Phillip Anthony Nichols

My clients range from small start-up companies to privately held companies with sales across the U.S. to large vertically integrated public utilities and publicly traded financial institutions.

I most often work on two types of matters - (1) counseling clients on what can be a complex and sometimes confusing body of antitrust and competition laws and (2) documenting the sale of goods and services by our clients.

Very little of my work falls into the cookie-cutter category.  Especially in the antitrust area, resolutions to the challenges faced by our clients often require intense strategic planning and implementation. Answers to our clients' questions depend so heavily on the unique facts presented that it requires me to learn the ins and outs not only of each client's business but also each particular transaction.

I frequently represent clients before the federal antitrust enforcement agencies - the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) - Antitrust Division. Most often these representations involve transactions that are reportable under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act). Sometimes I also seek and obtain informal advice from the FTC regarding the application of the HSR Act, including advice that our client's transaction falls within some exception to the filing requirements of the HSR Act. I have also frequently guided clients through the process of responding to inquiries from the FTC, DOJ and even the European Commission regarding mergers and acquisitions of vendors and suppliers to our clients.