Joseph Wayland, the acting head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, will leave his position on Nov. 16.
Wayland joined the Antitrust Division in 2010 as its deputy assistant attorney general for civil enforcement, and was appointed to his current role in April. During his tenure at the DOJ, he oversaw several key mergers and acquisitions challenges, notably preventing H&R Block Inc.’s attempted acquisition of TaxAct in the Antitrust Division’s first successful litigated merger challenge in eight years.
He later led another successful challenge to AT&T Inc.’s planned acquisition of T-Mobile USA Inc., and helped the DOJ to reach compromises on deals including Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc.’s acquisition of Live Nation Entertainment and Google Inc.’s purchase of Motorola Mobility.
Commenting on his resignation to the Wall Street Journal Law (WSJ) Law Blog, Wayland said: “It’s time for me to go. I’ve been serving on borrowed time for some time.”
Sources cited in the WSJ speculate that Wayland will return to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, where he was a partner prior to joining the DOJ, although Wayland himself has not commented on his future career plans.
Read more at Thomson Reuters.
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