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    Home /  Lawyers /  Joseph J. Matelis

    Joseph J. Matelis

    Partner

    Joseph J. Matelis Headshot Photo Portrait backdrop

    Washington, D.C.

    +1-202-956-7610

    |

    matelisj@sullcrom.com

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    Joseph Matelis, a partner in S&C’s Litigation Group, is a seasoned antitrust lawyer with deep government experience. His practice focuses on antitrust matters, including merger reviews, other civil and criminal government proceedings involving competition issues, litigation, and counseling. His recent representations span a variety of industries.

    Mr. Matelis rejoined Sullivan & Cromwell in 2013 from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, where he served as Counsel to eight Assistant Attorneys General and Acting Assistant Attorneys General and participated in enforcement decisions across a variety of industries, including the telecommunications, technology, financial services, energy, beer, and healthcare sectors. At the Division, he developed statements of enforcement policy and practice, including the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines, the 2011 Policy Guide to Merger Remedies, protocols regarding coordinating Division investigations with non-U.S. competition agencies, and Competition and Monopoly: Single-Firm Conduct Under Section 2 of the Sherman Act. In 2012, he became the Division’s Chief Counsel for Innovation.

    Before joining the Antitrust Division, Mr. Matelis was a member of Sullivan & Cromwell’s Litigation Group and represented clients during merger reviews at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. He also represented Microsoft Corporation for several years in private actions alleging unlawful monopoly maintenance.

    Mr. Matelis speaks about antitrust issues frequently, including as a lecturer at Duke Law School, Harvard Law School, the Kellogg School of Management, and the Yale School of Management.

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    Spotlight

    S&C Advises Guild Holdings in $1.3 Billion Sale to Bayview Asset Management

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    Joseph Matelis and Daniel Richardson Win Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing

    Read More

    Joseph Matelis recognized as a “Future Star” by Benchmark. 

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    • Experience
    • Rankings and Recognitions
    • News
    • Publications, Videos and Podcasts
    • Credentials
    • Related Practices
    Experience

    Experience

    Representative matters

    Airlines

    • International Airlines Group in its acquisition of Aer Lingus

    Defense

    • Harris in its merger with L3 Technologies
    • Harris in its acquisition of Exelis

    Energy

    • NEXUS in its acquisition of Generation Pipeline
    • Enbridge in its acquisition of Dominions natural gas utilities
    • Andeavor in its sale to Marathon Petroleum
    • Tesoro in its acquisition of Western Refining
    • Enbridge in its acquisition of Spectra
    • Columbia Pipeline Group in its sale to TransCanada Corporation

    Finance and Insurance

    • Discover in its merger with Capital One
    • MUFG Union Bank in its sale to U.S. Bancorp
    • Provident in its acquisition of Lakeland
    • Credit Suisse in its sale to UBS
    • Columbia in its merger with Umpqua
    • Great-West in its sale of Putnam to Franklin Templeton
    • BancorpSouth Bank in its merger with Cadence Bancorporation
    • First Horizon in its merger with IBERIABANK
    • SunTrust in its merger with BB&T
    • Popular in its acquisition of Reliable Financial Services assets
    • First Horizon in its acquisition of Capital Bank
    • Scottrade in its sale to TD Ameritrade and TD Bank
    • KCG Holdings in its sale to Virtu Financial
    • FirstMerit in its sale to Huntington Bancshares
    • First Niagara Financial Group in its sale to KeyBank
    • Ace Limited in its acquisition of The Chubb Corporation
    • Goldman Sachs in consolidated antitrust litigation arising out of aluminum warehousing

    Industrials and Manufacturing

    • Goodyear in the sale of its off-the-road tire business to Yokohama
    • DS Smith in its sale to International Paper
    • K+S in its sale of Morton Salt to Stone Canyon
    • Praxair in its merger with Linde
    • NewPage in its sale to Verso

    Pharmaceuticals

    • Kite Pharma in its sale to Gilead Sciences
    • Dyax in its sale to Shire
    • Optimer in its sale to Cubist
    • Valeant in its acquisition of PreCision Dermatology

    Retail

    • Swedish Match in its sale to PMI
    • Kraft Foods in its merger with H.J. Heinz

