Reveal Opportunity

Your vision creates opportunities.

Ours protects them.

Our antitrust team decodes complexity to reveal opportunity.

Global Leader in Antitrust

Axinn's full-service antitrust practice stands among the largest and most experienced. Our team works coast to coast and across borders to deliver integrated counsel on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), litigation, and government investigations.

Celebrated as a top-ranked antitrust practice by Chambers and Partners and Global Competition Review, Axinn is renowned for representing some of the world’s largest companies in matters of the highest strategic importance. Our track record of success includes leading high-profile civil and criminal litigations and investigations. Orchestrating approximately half a trillion dollars in M&A transactions, we have gained clearances for intensely contested deals, including the largest cash merger in U.S. history, the largest-ever tech deal, and other landmark transactions.

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Professionals

Axinn’s full-service antitrust practice stands among the largest and most experienced. Our team works coast to coast and across borders to deliver integrated counsel on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), litigation, and government investigations.

Meet the Team

Craig M. Reiser

Partner

Craig Reiser is a member of Axinn’s Executive Committee and serves as the firm’s General Counsel. Clients turn to Craig when their reputations are on the line. He excels at representing companies and individuals in high-profile, high-value, and complex commercial and antitrust litigation. Known for his sharp legal insight, Craig quickly identifies the critical issues and develops strategies tailored to each client’s unique needs and business objectives. His approach has earned impressive results and the lasting confidence of those he represents. Craig's accomplishments have earned recognition from Chambers USA and The Legal 500.

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Denise L. Plunkett

Litigation & Trials Practice Chair

Denise Plunkett, Chair of Axinn’s Litigation practice, is a trial lawyer with more than 25 years of experience handling an impressive array of high-stakes commercial disputes and high-profile antitrust cases. Denise has served as lead trial counsel in well over a dozen jury trials of varying types. She has successfully represented MasterCard in some of its most significant antitrust cases, including challenges to its currency conversion and chargeback practices, and recently won a federal jury trial concerning the termination of a Mastercard membership. Her diverse litigation and counseling practice includes trials and appearances in numerous federal and state courts, international and AAA arbitrations, advocacy before the FTC Bureau of Competition, and appellate and other post-judgment representations.

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William W. Davis

Associate

William Davis focuses on antitrust and competition law, with experience supporting both civil and criminal matters involving price-fixing, monopolization, and merger review.

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Richard B. Dagen

Partner

Richard ("Rick") Dagen is an antitrust partner who helps clients navigate complex litigation, government investigations, merger reviews, and strategic counseling matters. Drawing on more than three decades of experience—including senior leadership roles at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—Rick provides practical, strategic advice to companies facing their most significant antitrust challenges before the FTC, the U.S. Department of Justice, state attorneys general, and private plaintiffs.

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John DeQ. Briggs

Partner

John DeQ. Briggs is one of the most accomplished competition lawyers of his generation. Since 1973, John has been antitrust and litigation counsel of choice for dozens of major companies in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Scandinavia. Client demand for his work has mainly focused on antitrust, M&A and complex civil litigation, including matters implicating shareholder liability and jurisdiction based on principles of veil piercing, agency, and alter ego. Before joining Axinn, John served for more than 10 years as the Chair of the antitrust practice for Howrey LLP, during his tenure, the largest private antitrust practice in the world. From 2009 until 2019, he was an adjunct Professor of International Competition Law at George Washington University.

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Kail J. Jethmalani

Partner

Lauded in Chambers USA for delivering “creative solutions” and in The Legal 500 for his “excellent strategic judgment” and “first-rate subject matter knowledge,” Kail Jethmalani is a go-to antitrust advisor for clients with bet-the-company litigation and challenging deals. He is known for a pragmatic, commercial approach, and cohesive strategies to successfully defend high-stakes antitrust litigation and secure antitrust approvals for difficult deals.

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Craig M. Reiser

Partner

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Denise L. Plunkett

Litigation & Trials Practice Chair

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Richard B. Dagen

Partner

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John DeQ. Briggs

Partner

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Kail J. Jethmalani

Partner

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Deals & Cases

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Axinn Advises Thermo Fisher Scientific on Completed $1.075 Billion Sale of Microbiology Business to Astorg

Axinn advised Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, on the completed sale of its microbiology business to Astorg, a leading pan-European private equity firm, for approximately $1.075 billion. The microbiology business provides antimicrobial susceptibility testing and culture media solutions for clinical, pharmaceutical and food safety testing.

