Andrew Finch, a former top U.S. Justice Department antitrust official during the Trump administration, has joined Cravath, Swaine & Moore from rival law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Finch most recently co-chaired Paul Weiss’s antitrust practice and previously served as principal deputy assistant attorney general and acting assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s antitrust division from 2017 to 2019.
Cravath’s presiding partner, Faiza Saeed, expressed confidence in Finch’s expertise, noting his background would be invaluable to clients navigating complex regulatory challenges. Finch will join Cravath’s litigation department as a partner in New York, where he will focus on antitrust investigations, litigation, and merger reviews. He was unavailable for immediate comment.
At Paul Weiss, Finch represented high-profile clients such as Spirit Airlines, Uber, and Mastercard in merger reviews. A spokesperson for Paul Weiss wished Finch well in his new role.
This move comes just one day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump’s second term. Cravath, one of the nation’s most profitable law firms, has recently shifted from its traditional practice of promoting from within to hiring partners from external firms. Notably, the firm opened a Washington, D.C. office in 2022, adding a trio of former government regulatory experts to its ranks. Among these hires was Noah Phillips, a former U.S. Federal Trade Commission commissioner, who joined as a partner to co-chair the firm’s antitrust practice with Christine Varney, a former U.S. assistant attorney general for antitrust under President Obama.
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