    Technology

    • Recruit Holdings in its acquisition of Glassdoor

    Telecommunications

    • AT&T in its acquisition of DIRECTV

    Speaking engagements

    • Fordham Conference on International Antitrust Law and Policy (September 2023)
    • M&A: fintechs, banks, and competition, Columbia University (May 2022)
    • Antitrust in the Modern Economy, Cardozo Law School (November 2019)
    • Money Isn’t Everything: Non-Price Merger Effects, American Bar Association Spring Meeting (March 2019)
    • Bank on It: Practical Advice from Veterans of the Bank Merger Review Process, American Bar Association Insurance and Financial Services Committee (October 2018)
    • Mergers: Defining and Litigating Relevant Markets, American Bar Association Spring Meeting (April 2018)
    • Pipeline to Success: The Enbridge/Spectra Merger, New York State Bar Association (May 2017)
    • Refusals to License Intellectual Property, International Competition Network Annual Conference (April 2016)
    • Nuts and Bolts of FCC Merger Review, American Bar Association Mergers and Acquisitions Committee (November 2015)
    • PAEs: Privateering, Purchasing, and Patent Reform, American Bar Association Antitrust and Intellectual Property Conference (October 2015)
    • Innovation: Can It Ever Be Anticompetitive?, American Bar Association Spring Meeting (April 2015)
    • Transactions Below the Radar, American Bar Association Section of International Law (June 2014)
    • Fundamentals: Antitrust, American Bar Association Spring Meeting (March 2014)
    • Vertical Contracts: The Key Implications, American Bar Association Unilateral Conduct Committee and Federal Civil Enforcement Committee (January 2014)
    • ABA Section of Antitrust Law Merger Practice Workshop (September 2013)
    • The Antitrust Treatment of Non-Poaching and Non-Solicitation Agreements, American Bar Association Business Torts Committee (June 2013)
    • Verizon/Spectrum Co.: Anatomy of a Transaction, Federal Communications Bar Association (January 2013)
    • The U.S. Horizontal Merger Guidelines, IBC Legal Advanced EU Competition Law London Forum (May 2011)

    Publications

    • Jospeh Matelis, The U.S. Draft Merger Guidelines 2023: Significant Change (ABA Int’l Antitrust Law Committee) (December 2023)
    • Joseph Matelis and Daniel Richardson, Criminal Enforcement of Section 2 of the Sherman Act (ABA Antitrust Magazine) (September 2022)
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    Rankings and Recognitions

    Rankings and Recognitions

    Who’s Who Legal: Competition recognized Mr. Matelis as a leading practitioner (2020–2023) and as a Future Leader in 2019. Mr. Matelis is also recognized as one of the “500 Leading Litigators in America” by Lawdragon (2024, 2025) and as a “Future Star” by Benchmark Litigation. He has also been ranked by Chambers USA for Antitrust (2019–2024), where a source noted that he is “very knowledgeable of the antitrust approval process” and “has a clear understanding of how to deal with regulators.”

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    News

    News

    • S&C Advises Guild Holdings in $1.3 Billion Sale to Bayview Asset Management

      July 1, 2025
    • S&C Advises Boeing in $8.3 Billion Acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems

      July 1, 2024
    • S&C Advises DS Smith in $9.9 Billion All-Share Combination with International Paper

      April 24, 2024
    • S&C Advises Kidde-Fenwal on PFAS Bankruptcy Sale

      April 18, 2024
    • S&C Advises Enbridge in $14 Billion Acquisition of Utilities Providers

      September 13, 2023
    • S&C Advises Foxconn in Formation of €1 Billion Auto Partnership with ZF Group

      July 31, 2023
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    Publications, Videos and Podcasts

    Publications, Videos and Podcasts

    • How the DOJ’s and FTC’s Draft Merger Guidelines May Affect M&A

      Podcasts August 4, 2023
    • An Overview of Section 8 of the Clayton Act

      Podcasts November 8, 2022
    • Section 8 of the Clayton Antitrust Act: Illegal Interlocking Directorates

      Emerging Issues October 28, 2022
    • A Look at the Current U.S. Antitrust Landscape

      Webinars August 5, 2021
    • Antitrust Issues in No-Poach Agreements and Employee Compensation

      Podcasts May 29, 2021
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    Credentials

    Credentials

    Education

    • Harvard Law School, J.D., 1996
    • University of North Carolina, B.A., 1993

    Bar Admissions

    • District of Columbia
    • New York

    Clerkships

    • The Honorable John T. Copenhaver, Jr., United States District Court, Southern District of West Virginia, 1996-1998
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    Related Practices

    Related Practices

    • Litigation
    • Antitrust
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