Steve Newborn retired from the partnership in 2023. He served as Chair of Weil’s global Antitrust practice. Previously, he was the Director of Litigation at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition where he was in charge of its Merger Enforcement Program until his departure in 1994.
In private practice, Steve continued to shepherd mergers and acquisitions through the agencies as well as conduct major litigations. He has obtained approvals for hundreds of transactions, many of which had run into regulatory blocks before he was retained. Steve was one of seven antitrust attorneys in the United States named to the Legal 500 Hall of Fame for Merger Control and one of only four antitrust lawyers to achieve a Chambers’ Band 1 ranking for Washington, DC, Nationwide and Global. Chambers USA notes that, “he is particularly looked to for his abilities to rescue transactions facing significant regulatory obstacles and agency opposition.” “He’s one-of-a-kind in antitrust: a go-to attorney for situations when a transaction is in jeopardy . . . his knowledge, creativity and communication skills are unparalleled.” “He’s extremely committed, thorough and strategic . . . an outstanding intellect who gets results and inspires confidence.” Steve was also recognized as a “Thought Leader” for Competition by Who’s Who Legal 2018–2021, and was named antitrust litigator of the year in 2019 by LMG Life Sciences. In 2017, Lawdragon described him as a “legendary antitrust star [who] has an unparalleled record of gaining antitrust approval for the largest companies in the world.”
Other accolades include being named the “best antitrust lawyer of his generation” and “in a class of his own” (Chambers), one of the “Top 30 Experts in Competition and Antitrust Law” (Best of the Best USA and Global Expert Guides), “someone you turn to in a life or death merger transaction” (Legal 500), a Competition MVP by Law360, and a 2017 “Litigation Star” for Antitrust in the U.S. by Benchmark Litigation. Other publications that acknowledged his premier standing include Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers. Lawdragon named Steve one of the 500 best attorneys (of any discipline) in the nation and one of only three antitrust lawyers in the country recognized as the nation’s finest dealmakers. He was also named to Lawdragon’s “Leading Litigators in America” guide, which honors “all-star litigators” from across the U.S. In 2015, The National Law Journal recognized Mr. Newborn as an Antitrust “Trailblazer,” an honor awarded for “the extraordinary accomplishments of innovative thinkers” who have “moved the needle” in antitrust law. He was also named among a select group of antitrust “Client Service All-Stars” by BTI Consulting Group for multiple years.
The antitrust cases Steve tried included the first successful Section 7(A)G(2) proceeding under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and the first successful interpretation of the Bankruptcy Act as not limiting the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. Steve is an expert in high-stakes antitrust litigation. He served as lead counsel in numerous trials, was often consulted by the government in their court cases, and was recognized by every ranking publication as one of the nation’s leading antitrust trial lawyers. He was the recipient of the Brandeis Award presented to the Federal Trade Commission’s finest litigator and was named one of the “50 national Stars for Antitrust Litigation” (Benchmark Litigation). Steve served as a Special Assistant US Attorney, a member of the faculty of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA), Master of the Bar of the Charles Fahy American Inns of Court, chair of the Government Antitrust Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Section, chair of the Merger Litigation Subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section, and co-chair of the Long Range Planning Committee of the Corporate Counsel Section of the Federal Bar Association. He has also been on the Board of numerous publications including Law360, The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel magazine and the Antitrust & Trade Regulation Report.