Antitrust Division Names New Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Regulatory Matters

WASHINGTON — Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, today announced that Deborah A. Garza will serve as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Regulatory Matters. Garza will oversee transportation, energy, agriculture, telecommunications and other regulatory matters for the Division.

“Deb is an outstanding antitrust lawyer and is a highly regarded authority in antitrust as reflected in her service as chair of the Antitrust Modernization Commission,” said Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department’s Antitrust Division. “Her previous experience in the Antitrust Division and her extensive knowledge of antitrust law and policy make her exceptionally well qualified to be Deputy Assistant Attorney General. We are most fortunate to have someone of her caliber join the Division.”

Most recently, Garza has chaired the Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC), a bi-partisan panel created by Congress to evaluate the U.S. antitrust laws and make recommendations on U.S. antitrust law and policy. The AMC issued its report to the President and Congress on April 2, 2007.

Since 2001, Garza has also been a partner in the antitrust practice of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP’s Washington, D.C. office. Prior to joining Fried Frank, in 1989, she practiced antitrust law at Covington & Burling. At both Fried Frank and Covington & Burling, Garza engaged in a wide range of antitrust counseling and litigation with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, including transactions in the transportation, energy, telecommunications, and high-tech industries.

Garza previously served in the Antitrust Division as chief of staff and counselor from 1988 to 1989, and as a special assistant to the Assistant Attorney General from 1984 to 1985.

Garza received her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1981 and her B.S. from Northern Illinois University in 1978.