Baker McKenzie Hires Former New York Antitrust Enforcer

Bloom most recently held a senior in-house antitrust role at UnitedHealth Group, where he advised on competition matters globally, including transactions, regulatory filings, litigation, government investigations and compliance, according to Baker McKenzie. The law firm announced his appointment in a statement.

Before joining UnitedHealth, Bloom spent about a decade with the New York State Attorney General’s Antitrust Bureau, Baker McKenzie said. He served as senior enforcement counsel and worked on major antitrust investigations and litigation. Earlier in his career, he practiced at international law firms, representing companies in merger reviews, investigations and antitrust disputes.

The appointment comes as Baker McKenzie expands its competition practice amid heightened scrutiny of mergers and corporate conduct by regulators in multiple jurisdictions. The firm said its Antitrust & Competition Practice includes more than 365 practitioners across more than 70 offices and over 40 countries.

Creighton Macy, Baker McKenzie’s global head of Antitrust & Competition, said Bloom’s background gives him experience viewing competition issues from three sides: as a government enforcer, outside lawyer and corporate antitrust adviser.

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Macy said in the firm’s announcement that Bloom’s familiarity with state attorney general enforcement and his experience managing competition risk inside a global company would help clients confronting greater regulatory scrutiny. Macy also said he has worked with Bloom for more than 15 years.

Related: Baker McKenzie Welcomes Back Former DOJ Antitrust Official

William “Widge” Devaney, Americas chair of Baker McKenzie’s Global Dispute Resolution Practice, pointed to Bloom’s experience with regulators and corporate antitrust risk as particularly useful for multinational companies dealing with enforcement concerns and merger-control requirements, according to the firm.

Bloom’s arrival follows other recent additions to Baker McKenzie’s antitrust group. The firm said it previously recruited Mark Hamer, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the US Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, and Tim Finley, a former senior Justice Department antitrust and consumer-protection litigator.

The firm said Bloom will also contribute to its State Attorney General Investigations Practice, which includes former government officials and prosecutors such as Rod J. Rosenstein, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., Sumon Dantiki and Elizabeth Roper, as well as cybersecurity and data privacy lawyer Kate Hanniford.

Bloom said in the Baker McKenzie statement that the firm’s international reach and capabilities in antitrust and state attorney general matters fit his experience across government, private practice and an in-house legal department. He said he plans to work with lawyers across the firm on clients’ competition and regulatory matters.

Bloom received a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and a law degree from Cornell Law School, according to Baker McKenzie. He has held leadership roles with the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section and the National Association of Attorneys General Antitrust Task Force. He has also taught courses on antitrust enforcement at Columbia Law School and New York University School of Law.

Source: Baker McKenzie.