Wrede has a wide-ranging antitrust practice, spanning merger clearance, civil litigation, criminal investigations, and antitrust counseling. He represents clients with consumer protection issues before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in private litigation, and on counseling matters.
Wrede works with companies in all stages of merger clearance: crafting antitrust provisions in purchase agreements, filing Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Notification and Report Forms, advocating before government agencies across the globe, and when necessary, engaging in merger litigation.
Wrede’s litigation and investigations practice involves defending clients against allegations of price fixing, bid rigging, monopolization, and other antitrust claims. His consumer protection experience includes compliance with the FTC’s “Made in USA” rule and other matters under Section 5 of the FTC Act and other FTC statutes.
Wrede is a fifth-generation owner of a family business and brings a unique perspective to counseling closely-held and family-owned businesses on antitrust, consumer protection, and other issues.
Prior to joining McGuireWoods, Wrede practiced antitrust law at a Washington, DC law firm and was a trial attorney in the Defense, Aerospace, and Industrials section of DOJ’s Antitrust Division, where he investigated and analyzed mergers and acquisitions in a wide variety of industries, including telecommunications, banking, aeronautics, defense, and mining. During his time at the DOJ, he played an integral role in the investigation into Comcast Corporation’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable, Inc.
Experience
- Represented a publicly traded technology company in DOJ merger clearance investigation into its sale to competitor.
- Represented a private equity firm in the FTC’s investigation into $425 million sale of portfolio company to competitor.
- Represented consumer products company subject to FTC investigation into “Made in USA” marketing; investigation closed without formal enforcement action or penalties.
- Represented an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation in connection with its sale. The transaction was reviewed and approved by antitrust enforcers in the U.S., EU, and almost 30 other jurisdictions. DOJ’s investigation led to what DOJ characterized at the time as “the largest negotiated merger divestiture ever required by the United States.”
- Represented a third-party and key witness in DOJ’s first-ever arbitration hearing to challenge a proposed merger.
- Represented a Korean fuel refiner in DOJ criminal and civil antitrust and False Claims Action investigation and subsequent plea agreement and settlement.
- Represented a pharmaceuticals company in federal and state class action and non-class action litigation alleging antitrust and marketing-related claims regarding its leading product.
- Represented an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation in connection with the proposed sale of a subsidiary, including in DOJ initiated litigation to block the transaction.
- Drafted antitrust compliance program for rapidly expanding healthcare company.
- Counseled clients across many industries on antitrust implications of major corporate transaction, including Hart-Scott-Rodino notification in the U.S. and coordinating pre-merger filings in other jurisdictions.
- Represent various pro bono clients in antitrust matters before the FTC, landlord-tenant matters, and immigration matters.
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The George Washington University Law SchoolJD
with High Honors, Order of the Coif, Notes Editor, Int’l Law Review
2011 -
DePauw UniversityBA
with Honors, Phi Beta Kappa
2006
Young Lawyer Representative, Joint Conduct Committee, ABA Antitrust Section, 2019-2020
- Speaker, Antitrust and Competition Update: Tourney Edition, March 20, 2024
- Speaker, Antitrust & Competition Update: Back-to-School Edition, September 14, 2023
- Speaker, EdTech Webinar, July 27, 2023
- Speaker, Antitrust & Competition Update, April 27, 2023
- Speaker, Food and Product Labeling and Sales Practices Litigation and Regulatory Update: March Radness Edition, March 23, 2023
- Speaker, Antitrust & Competition Update, January 26, 2023
- Speaker, Food and Product Labeling Litigation and Regulatory Update, October 20, 2022
- Speaker, Post-Alston Name, Image and Likeness Implications for Education Benefits and Title IX, July 15, 2021
- Moderator, "Civil Enforcement of Joint Conduct," ABA Antitrust Section Joint Conduct 101 Series, December 5, 2019
- Hon. Alan Kay, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 2011-2012
- District of Columbia
- New York
Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Antitrust Law, 2023, 2024, 2025
Recipient, “Assistant Attorney General Award,” for work on Comcast-Time Warner investigation, 2015
- Author, Made in USA Claims Continue to Hold FTC’s Attention, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, July 22, 2024
- Author, FTC Issues Final Rule Banning Most Non-Compete Agreements, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, April 24, 2024
- Author, FTC Announces 2024 Hart-Scott-Rodino Premerger Filing Thresholds, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, January 23, 2024
- Author, Senior Living Alert – Antitrust Developments Related to Transactions Involving Private Equity Investment in Senior Living Facilities and Other Healthcare Entities , McGuireWoods Legal Alert, December 28, 2023
- Author, DOJ and FTC Issue New Merger Guidelines, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, December 21, 2023
- Author, FTC Issues Largest Fine in Made in USA Enforcement — but Seeks to Collect Much Less, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, December 15, 2023
- Author, Jury Award Against National Association of Realtors Likely to Have Broad Impact in Industry, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, November 20, 2023
- Author, FTC Initiates Monopolization Lawsuit Against Roll-Up Acquisitions in Anesthesiology Markets, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, September 26, 2023
- Author, FTC and DOJ Release Draft Updates to Horizontal and Vertical Merger Guidelines, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, July 24, 2023
- Author, FTC Continues Tough “Made in USA” Enforcement Even Where Labeling Rule Is Not Violated, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, July 19, 2023
- Author, Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice Propose Overhaul of HSR Form, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, June 28, 2023
- Author, Minnesota Also Adopts Mandatory Reporting of Healthcare Transactions; Illinois Poised to Follow, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, June 5, 2023
- Author, New York to Implement Mandatory Reporting of Health Care Transactions, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, May 8, 2023
- Author, FTC Issues Largest Fine in Made in USA Enforcement, Stopping Motocross Parts Company in Its Tracks, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, April 27, 2023
- Author, Questions Surround Federal Trade Commission’s Authority to Issue Non-Compete Clause Rule, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, April 19, 2023
- Author, FTC MUSA Labeling Rule Enforcement, One-Stop Shop, April 12, 2023
- Author, Made in USA? FTC and USDA Stand Ready to Check, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, March 8, 2023
- Author, FTC Announces 2023 Hart-Scott-Rodino Premerger Filing Thresholds, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, January 24, 2023
- Author, Federal Trade Commission Proposes Rule to Bar Almost All Non-Compete Agreements in Contracts With Workers, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, January 5, 2023
- Author, New Spending Package Changes Merger Filing Fees, Bars Transferring State AG Antitrust Lawsuits, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, December 30, 2022
- Author, FTC Issues New Policy on “Unfair Methods of Competition,” Shunning Past Practice, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, November 16, 2022
- Author, Antitrust Enforcers Focusing on Clayton Act Section 8, Interlocking Directorates: Know Your Risk, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, November 2, 2022
- Author, FTC Brings Fourth Enforcement Action Under Made in USA Labeling Rule, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, August 16, 2022
- Author, Federal Trade Commission Announces 2022 Changes to Hart-Scott-Rodino Filing Thresholds, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, January 21, 2022
- Co-author, "FTC Introduces Policy That Penalizes Repeat Merger-Clearance Players," The Antitrust Counselor, Issue 16.2, January 2022
- Author, Federal Trade Commission to Expand Scope of Merger Review Information Requests, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, October 1, 2021
- Author, FTC to Send Warnings That Companies Close “at Their Own Risk” Despite Waiting Period Expiration, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, August 4, 2021
- Author, Changes Ahead for College Sports, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, June 28, 2021
- Co-author, "Battle of the Experts in Merger Litigation: Two Case Studies," ANTITRUST magazine, American Bar Association, Spring 2018