Deals & Cases

Antitrust

Axinn Represents Modular in $4 Billion Acquisition by Qualcomm

Axinn LLP represented Modular Inc., an AI software infrastructure company, as antitrust counsel in its $4 billion acquisition by Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM). The acquisition strengthens Qualcomm Technologies’ AI software capabilities by combining Modular’s AI-native software infrastructure platform with Qualcomm’s high-performance, energy-efficient compute solutions to accelerate generative and agentic AI across edge, cloud, and data center environments. The transaction closed on July 29, 2026.

Deals & Cases

Antitrust

Axinn Represents Tecomet in Closing of Merger with Orchid Orthopedic

Axinn represented Tecomet, together with its sponsor Charlesbank, as antitrust counsel in Tecomet’s combination with Orchid Orthopedic Solutions, forming a scaled global manufacturing partner serving MedTech and Aerospace & Defense customers. The transaction closed on May 14, 2026.

Deals & Cases

Antitrust

Axinn Advises Thermo Fisher Scientific on $1.075 Billion Sale of its Microbiology Business to Astorg

Axinn advised Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, on its definitive agreement to sell its microbiology business to Astorg, a leading pan-European private equity firm, for approximately $1.075 billion. The microbiology business provides antimicrobial susceptibility testing and culture media solutions for clinical, pharmaceutical and food safety testing.

Deals & Cases

Antitrust

Axinn Represents Park Place Technologies, GTCR, and Charlesbank in Park Place’s Acquisition by Service Express

Axinn is pleased to represent Park Place Technologies (“Park Place”), together with its existing sponsors GTCR and Charlesbank Capital Partners, as global coordinating antitrust counsel in Park Place’s acquisition by Service Express, a Warburg Pincus portfolio company. Park Place and Service Express have merged to create a global data center services company with more than 3,000 employees and more than 25,000 customers across North America, Europe, Asia, and South America.

Deals & Cases

Antitrust

Axinn Advises Boyd Group Services on its Acquisition of Joe Hudson’s Collision Center

Axinn is pleased to announce that it is serving as antitrust counsel to Boyd Group Services Inc. (“Boyd”; TSX: BYD) in its definitive agreement to acquire Joe Hudson’s Collision Center (“JHCC”) from TSG Consumer Partners LP. Valued at approximately $1.3 billion, the transaction adds 258 collision repair locations across 18 U.S. states, expanding Boyd’s footprint and establishing a leading presence in the growing U.S. Southeast region. Closing is anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to customary conditions and regulatory requirements.

Deals & Cases

Antitrust

Axinn Advises Thermo Fisher Scientific in Strategic Acquisition of Clario Holdings Inc.

Axinn is pleased to announce that it is acting as regulatory counsel to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (“Thermo Fisher”) in its recently announced definitive agreement to acquire Clario Holdings, Inc. (“Clario”), a global leader in clinical-trial endpoint data solutions, from a shareholder group led by Astorg and Nordic Capital, Novo Holdings, and Cinven. The transaction, valued at approximately $9 billion in cash at closing, plus potential additional performance-based payments, underscores Thermo Fisher’s strategy to deepen its digital, data, and artificial intelligence capabilities in clinical research and biopharma services markets. Following the close, Clario will become part of Thermo Fisher’s Laboratory Products & Biopharma Services segment.

Deals & Cases

Antitrust

Axinn Advises Thermo Fisher Scientific on its Acquisition of the Purification & Filtration Business of Solventum

Axinn is pleased to represent Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, as regulatory counsel on its acquisition of the Purification & Filtration business of Solventum for approximately $4 billion in cash. This acquisition strengthens Thermo Fisher’s bioproduction offerings and will expand its reach into industries requiring ultra-pure water, including battery, semiconductor, and medical device manufacturing.

Deals & Cases

Antitrust

Axinn Advises AssuredPartners in its Acquisition by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Axinn is pleased to represent leading U.S. insurance broker AssuredPartners on the antitrust aspects of its $13.45 billion acquisition by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The transaction, which closed on August 18, 2025, builds upon the two companies’ client-focused cultures and enhances their product offerings, customer service capabilities, and industry expertise. The transaction received a Second Request on March 6, 2025 and closed without remedy on August 18, 2025.

