Bill Baer, former Acting Associate Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust at the Department of Justice, will rejoin the firm Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer as partner on June 1, 2017, resident in the Washington office.

Baer brings broad public policy expertise to the firm’s antitrust practice. His experience in the public and private sectors makes him a seasoned and trusted advisor on crisis management and high-stakes matters, including bet-the-company litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and other government civil and criminal investigations, both domestically and internationally.

The move to private practice marks Baer’s second return to the firm after public service. From 1995 to 1999, he was director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission. Previously, he held several positions at the FTC, including that of assistant general counsel for legislation and congressional relations and attorney advisor to the FTC chair.

Baer first joined Arnold & Porter as an associate in 1980, working his way up to partner head of the firm’s antitrust practice, handling complex civil and criminal investigations and litigation in the antitrust and trade regulation areas. He was also instrumental in opening the firm’s Brussels office in 2003 and establishing a robust global antitrust practice.

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