Michael Egge is a partner in Latham & Watkins’ Washington, D.C. office. He is a leading antitrust lawyer advising clients on competition law matters in the United States and around the globe, including merger control and cartel issues. He has served as Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office; Vice Chair of the Global Litigation & Trial Department; Co-Chair of the Global Antitrust & Competition Practice; and as a member of the firm's Executive Committee.

Mr. Egge helps global market-leading companies navigate competition enforcement matters in Washington and every other major antitrust jurisdiction in the world. Specifically, he handles:

  • Merger control investigations
  • Cartel investigations
  • Joint ventures and other competitor collaborations
  • Enforcement and litigation challenges to a company’s core business model

Mr. Egge has significant experience representing clients in investigation and enforcement matters brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, and enforcement authorities in more than two dozen countries, including the EU, China, Brazil, and Mexico.

He draws on nearly three decades of experience, including three years in Latham’s Brussels office (2012-2015), and four years as global competition counsel at The Coca-Cola Company (1998-2002).

He excels at analyzing clients’ business models and priorities in almost any industry and defending them in high-stakes, high-pressure situations before complex regulatory regimes.

He is consistently recognized as a leading antitrust lawyer by industry publications including Chambers and The Legal 500.

Mr. Egge regularly holds leadership positions in the Antitrust Law Section of the American Bar Association. He also regularly writes and speaks about antitrust and competition topics, including as contributing editor on competition law for Latin Lawyer (2008-present).

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

  • American Airlines in securing antitrust immunity from the Department of Transportation with respect to its innovative and efficiency-enhancing joint venture with Qantas Airlines
  • EssilorLuxottica in its US$6 billion proposed acquisition of GrandVision
  • Agrium in its US$36 billion merger of equals with PotashCorp, to create Nutrien
  • Time Warner Cable in its US$55 billion merger with Charter Communications
  • Siemens in global clearances for its US$7.8 billion acquisition of rival Dresser Industries and counseling on and securing US clearances for a range of other acquisitions
  • Omnicom in securing global clearances for its US$35 billion planned merger with Publicis (which did not ultimately close for other reasons)
  • Nestlé in a range of dispositions and counseling matters over the course of more than 10 years
  • FMC Technologies in its US$13 billion merger with Technip SA
  • Avago in its US$37 billion acquisition of Broadcom
  • Energy Transfer Equity in its acquisitions of Sunoco, Southern Company, Semgroup, and other smaller acquisitions
  • Receptos in its US$7.2 billion purchase by Celgene
  • Weatherford in a range of JV and other strategic matters in the oil field services industry
  • A major cable and broadband provider in a DOJ civil investigation of alleged monopolization of cable advertising services
  • Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd in securing amnesty and complete protection from hundreds of millions of dollars in fines paid by other industry players in the US and other jurisdictions worldwide
  • Toshiba in flash memory and DRAM cartel investigations, which concluded with no action taken against Toshiba
  • A major chemicals manufacturer in securing amnesty position and complete protection from criminal prosecution or fines in the United States

Bar Qualification

  • District of Columbia

Education

  • JD, University of Virginia School of Law, 1991
    Notes Editor, Virginia Law Review
  • AB in Economics, College of William & Mary, 1988
    with high honors

Languages Spoken

  • Spanish