Courtney Dyer, Managing Partner of O’Melveny’s Washington, DC office, steers companies through increasingly complex government antitrust investigations and helps them navigate an evolving antitrust enforcement landscape.
Courtney has extensive experience defending proposed and consummated mergers and acquisitions before the US antitrust agencies. She is adept at analyzing complex transaction structures and advising clients on appropriately managing antitrust risk before agreements are executed. Focusing on the clients’ strategic objectives and supported by O’Melveny’s global antitrust team, Courtney crafts merger control strategies to achieve these objectives efficiently.
Senior executives at leading companies across a wide variety of industries rely on Courtney for strategic advice on how to achieve their business objectives while managing antitrust risk. In addition to her M&A work, she counsels clients on non-merger matters, including the formation of joint ventures and other competitor collaborations, Section 8 of the Clayton Act, information and data-sharing among companies, and pricing and distribution strategies. Courtney has advocated for government intervention on behalf of parties adversely impacted by proposed mergers, or by anticompetitive conduct.
In addition to her work in government investigations, Courtney devotes a significant portion of her practice to advising clients on issues relating to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act). Her work in this area has also involved negotiating antitrust provisions in transaction agreements, developing client HSR Act training programs and compliance procedures, and representing clients in “failure to file” situations.
- Representing Alaska Airlines in its proposed acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines.
- Representing Asiana Airlines in its proposed sale to Korean Air Lines.
- Represented Semtech Corporation, a supplier of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products, in its acquisition of Sierra Wireless, Inc.
- Represented DigitalGlobe, Inc. in its acquisition of The Radiant Group and in its sale to MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
- Represented Tractor Supply Company in its acquisition of Orscheln Farm and Home.
- Represented PowerSchool in its acquisition of SchoolMessenger from its parent company West Technology Group.
- Represented Alaska Airlines and obtained DOJ clearance of its merger with Virgin America.
- Obtained regulatory clearances on behalf of Finisar for its acquisition by II-VI.
- Obtained regulatory clearances on behalf of Microsemi for its acquisition by Microchip.
- Obtained DOJ clearance on behalf of Dealertrack Technologies Inc. for its acquisition by Cox Automotive.
- Obtained FTC clearance on behalf of CoreLogic, Inc. for its acquisition of Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, DataQuick Information Systems, and certain businesses of DataQuick Lending Solutions.
- Obtained DOJ clearance for Schoolwires for its acquisition by Blackboard Inc.
- Obtained FTC clearance for General Mills’ for its acquisition of Annie’s.
- Obtained FTC clearance on behalf of MakerBot in its sale to Stratasys.
- Represented Northwest Airlines in its merger with Delta Air Lines.
- Represented Verizon Communications Inc. in its acquisition of MCI.
- Counseled and successfully obtained FTC clearance for a supplier of genome-sequencing services in antitrust matters relating to its acquisition of a company that provided complementary, innovative services.
- Successfully defended clients in the technology, entertainment, manufacturing, and healthcare industries in non-public civil conduct investigations brought by the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice.
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- New York
Education
- George Washington University, J.D.: with high honors; Order of the Coif
- University of Richmond, B.S., Finance and Economics: cum laude
Honors & Awards
- Recognized by Who’s Who Legal as a Thought Leader in Competition (2023)
- Named to the “500 Leading Litigators in America” list for Antitrust & Competition Law, including M&A, Investigations, Litigation by Lawdragon (2022)
- Recognized by The Legal 500 US in both Antitrust: Civil Litigation/Class Actions (2016) and Antitrust: Merger Control (2017-2023)
Professional Activities
Member
- American Bar Association, Antitrust Section
Author
- “Using the Horizontal Merger Guidelines to Evaluate Labor Market Effects of Mergers,” Competition Policy International, co-authored with Courtney Byrd and Laura Kaufmann (May 11, 2022)
- “Considering Antitrust: Mergers and Acquisitions in an Election Year,” Corporate Counsel, co-authored with Richard Parker (January 12, 2012)
Contributor
- Mergers and Acquisitions: Understanding the Antitrust Issues, (4th ed.), ABA Section of Antitrust Law (2015)
- Antitrust Law Developments (7th ed.), ABA Section of Antitrust Law (2012)
Speaker
- Moderator, “Resale Price Maintenance: Current State of Play in North America and Europe,” American Bar Association (2019)
- “‘Nuts and Bolts’ of Responding to a Governmental Second Request,” American Bar Association, Federal Civil Enforcement Section of Antitrust Law (2015)
Podcast
- Our Curious Amalgam, “Would Anything Have Changed? The Use of the Failing Firm “Defense” in Merger Control,” Speaker, ABA (July 20, 2020)