Kevin Hahm, with Hunton Andrews Kurth (Courtesy photo)

Veteran government antitrust attorney Kevin Hahm has moved to private practice after 16 years with the Federal Trade Commission, joining Hunton Andrews Kurth as a partner in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

Hahm had served as director of the FTC's Mergers IV division since 2018, the culmination of a career at the agency that started in 1996 as a staff attorney in the health care division. His tenure in public service was interrupted with a six-year stint as an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which ended in 2006.

"It was a logical move for this time in my career," said Hahm, who left the FTC on March 20 only to see several planned trips, including a Caribbean cruise, scuttled because of the coronavirus crisis. "There are limitations on the type of work I can do at the FTC, most importantly, the industries that we're limited to. This was a way to broaden my horizons."

But Hahm also noted that much of his work with the government compliments Hunton's strengths representing clients in the health care and retail and consumer products industries.

One of his career highlights was work overseeing the 2015 Dollar Tree-Family Dollar merger, which was the first time the FTC acknowledged using the Gross Upward Pricing Pressure Index as part of its analysis in a horizontal merger.

Another standout was the 2019 merger between UnitedHealth and DaVita Medical Group that followed the landmark AT&T-TimeWarner vertical merger. Hahm called the insurer's $4.3 billion purchase of the two large physicians' groups previously owned by the dialysis provider the hardest case he ever worked.

He said that familiarity with these industries would ease the burden of generating new clients immediately upon coming aboard.

"I knew that Hunton had a strong client base to begin with that hopefully I could tap into so it wouldn't be all business development that I was relying on early in my Hunton career," he said.

And while he acknowledged the added challenge of building a book of businesses in a world where companies are scrambling to adjust to the pandemic and face to-face meetings are impossible, he's optimistic that technology can help.

"I was skeptical about doing meetings with large groups of people on the phone, but I've been involved in many Zoom calls over the last week, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how effective virtual meetings can be," he said. "I think we can overcome those challenges even if we're not able to meet physically with our colleagues and clients."

Hahm also said that he was drawn to Hunton because of the firm's cutting-edge antitrust work, pointing to a 2018 matter where the firm's private complaint on behalf of a client against door manufacturer Jeld-Wen led to a rare court-ordered divestiture.

"Kevin is a highly respected antitrust lawyer whose experience at the helm of the FTC's venerated Mergers IV Division will serve to benefit our clients and further enhance our rapidly growing antitrust team," Ryan Phair, head of Hunton's competition and consumer protection practice said in a statement.

Read More

Hunton Snags Baker McKenzie Cartel Pro to Lead Investigations Team

Norton Rose Fulbright Adds Leading Hunton Antitrust Lawyer