquisition of GrandVision
  • Dairy Farmers of America in its US$433 million acquisition of Dean Foods
  • Time Warner Cable in its US$55 billion merger with Charter
  • American Airlines in its successful bid for antitrust immunity for its joint business alliance with Qantas Airways Limited and the defense of its joint venture with JetBlue in the Northeast
  • FMC Technologies in its US$13 billion merger with Technip SA
  • Siemens in its US$7.6 billion acquisition of Dresser-Rand
  • Securing amnesty protection for leading players in the auto parts and chemical industries 
  • Defending a major industry player in class action and opt-out litigation relating to the polyester staple industry 

Bar Qualification

  • District of Columbia

Education

  • JD, University of Virginia School of Law, 1991
    Notes Editor, Virginia Law Review
  • AB, College of William & Mary, 1988
    High Honors, Economics

Languages Spoken

  • Spanish
February 8, 2023Recognition

Latham Named Law360’s Competition Group of the Year

Law360 Named Latham a Competition Group of the Year, thanks to a historical defeat of a FTC in-house merger challenge, defending biotech firm Grail, after its acquisition by Illumina.