Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Renata Hesse to lead Antitrust Division, (Apr 15, 2016)

By John W. Arden, J.D., LL.M.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata B. Hesse has been selected to head the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, the Department announced today. She succeeds Bill Baer, who recently became the Acting Associate Attorney General.

“Renata Hesse is an outstanding leader, a determined advocate, and a faithful servant of the law,” said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. “Through her long record of public service, Renata has developed a wide-ranging and comprehensive expertise in antitrust and intellectual property law that makes her exceptionally qualified for her new position.”

Hesse has played a key role in some of the most challenging antitrust cases brought by the Justice Department in the last 15 years and has distinguished herself “through her tireless work ethic, her keen intelligence, and her steadfast commitment to doing justice,” according to Lynch.

Previously, Hesse served for nearly four years as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal and Civil Operations in the Antitrust Division. She was the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division immediately prior to Baer’s confirmation in December 2012 and served as a trial attorney in the Division from 1997 through 2006.

Prior to her service with the Department of Justice, Hesse was a senior counsel to the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and was a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. She is a graduate of Wellesley College (B.A.) and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (J.D.).

“During Bill’s tenure, the division achieved outstanding results in both its criminal and civil enforcement programs,” said Hesse. “We intend to continue to vigorously enforce the nation’s antitrust laws on behalf of American consumers.”

News: Antitrust AntitrustDivisionNews