Axinn announced today that Richard Dagen, former Assistant Director and Special Counsel to the Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, has joined the firm’s Antitrust Group in Washington, DC as a partner. 

During his long tenure at the FTC, Rick served in key roles (e.g., manager, lead counsel) in both federal and administrative trials and investigations involving some of the most important FTC merger and non-merger cases of the past twenty plus years, such as Toys "R" Us, Three Tenors, Heinz, Rambus, Abbott Labs, Unocal, Intel, Dell, Whole Foods, Wright Medical, and most recently, North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners.  His varying responsibilities included all aspects of trying cases through to verdict and on appeal (including victories in the DC, Fourth, Sixth and Seventh Circuits). 

Rick's managerial responsibilities included advising the Bureau and the Commission on case merits, litigation risks and remedies.  He has reviewed business conduct and proposed mergers in a broad range of industries, including technology, energy, food, entertainment, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and health care.  Rick has been particularly active in matters involving the intersection of intellectual property and antitrust, including the Commission’s first forays into the non-disclosure of patents in standard setting (e.g., Dell, Rambus, Unocal) and Hatch-Waxman/reverse payment cases (Hoechst-Andrx). 

He has also been an Adjunct Professor at Boston University School of Law teaching Antitrust, Intellectual Property and High Tech with Professor Joseph Brodley.

Prior to joining the FTC in 1990, Rick was a litigation associate in administrative law, antitrust and general litigation at Sidley & Austin in Washington, DC.  Before that he served as counsel to the chairman and vice chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission.  He earned his J.D. at Emory University School of Law in 1983, where he was part of the Law and Economics Center, and holds a Master of Philosophy from Yale University’s Department of Economics.

“It’s a rare opportunity to add an attorney with such a wealth of experience in the full range of competition law,” said John Harkrider, Co-chair of the Antitrust Group and a founding partner at the firm. “Rick represents a tremendous resource for our clients and we’re very happy to have him on board.”