King & Spalding to Expand Antitrust Practice in New York With Hiring of Former DOJ Official Wendy Huang Waszmer

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Apr 8, 2013) - Wendy Huang Waszmer, former assistant chief of the New York field office of the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust division, is joining King & Spalding's antitrust practice as a partner in the firm's New York office.

Waszmer will lead the firm's antitrust efforts in New York. Her substantial expertise, particularly in global cartel defense, as well as government civil investigations including antitrust, False Claims Act and other matters, will complement and enhance King & Spalding's existing competition law capabilities.

"Wendy is an uniquely talented litigator -- an extraordinary antitrust trial lawyer and accomplished leader," said Robert E. (Bobby) Meadows, leader of King & Spalding's business litigation practice. "Her deep knowledge of the complex issues that financial institutions face and investigative experience in a range of civil and government settings will be invaluable to our clients."

As assistant chief of the DOJ's antitrust division New York field office, Waszmer supervised a 40-person legal staff, led civil and criminal investigations and served as liaison with federal and state enforcement agencies in joint and parallel antitrust investigations. She tried a high-profile 2012 case involving charges against three Wall Street executives (United States of America v. Carollo, Goldberg and Grimm) that Rolling Stone magazine called the "the first trial of the modern American mafia." She also was recognized with an Assistant Attorney General Award for service in the division's front office and the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service to the Antitrust Division. Under her watch as assistant chief, the office convicted every defendant it tried and joined in the filing of its first civil complaint in nearly a decade in December 2012, effectively reinstituting civil investigation and enforcement.

Before serving as assistant chief of the New York field office, Waszmer was counsel to the assistant attorney general of the antitrust division of the Justice Department, and prior to that, assistant United States attorney, civil division, in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. She received a J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. degree from the College of William & Mary.

Waszmer said: "I am attracted to King & Spalding because of the strength of the antitrust and litigation practices, focus on financial institutions and collaborative nature of its lawyers. The firm has the platform and resources to handle the parallel and multi-agency proceedings that mark this era of increased antitrust scrutiny. This is the perfect fit for my re-entry into private practice."

King & Spalding's antitrust practice advises on all aspects of antitrust and trade regulation law and represents clients in a variety of industries in criminal investigations, class actions and other antitrust litigation, including cases ranging from multi-district litigation against alleged cartel members to disputes between competitors. Lawyers in King & Spalding's antitrust practice regularly appear before all key competition authorities, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general. The firm also counsels on mergers and acquisitions, legitimate arrangements with competitors, entry into new markets, product distribution systems and appropriate participation in trade associations. In a recent survey, Global Competition Review identified King & Spalding as one of the top law firms in the world advising on antitrust and competition law.

About King & Spalding
Celebrating more than 125 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 800 lawyers in 17 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.