Elaine Johnston
Partner, Co-Head Antitrust
New York
Elaine Johnston
Partner, Co-Head Antitrust
New York
Contact Details
Elaine is the head of Allen & Overy LLP's U.S. antitrust practice and co-head of the global antitrust practice. She has handled matters in a wide range of industries, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, oil and gas, engineering, banking and financial services, agricultural products, and vitamins. She has been featured in Chambers USA, BTI Client Service All-Stars, PLC Which Lawyer?, The International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers, Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Competition and Antitrust Lawyers, and Global Competition Review's Women in Antitrust 2016.
Elaine has an active practice before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) representing merging parties in connection with mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, as well as companies in non-merger investigations, and she is particularly experienced in coordinating U.S., European, and other foreign antitrust clearances on complex cross-border deals. Elaine also has an active antitrust litigation practice including representing the Belarusian Potash Company, Experian, Mercuria, and Saudi Aramco. In addition, she regularly advises companies on business conduct, including worldwide distribution and licensing arrangements, patent pools, information exchanges and benchmarking.
Elaine is a member of the American Bar Association (Antitrust section) and the New York State Bar Association (Vice-Chair, Antitrust Law section). She is also a former member of the editorial board of the ABA’s Competition Laws Outside the United States, a former associate editor of the Antitrust Law Journal, and a former member of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. She is a frequent speaker at antitrust conferences and seminars.
Expertise
Practices
Sectors
Qualifications
Professional
Admitted: Bar of the State of New York, 1988
Admitted: United States District Courts
Southern District of New York, 1995
Eastern District of New York, 1995
Admitted: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2009
Academic
LL.M., University of Michigan Law School, Fulbright Scholar, 1987
M.A., Cambridge University, 1984
B.A. honors, Clare College Cambridge, 1980
News & insights
News: 29 NOVEMBER 2021
Allen & Overy advises Ørsted in purchase of 302 MW onshore wind farm
Allen & Overy advised Ørsted in the acquisition of Lincoln Land Wind, a 302 MW onshore wind farm in Morgan County, Illinois, from Ares Management. This transaction also includes the acquisitions of…
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Publications: 24 NOVEMBER 2021
Overview of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2020
Pandemic-induced lull in M&A activity drove down the number of reportable transactions by 21.6% in FY2020, though preliminary monthly figures for FY2021 have quickly climbed and surpassed pre-pandemic…
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Publications: 19 NOVEMBER 2021
President Biden directs U.S. Federal Trade Commission to investigate oil and gas markets
On Wednesday, in a letter to U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan, U.S. President Joe Biden urged the FTC to investigate potential anticompetitive conduct in the oil and gas industry.
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News: 06 OCTOBER 2021
Global antitrust partners recognised in Global Competition Review’s Women in Antitrust 2021
Elaine Johnston and Marta Sendrowicz, partners in our global antitrust team, are singled out for their experience and achievements in Global Competition Review’s recently published Women in Antitrust…
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Expertise
Practices
Sectors
Qualifications
Professional
Admitted: Bar of the State of New York, 1988
Admitted: United States District Courts
Southern District of New York, 1995
Eastern District of New York, 1995
Admitted: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2009
Academic
LL.M., University of Michigan Law School, Fulbright Scholar, 1987
M.A., Cambridge University, 1984
B.A. honors, Clare College Cambridge, 1980
Published work
- Co-author, 'Antitrust Aspects of Settling Intellectual Property Litigation,' Intellectual Property Antitrust 2006, published by the Practising Law Institute, 2006, republished in The Licensing Journal Volume 26 Number 8, September 2006, with Matthew J. Galvin.
- 'Antitrust Liability for Acts and Omissions in Dealing with Government Entities,' Intellectual Property Antitrust 2005, published by the Practising Law Institute, 2005.
- 'Intellectual Property as an 'Essential Facility,'' Intellectual Property Antitrust 2004, published by the Practising Law Institute, 2004, republished in The Computer & Internet Lawyer, February 2005.
- Co-author, 'Contrast or Convergence? The IP Guidelines and the New EU Technology Transfer Block Exemption,' Antitrust Magazine, Spring 1995, with Ronald W. Davis.
- 'Dual Representation in Antitrust Investigations,' Antitrust Law in New York State, published by the New York State Bar Association, 1995.
- Contributor, Bellamy & Child, Common Market Law of Competition, Fourth Edition (Sweet & Maxwell 1993); responsible for section on intellectual property licensing.
- Co-author, 'Antitrust Aspects of Reverse Engineering,' Intellectual Property Antitrust 1993, published by the Practising Law Institute, 1993, with David Bender.
Recognition
Elaine Johnston is ‘a highly experienced lawyer who is always great to work with’ and is ‘absolutely excellent for merger work.
WHO’S WHO LEGAL COMPETITION 2020
Elaine is smart as a whip, commercial, practical, offers practical advice, and is very pleasant to work with.
Chambers USA 2020, Antitrust: New York
Elaine is a leading expert in antitrust law. She has made an effort to develop a thorough understanding of our business and provides practical, actionable advice.
Chambers USA 2020, Antitrust: New York
Peers and clients say, ‘She is a very capable competition specialist.
WHO’S WHO LEGAL COMPETITION 2020
