M. Sean Royall, a Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner specializing in antitrust and commercial litigation, co-chairs the Firm's Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice Group, and also actively participates in the firm’s Appellate and Constitutional Law and Intellectual Property Practice Groups.
Mr. Royall served as Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, DC from 2001 through 2003 and played a key role in shaping and overseeing the agency's antitrust enforcement agenda, both in the merger and non-merger areas. While at the FTC, Mr. Royall acted as lead trial counsel in the agency's widely watched suit against computer chip designer Rambus Inc., a suit that involves patent-related monopolization claims. He also served as the lead lawyer in the agency's review of many high-profile mergers.
Mr. Royall has spent most of his legal career – both in and outside government -- litigating complex antitrust matters involving a diverse range of industries, including computers and computer software, semiconductors, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, petrochemicals, entertainment and ticketing, gaming devices, pet foods, food and beverages, defense, airlines, financial services, telecommunications, and avionics. He has also litigated other complex commercial disputes involving contract, false advertising, business tort, and intellectual property claims.
In addition to his trial and appellate litigation practice, Mr. Royall regularly represents clients before the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice in antitrust and consumer protection matters, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, distribution arrangements and intellectual property licenses; consults on advertising, consumer protection, and privacy/data security issues; and assists large corporations with legal compliance and records management issues.
Representative Matters
Lead counsel for ValueClick, Inc. in FTC consumer protection investigations involving e-commerce issues
Lead counsel for Fortune 50 company in FTC consumer protection investigations involving data security and telemarketing issues
Lead trial counsel for Johnson & Johnson in nationwide federal court class action antitrust (monopolization) suits involving branded pharmaceutical Ditropan XL
Lead antitrust counsel for United Defense (UDI) in BAe's $4.2 billion acquisition of UDI
Lead antitrust counsel for Allergan in Allergan's $3.2 billion acquisition of Inamed Corp.
Lead antitrust counsel for BMC Software in Texas state court trade secret misappropriation and monopolization suit
Lead trial counsel for Phillips Petroleum in federal court antitrust class action
Lead antitrust counsel for First Reserve Corp. and Dresser Inc. in Cooper-Cameron's $225 million acquisition of the Dresser's Flow Control business unit
Lead antitrust counsel for St. Jude Medical in its $272 million acquisition of Endocardial Solutions Inc.
Lead antitrust counsel for Paramount Petroleum in Alon USA Energy, Inc.'s $407 million acquisition of Paramount
Lead trial counsel for former Department of Justice official in civil lawsuit raising prosecutorial immunity issues.
Other Representative Clients
Dell Inc.
Sempra Energy
The Williams Companies
Herbalife International
Tenet Healthcare
Ticketmaster
Bally Technologies
Education
University of Chicago Law School – J.D., cum laude, 1990 (Managing Editor, Law Review; Tony Patiño Fellowship)
Texas A&M University -- B.S., Economics, magna cum laude, 1986 (Alfred Chalk Award for top economics graduate; Student Body President)
Professional Rankings
"The Best Lawyers in America," 2006 - 2008
Chambers & Partners USA ("'leading attorney' in the antitrust arena"), 2004-2007
"Texas Super Lawyer," 2006 - 2007
"Who's Who Legal," 2007 - 2008
"The International Who's Who of Competition Lawyers," 2008
Government Service
Deputy Director, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC (June 2001-October 2003)
Judicial Clerk, 1990-91, Hon. Patrick E. Higginbotham, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Dallas, Texas (1990-91)
Special Assistant for State Projects, United States Senator Phil Gramm, Washington, D.C. (1986-87)
Professional Activities
Chair, Antitrust Section of Dallas Bar Association (2006-2007); Vice-Chair (2004-2005); Council (2003-present)
Editorial Board for Antitrust Law Developments treatise (2007 – present)
Vice-Chair, Federal Trade Commission Committee, Antitrust Section of American Bar Association (2004-2007); Editorial Chair, ANTITRUST LAW JOURNAL (1997-2000); Vice-Chair, Sherman Act Section 2 Committee (2000-01); Vice-Chair, Sherman Act Section 1 Committee (2001-04)
Council Member, State Bar of Texas Antitrust and Business Litigation Section (2005-present)
Co-Author and Editor, Von Kalinowski, Antitrust Laws and Trade Regulation: Desk Edition (Lexis-Nexis) (1996-present)
Member of Steering Committee, Texas Review of Law & Politics (2004-present)
Member, Antitrust and Trade Regulation Advisory Board, Practising Law Institute (2001-present)
Adjunct Professor, Washington & Lee University, College of Law, Lexington, Virginia (1999 to 2004)
Selected Publications
M. Sean Royall and Sarah Vollbrecht, Avoiding the Scarlet "S": The Modern Challenges of Document Preservation and Destruction, THE AMERICAN LAWYER (June 2005)
M. Sean Royall, The Art of Destruction, THE AMERICAN LAWYER (September 2004)
M. Sean Royall, Standard Setting and Exclusionary Conduct: The Role of Antitrust in Policing Unilateral Abuses of a Standard-Setting Process, 18 ANTITRUST 44 (2004).
D. Bruce Hoffman & M. Sean Royall, FTC Administrative Litigation: Past, Present, and Future, 70 ANTITRUST L. J. 319 (2003).
M. Sean Royall & Seth M.M. Stodder, Noerr Immunity for Sponsoring Litigation: From Burlington Northern to Baltimore Scrap, 15 ANTITRUST 47 (2001).
M. Sean Royall, Coping with the Antitrust Risks of Product Integration, 68 ANTITRUST L. J. 1023 (2001).
M. Sean Royall, Disaggregation of Antitrust Damages, 65 ANTITRUST L. J. 311 (1997).
M. Sean Royall, Post-Chicago Economics, 63 ANTITRUST L. J. 445 (1995).