Steven Bernstein, a partner in the Washington DC office, focuses on antitrust counseling and litigation, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions. He joined the firm in 2004 after serving for more than 12 years at the Federal Trade Commission, most recently as Assistant Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, where he oversaw the Bureau’s Mergers I Division.
Since joining Weil, Mr. Bernstein has represented numerous clients before the FTC and the Department of Justice and has successfully obtained antitrust clearance for major transactions in a variety of industries. Mr. Bernstein has also represented clients in non-merger matters before the antitrust enforcement agencies and in private litigation.
While at the FTC, Mr. Bernstein was involved in supervising the FTC’s merger enforcement program in a wide range of industries, including aerospace and defense, healthcare, and industrial products. Mr. Bernstein played a significant role in a number of important antitrust enforcement actions in these industries, including the successfully litigated challenge of Alliant Techsystems’ proposed acquisition of Olin’s Ordnance Division. He was also responsible for negotiating numerous consent agreements, including settlements in Lockheed Martin/Loral, Astra/Zeneca, Boeing/Rockwell Aerospace and Defense, ABB/Elsag Bailey, Illinois Tool Works/Hobart Brothers, and S.C. Johnson/DowBrands.
Mr. Bernstein has been recognized in Chambers USA, Global Competition Review and Legal 500 USA, and was named a “Best Lawyer” in the specialty of Antitrust Law by Best Lawyers in America 2010-2013. He also has received numerous awards at the FTC, including the Paul Rand Dixon Award for his outstanding contributions to the FTC’s merger enforcement program in the defense industry, the FTC’s Excellence in Supervision Award, the Outstanding Team Effort Award, the FTC Award for Superior Service, and the FTC Award for Meritorious Service. In 2002, Mr. Bernstein was recognized by Corporate Board Member Magazine as one of the nation’s best and brightest attorneys under the age of 40. Mr. Bernstein has also written articles discussing the role of antitrust enforcement in the defense and pharmaceutical industries, participated in the development of the FTC Best Practices Guidelines for Merger Investigations, and served as vice chair of the Government Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Section.
Mr. Bernstein received his J.D. in 1991 from the Northwestern University School of Law, where he served as the executive editor of the Northwestern University Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. In 1988, he received a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Miami, where he graduated magna cum laude.