US: Davis Polk adds antitrust partner from Obama’s White House

Davis Polk has hired antitrust partner Howard Shelanksi, who most recently served in the White House Office of Management and Budget as administrator of its Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

The Wall Street firm is set to announce Shelanski’s hire on Tuesday. He will join Davis Polk’s office in Washington, DC, sometime in early March. Shelanski will also continue teaching at the Georgetown University Law Center.

“While our antitrust practice is in great shape, this was one of the opportunities that no matter how good a shape you’re in [that] you don’t turn down,” said Thomas Reid, Davis Polk’s managing partner since 2011. “His experience stands out.”

The move is somewhat of a homecoming for Shelanski, who was an of counsel at Davis Polk from 2011 to 2012, when he joined the US Federal Trade Commission as a director in its bureau of economics. He supervised economic analysis and advised the federal agency on policy matters, according to Davis Polk.

Shelanski said he was asked to join the firm back in 2011 by partners Arthur Burke and Ronan Harty, who he will work with again in his second stint at Davis Polk.

In 2016, amid an unprecedented level of scrutiny under the Obama administration, a number of Am Law 100 firms bulked up their antitrust practices. The election of President Donald Trump took most firms by surprise and prompted speculation about how the new administration will approach antitrust enforcement. During his campaign, the president said very little on the topic.

Full Content: Davis Polk

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