Deborah Garza is co-chair of the firm’s Antitrust and Consumer Law Practice Group. With more than 30 years of experience in both the private and public sectors, Ms. Garza has been involved in some of the largest antitrust matters in the last thirty years, including the merger of Exxon and Mobil, the U.S. Government’s suit against Microsoft, the USFL suit against the NFL, and many other litigation and regulatory matters on behalf of Fortune 500 companies. Ms. Garza practices in all areas of antitrust law, counseling clients on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, distribution practices, and complex litigation and in civil and criminal government investigations before state and federal enforcement agencies. Ms. Garza joined Covington in 2009 from the Justice Department, where she served as Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division. From May 2007 through November 2008, Ms. Garza was Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Regulatory Affairs, overseeing matters in the telecommunications, transportation, energy, health care, agricultural, insurance, broadcast radio, real estate, and other industries. During two prior tours of service during the 1980s, Ms. Garza served as a Special Assistant and as Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division. During her time with the Justice Department, Ms. Garza was involved in a number of significant enforcement matters and in the development and articulation of enforcement policy. In 2004, Ms. Garza was appointed by President George W. Bush to chair the Antitrust Modernization Commission (“AMC”), a bi-partisan blue-ribbon panel created by Congress to study and report to the President and Congress on the state of antitrust enforcement in the United States. The Commission's Report has been widely praised for providing a valuable framework for policy discussion going forward. Ms. Garza is a frequent commentator on antitrust issues. She has testified before Congress regarding the AMC Report and, at the invitation of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy, on antitrust enforcement in bank consolidations, see Statement of Deborah A. Garza before the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy, Oversight Hearing on “Too Big to Fail?: The Role of Antitrust Law in Government-Funded Consolidation in the Banking Industry.” Ms. Garza has also served as a non-governmental advisor to the International Competition Network, an informal network of all of the world’s competition authorities formed to foster convergence to best practices in antitrust enforcement globally. Ms. Garza has represented clients in a broad range of industries, including the pharmaceutical, financial services, software, health care, defense, airline, mining, oil and gas, nuclear, electricity, telecommunications, cable, radio, alcoholic beverages, consumer products, industrial products, and sports industries. Ms. Garza has been a leader in the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association. In addition, in 2005, she helped found the Diversity Network, a collaboration of Washington, DC, law firms to provide networking opportunities and access to community leaders for lawyers of diverse backgrounds. HONORS AND RANKINGS Best Lawyers in America, Antitrust (2013) Competition Law360, "Most Admired Attorneys" (2010) The National Law Journal, “Washington's Most Influential Women Lawyers” (2010), “50 Most Influential Women in America” (2007), and “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” (2006) Chambers USA - America's Leading Business Lawyers, Antitrust (2009-2012) Chambers Global, Competition/Antitrust (US) (2012-2013) Global Competition Review, Women in Antitrust (2013) Benchmark Litigation, Euromoney’s inaugural list of the Top 250 women in U.S. litigation (2012) Euromoney, Benchmark: Expert Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys - Antitrust Litigation Star, DC (2011) Washington, DC Super Lawyers, The Top 100 and The Top 50 Women (2013) Washington, DC Super Lawyers, Antitrust Litigation (2007-2013) Washingtonian, Best Lawyers (2011) MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS American Bar Association Federalist Society PUBLICATIONS AND SPEECHES "Marketing and Distribution Issues," PLI’s Antitrust Counseling & Compliance Conference 2011 (September 2011) "Market Definition, the New Horizontal Merger Guidelines, and the Long March Away from Structural Presumptions," The Antitrust Source (October 2010), Author "U.S. Antitrust Agencies Issue Revised Horizontal Merger Guidelines," Covington E-Alert (8/24/2010), Co-Author