Shawn R. Johnson
Overview
Shawn Johnson is a partner and co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Antitrust and Competition Group and is located in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.
Career & Education
- Boston College, B.A., economics and political science
- Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D., Managing Editor, Vanderbilt Law Review
- District of Columbia
- Virginia (Inactive)
Shawn's Insights
Client Alert | 5 min read | 02.12.25
The Southern District of Texas published an unsealed version of its January 31, 2025 opinion denying the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) motion for a
preliminary injunction to enjoin Tempur Sealy’s acquisition of Mattress Firm. The decision marks another loss for vertical merger enforcement efforts,
particularly agency efforts to block these deals outright rather than accept settlement “fixes.” This case—coupled with other agency losses like AT&T/Time
Warner and Microsoft/Activision—will likely make it even more difficult for enforcers to win vertical merger challenges, particularly when the merging parties
lack sufficient market share to foreclose competitors and offer remedies to fix the alleged competitive concerns.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 01.15.25
Speedbump or Roadblock?: Complaint Challenges New Hart-Scott-Rodino Rules
Client Alert | 2 min read | 01.13.25
Firm News | 3 min read | 12.20.24
Representative Matters
Representative Merger Experience
- Representing United Technologies in connection with its $135 billion merger with The Raytheon Company, which The Deal named its 2020 "Deal of the Year," its $30 billion acquisition of Rockwell Collins, and its $16.5 billion acquisition of Goodrich.
- Representing Sikorsky Aircraft Company in connection with its $9 billion sale to Lockheed Martin.
- Representing Humana in connection with its proposed $37 billion merger with Aetna, as well as its acquisitions of Arcadian Health, Curo Health Services, and the Kindred at Home division of Kindred Healthcare.
- Representing Coventry Health Care in connection with its $5.7 billion sale to Aetna.
- Representing Pratt & Whitney in connection with the $550 million sale of its Rocketdyne business unit to GenCorp.
- Representing Alcoa in connection with its $2.85 billion acquisition of Firth Rixson and its $1.5 billion acquisition of RTI International Metals.
- Representing AT&T (and previously SBC) in connection with numerous transactions, including its acquisitions of AT&T Wireless, AT&T Corp., BellSouth, DirecTV, and Time Warner.
- Representing DuPont in connection with its $6.3 billion acquisition of Danisco and the $4.9 billion divestiture of its automotive paints business to the Carlyle Group.
- Representing Clean Harbors in connection with its acquisitions of both Thermo Fluids and the industrial cleaning services division of Veolia North America.
- Representing Rio Tinto in connection with the $761 million sale of the Jacobs Ranch coal mine to Arch Coal, as well as the divestiture of its Alaskan gold and silver mining operations.
- Representing Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Commerzbank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and J.P. Morgan in connection with the formation of FXSpotStream LLC.
- Representing Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Merrill Lynch and UBS in the formation of ICE US Trust LLC.
- Representing Citadel Securities, GETCO, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS in their purchase of a significant equity interest in NYSE Liffe U.S.
- Several confidential transactions involving U.S. and foreign intelligence and defense contractors.
Representative Litigation Experience
- Representing a major metals manufacturer in connection with an investigation by the Department of Justice and various international competition authorities into alleged pricing fixing; closed without prosecution.
- Representing a major multinational corporation in connection with an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission into potential monopolization and abuse of standard setting concerns; closed without prosecution.
- Representing a major multinational corporation in connection with an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission into potential monopolization and exclusive dealing concerns; closed without prosecution.
- Representing an agricultural cooperative in connection with an investigation by the Department of Justice into alleged price fixing; closed without prosecution.
- Representing several clients in connection with internal antitrust investigations.
Shawn's Insights
Client Alert | 5 min read | 02.12.25
The Southern District of Texas published an unsealed version of its January 31, 2025 opinion denying the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) motion for a
preliminary injunction to enjoin Tempur Sealy’s acquisition of Mattress Firm. The decision marks another loss for vertical merger enforcement efforts,
particularly agency efforts to block these deals outright rather than accept settlement “fixes.” This case—coupled with other agency losses like AT&T/Time
Warner and Microsoft/Activision—will likely make it even more difficult for enforcers to win vertical merger challenges, particularly when the merging parties
lack sufficient market share to foreclose competitors and offer remedies to fix the alleged competitive concerns.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 01.15.25
Speedbump or Roadblock?: Complaint Challenges New Hart-Scott-Rodino Rules
Client Alert | 2 min read | 01.13.25
Firm News | 3 min read | 12.20.24
Insights
Shawn's Insights
Client Alert | 5 min read | 02.12.25
The Southern District of Texas published an unsealed version of its January 31, 2025 opinion denying the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) motion for a
preliminary injunction to enjoin Tempur Sealy’s acquisition of Mattress Firm. The decision marks another loss for vertical merger enforcement efforts,
particularly agency efforts to block these deals outright rather than accept settlement “fixes.” This case—coupled with other agency losses like AT&T/Time
Warner and Microsoft/Activision—will likely make it even more difficult for enforcers to win vertical merger challenges, particularly when the merging parties
lack sufficient market share to foreclose competitors and offer remedies to fix the alleged competitive concerns.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 01.15.25
Speedbump or Roadblock?: Complaint Challenges New Hart-Scott-Rodino Rules
Client Alert | 2 min read | 01.13.25
Firm News | 3 min read | 12.20.24