Deals & Cases

Axinn Serves as Global Coordinating Counsel for Worldpay in its $24.5 Billion Acquisition by Global Payments

Axinn is pleased to represent Worldpay as global coordinating antitrust counsel in its $24.5 billion acquisition by Global Payments as part of a transformative three-way transaction. The other interrelated deals include Global Payments’ divestiture of its issuer processing business, Total System Services LLC (TSYS), to Fidelity National Information Services, Inc., and the acquisition by GTCR, which owns the majority of Worldpay, of 15% of Global Payments’ outstanding shares.

Deals & Cases

Antitrust

Axinn Represents Berkshire Partners in the Antitrust Aspects of its Acquisition of Forcura and Medalogix

Axinn successfully represented Berkshire Partners in the antitrust aspects of the parallel acquisitions of two post-acute care software companies: Forcura, an intelligent workflow management company; and Medalogix, a clinical decision support company. Together, the two complementary companies create a leading healthcare technology platform that brings real efficiencies and improved patient care, starting with home-based healthcare and expanding across the broader healthcare industry. Berkshire is the majority owner of the combined company.

Deals & Cases

Antitrust

Axinn Represents Sectigo, Inc. in Securing Antitrust Clearance for Acquisition of Entrust’s Public Certificate Business

Axinn is pleased to have represented Sectigo, Inc., a global leader in digital certificates and automated Certificate Lifecycle Management, in the antitrust aspects of its acquisition of Entrust’s public certificate business. The acquisition, which marked a transformative milestone for Sectigo, doubled Sectigo’s footprint, allowing for new growth opportunities to a broader customer base. The deal closed on January 29, 2025.

Deals & Cases

Antitrust

Deals & Cases

Featured Insights

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Benchmark Litigation Honors Axinn Partners on 2026 “40 & Under List”

Axinn is proud to announce that partners James Hunsberger, Kail Jethmalani, and Ali Vissichelli have been named to Benchmark Litigation’s 2026 “40 & Under List.” This annual list recognizes lawyers from across the country who handle significant litigation and have earned the respect of their clients and peers. James, Kail, and Ali were selected based on their work on complex, high-profile matters and their accomplishments in the field.

Awards & Recognitions

Litigation & Trials

Axinn Partner Rebecca Clegg Named to Hartford Business Journal’s 2026 40 Under Forty

Axinn partner Rebecca Clegg has been selected as an honoree of Hartford Business Journal’s 2026 40 Under Forty Awards, recognizing forty of Greater Hartford’s most accomplished young professionals for their achievements and contributions to the region.

Awards & Recognitions

Intellectual Property

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas: Third Circuit Parts Ways with Ninth Circuit and Reinstates Atlantic City Algorithmic-Pricing Claim

The Third Circuit (Cornish-Adebiyi v. Caesars Entertainment, Inc.) has now joined the Ninth Circuit (Gibson v. Cendyn Group, LLC) in...

Axinn Viewpoints

Antitrust

The FTC’s Record $12 Million HSR Penalty: Deal Structuring, Avoidance, and the Line Between Them

Parties structure transactions with the HSR Act in mind all the time, and nothing in the Act requires them to make a deal reportable. What parties cannot do, in the FTC's view, is disguise a reportable transaction as a non-reportable one. The FTC's latest enforcement action – and the largest penalty in the HSR Act's history – shows where the agency draws that line and what it now charges for crossing it.

Axinn Viewpoints

Antitrust

Featured Insights

Our Practices

Antitrust

Axinn's leading antitrust team delivers integrated coast-to-coast and cross-border counsel on M&A, litigation, and government investigations for clients across industries.

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Intellectual Property

Our nationwide IP team safeguards client innovations with strategic counsel, from global product launches to multibillion-dollar patent litigation, driving business growth.

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Litigation and Trials

We lead high-stakes litigation nationwide, handling hundreds of trials and appeals with recognized trial-ready strength that secures strategic, cost-effective results.

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Your vision creates opportunities. Ours protects them.

Global Leader in Antitrust

Professionals

Deals & Cases

Deals & Cases

Featured Insights

Featured Insights

Our Practices

Your vision creates opportunities.

Ours protects them.