Overview
Michael Murray is co-chair of the Antitrust and Competition practice at Paul Hastings and represents clients in high-stakes mergers and acquisitions and antitrust litigation and investigations. Based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office, Michael brings significant government antitrust and competition experience, having most recently served as the principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice (DOJ), where he oversaw the work of approximately 350 lawyers and 50 economists. In that capacity, Michael supervised DOJ’s merger investigations, conduct matters and litigation for several years.
Michael is the rare antitrust lawyer who maintains both an active merger control practice and a bustling litigation practice. In 2025, for example, he shepherded over $65 billion of transactions through global merger control regimes, including a litigated merger challenge in the U.S., while also representing over a dozen clients in major antitrust litigation. In that year, he won awards for both his merger work and his litigation matters.
Michael also is a partner in the Appellate, Regulatory and Complex Litigation practices at Paul Hastings. He brings significant government experience to a practice consisting of preparing and litigating challenges to agency rulemaking, adjudication or other activity, having served as an associate deputy attorney general at DOJ, where he oversaw the Civil Division’s defense of high-profile rulemaking challenges and other agency actions. Earlier in his career, Michael clerked for the Honorable Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Honorable Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also served as an AUSA for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Accolades
- Recommended, GCR100 (2026)
- Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Defense, Legal 500 US (2023-26)
- Merger Control, Legal 500 US (2023-26)
- Litigator of the Week, Runner-Up, The American Lawyer (March 2024 for antitrust litigation, May 2024 for appellate litigation, September 2025 for merger litigation)
- Legal Lion of the Week, Law360 (2024) (for merger work)
- Legal Lion of the Week Runner-up, Law360 (2024) (for litigation work)
- 500 Leading Litigations, Lawdragon (2024-26)
- 500 Leading Antitrust Lawyers, Lawdragon (2025-26)
- Rising Star, The National Law Journal
Education
- Yale University, J.D., 2009
- Princeton University, A.B. (summa cum laude), 2006
Representations
Antitrust
Michael is the rare antitrust lawyer who maintains both an active merger control practice and a bustling litigation practice. In 2025, for example, he shepherded over $65 billion of transactions through global merger control regimes, including a litigated merger challenge in the U.S., while also representing over a dozen clients in major antitrust litigation.
Mergers, Acquisitions & Transactions
- CWT US LLC, a global business travel and meetings solution provider, in its $540 million acquisition by Global Business Travel Group Inc., a B2B software and services company for travel and expense. The U.S. DOJ investigated this transaction and challenged it in litigation in the Southern District of New York. On the eve of trial, the DOJ dismissed the lawsuit without remedies — the first-ever dismissal of a litigated merger challenge without remedies. This result earned The American Lawyer’s Litigator of the Week Runner-Up. In the U.K., Michael shepherded the team that obtained the first-ever reversal of a preliminary decision to block the merger. This matter was short-listed for the prestigious GCR merger matter of the year awards for both Europe and the Americas.
- Pactiv Evergreen Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of resh foodservice and food merchandizing products, as well as fresh beverage cartons, in its $6.7 billion combination with Novolex, a manufacturer of diverse packaging products. This transaction was awarded Law360’s Legal Lion of the Week.
- Pennant Group Inc. as the divestiture buyer in UnitedHealth’s acquisition of Amedisys Inc. by UnitedHealth’s Optum unit. This transaction was short-listed for the prestigious GCR merger matter of the year award for the Americas.
- Groq, a global leader in AI inference, on its nonexclusive licensing agreement with Nvidia for Groq’s inference technology.
- Filtration Group, a Madison Industries Company and global market-leading provider of mission-critical filtration solutions, in its $9.25 billion acquisition by Parker-Hannifin, a global leader in motion and control technologies.
News
- Paul Hastings Advises Filtration Group in Its $9.25 Billion Acquisition by Parker-Hannifin - November 11th, 2025
- Paul Hastings Advises CWT Us in $540 Million Acquisition by Global Business Travel Group - September 5th, 2025
- Paul Hastings Advises Pactiv Evergreen Inc. in Closing of $6.7 Billion Combination With Novolex - April 1st, 2025
- Paul Hastings Advised CWT US, LLC in Agreement to be Acquired by Global Business Travel Group in $570 Million Transaction - April 11th, 2024
Accolades
Engagement & Publications
Engagements
- ABA Spring Meeting Panel on Monopoly Broth, Moderator (Mar. 2025)
- "Antitrust in the Digital Economy", GCR Live, Speaker (Mar. 2025)
- "M&A and the Future", Columbia Law School, Speaker (Nov. 2024)
- "Antitrust Merger Guidelines", Ad Item Corporate Counsel Network, Speaker (Feb. 2024)
- Antitrust in Labor Markets, Speaker (Nov. 2024)
- "Antitrust Developments," Deerfield at Cure, Speaker (Nov. 2023)
- "Breaking News: FTC v. Amazon," ABA Panel, Speaker (Oct. 2023)
- "Biden at 2," ABA Trust and Trade Podcast, Speaker (Feb. 2023)
- "Beyond Spoofing: What’s Next for CFTC and DOJ Enforcement," Futures Industry Association, Speaker (2022)
- "Antitrust in the Financial Sector: Competition in Traditional Banking Services," Concurrences, Speaker (2022)
- "Regulatory Outlook," U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Speaker (2022)
- "Life Sciences and IP: Navigating the Current Antitrust Environment," Speaker (Dec. 1, 2021)
- "Vertically Challenged," ABA Panel, Speaker (2021)
- "Courthouse Steps Decision Webinar: NCAA v. Alston," Teleforum, Speaker (2021)
- "Implications of 1-800 Contacts v. FTC," ABA Panel, Speaker (2021)
- "The Muscular Role for Antitrust in Fintech, Financial Markets, and Banking," University of Michigan Law School, Speaker (2020)
- "Antitrust Federalism," George Mason University Law School, Speaker (2020)
- "Recent Developments and Emerging Trends in Litigation," N.Y. State Bar Association, Speaker (2020)
- "The Jurisprudence of Direct and Indirect Purchasers," International Business Competition Committee, Speaker (2019)
- "Meet the DAAGs," ABA Spring Meeting, Speaker (2019)
- "Innovation & Competition Policy," Mentor Group, Speaker (2019)
- "Antitrust Enforcement in Labor Markets," Santa Clara University, Speaker (2019)
Publications
- "'Shadow Settlements' and the Tunney Act," CPI Antitrust Chronicle, Author (Nov. 2023)
- "Mitigating Labor Antitrust Risks as Enforcement Ramps Up," Law360, Author (June 16, 2022)
- "How To Mitigate Antitrust Risk In ESG Efforts," Law360, Author (Oct. 19, 2021)
- "Private Management of Public Spaces," Harvard Environmental Law Review, Author (2010)
- "The Law of Describing Accidents," Yale Law Journal Author (2009)
Involvement
- Vice-Chair – ABA Antitrust Section’s Unilateral Conduct Committee
- Former Vice-Chair – ABA Antitrust Section’s Federal Civil Enforcement Committee
- Member – U.S. Chamber of Commerce Antitrust Council