Axinn Welcomes Former DOJ Antitrust Division Leader Jacklin Chou Lem to San Francisco Antitrust Practice  

Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP announced today that Jacklin “Jackie” Chou Lem, who most recently served as Civil Chief of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office, has joined its Antitrust practice as a partner in the San Francisco, CA office.  

At the DOJ, Jackie was at the forefront of several of the Antitrust Division’s most high-profile matters involving Silicon Valley technology companies, including monopolization and merger cases such as United States v. Apple and United States v. HPE/Juniper Networks. Jackie also led complex international and domestic criminal cartel matters.

Having served at the DOJ in the Bay Area across five different presidential administrations, Jackie is uniquely positioned to help technology clients navigate the evolving antitrust landscape, particularly as the technology industry adapts to transformations such as AI.   

“We're thrilled to welcome Jackie to our team in California,” said Mike Keeley, chair of Axinn’s Antitrust practice. “The current antitrust landscape requires attorneys who understand how enforcers are thinking today and how they will react to future developments. Bringing Jackie on board further strengthens our position as the go-to firm for high-stakes antitrust matters in the face of increasing regulatory scrutiny and litigation." 

“Having been across the table from Jackie  when she was at DOJ, we know firsthand how formidable and impressive she is,” said Daniel Bitton, antitrust partner and founder of Axinn’s San Francisco office. “Given her seventeen years at the Division’s San Francisco Office, Jackie has an unparalleled understanding of antitrust enforcement in the tech industry–where it has been and where it is going. Few other lawyers can match her depth of tech-sector experience, and we’re excited to add her to our bench as we expand our California presence.”

Jackie pioneered the first civil antitrust enforcement and litigation program for the Division’s San Francisco office. In addition, she helped direct office-wide strategic planning at the Antitrust Division, supervised attorney recruitment and development, and advised senior DOJ leadership, including the Assistant Attorney General. Jackie also received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, one of the Department’s highest honors, in recognition of her work as lead prosecutor in a price-fixing cartel litigation. 

"Joining Axinn represents the perfect opportunity to leverage my government expertise, my experience at trial, and my enforcement perspective in service of the firm's growing client base,” said Jackie. “I'm eager to counsel clients around competition risks, especially as we see antitrust law continue to transform, while upholding Axinn’s reputation for excellence.”  

Jackie is a graduate, with distinction, of Stanford Law School and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is also a frequent speaker at antitrust conferences around the globe.  

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