Michael McFalls

Practice Areas

Mike represents leading companies across a variety of industries before the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice in antitrust investigations and litigation. Mike has worked on some of the most challenging mergers and acquisitions in the antitrust world, and has also led the defense of companies in some of the most challenging federal and state AG antitrust investigations of commercial behavior.

In addition, Mike counsels companies on joint venture, licensing and standard-setting questions in life sciences and IT-based industries. He has spoken, written and testified about antitrust issues involving intellectual property, and has chaired the Computer & Internet Committee and co-chaired the Intellectual Property Committee of the ABA Antitrust Section.

Mike’s non-merger work builds on his experience at the FTC, where he was attorney-advisor to Chairman Robert Pitofsky from 1998 to 2000. Mike participated in pathbreaking nonmerger investigations, including the first investigations into Hatch-Waxman settlements and product-hopping, as well dominant-firm issues in the semiconductor industry. He also helped draft the FTC/DOJ Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations among Competitors.

In 2000, Mike returned to a large international law firm, where he shepherded major transactions involving Abbott Laboratories, Procter & Gamble and XM Radio (among others) through the agencies. He also represented a number of life sciences companies in FTC and DOJ investigations, none of which resulted in agency challenges or consent decrees. Among his clients are Pfizer, Medtronic, TPG and Bain. Mike joined Ropes & Gray in 2010.