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Versatile Antitrust Advisor
Brendan is a seasoned antitrust attorney with extensive experience across the full spectrum of antitrust and competition law, including merger review, strategic counseling, government investigations, and complex antitrust litigation. Brendan regularly represents clients before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state attorneys general, as well as competition authorities across the globe.
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Expertise Across Industries
Brendan has deep experience in the unique competitive profiles of highly scrutinized and dynamic industries, including life sciences, biotechnology, semiconductors, transportation, cloud infrastructure, and digital platforms.
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Recognized Practitioner
Brendan was named among the Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Antitrust & Competition Lawyers and Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation, and serves as a Vice Chair on the Policy and Comments Committee of the Antitrust Section of the ABA. His matters have been named Mergers & Acquisitions Biotechnology Middle-Market Deals of the Year (Recursion/Exscientia); been nominated as a Global Competition Review Merger Control Matter of the Year for 2025 (Alaska/Hawaiian); and received honorable mention for Mergers & Acquisitions Healthcare Middle-Market Deals of the Year (Boston Scientific/Silk Road).
Brendan Coffman is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he is a member of the antitrust and competition practice. Brendan’s practice is rooted in helping innovative companies align competition strategy with broader business goals.
He regularly represents companies in connection with mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, government investigations, private litigation, and distribution practices.
Brendan’s life sciences representations include clients ranging from global pharmaceutical manufacturers and biotech innovators to healthcare providers and investors on the full range of competition law issues, including mergers, collaborations, conduct investigations, and complex litigation. In the technology space, Brendan’s clients include those at the forefront of digital transformation, including artificial intelligence (AI), generative technologies, data center infrastructure, and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). He counsels global technology companies—ranging from hyperscale cloud providers and AI model developers to semiconductor firms—on merger clearance strategy, conduct investigations, standard-setting participation, and litigation involving novel competition theories.
Brendan has represented clients in complex, high-stakes antitrust litigation on both sides of the “v.” This dual perspective informs his approach to litigation strategy and agency advocacy, enabling him to anticipate opposing arguments and craft more effective, business-aligned solutions.
Brendan Coffman is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he is a member of the antitrust and competition practice. Brendan’s practice is rooted in helping innovative companies align competition strategy with broader business goals.
He regularly represents companies in connection with mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, government investigations, private litigation, and distribution practices.
Brendan’s life sciences representations include clients ranging from global pharmaceutical manufacturers and biotech innovators to healthcare providers and investors on the full range of competition law issues, including mergers, collaborations, conduct investigations, and complex litigation. In the technology space, Brendan’s clients include those at the forefront of digital transformation, including artificial intelligence (AI), generative technologies, data center infrastructure, and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). He counsels global technology companies—ranging from hyperscale cloud providers and AI model developers to semiconductor firms—on merger clearance strategy, conduct investigations, standard-setting participation, and litigation involving novel competition theories.
Brendan has represented clients in complex, high-stakes antitrust litigation on both sides of the “v.” This dual perspective informs his approach to litigation strategy and agency advocacy, enabling him to anticipate opposing arguments and craft more effective, business-aligned solutions.
- J.D., George Mason University School of Law, 2011
Articles Editor, George Mason Law Review, 2010-2011; Presidential Management Fellow
- B.S.F.S., International Politics, Georgetown University, 2005
- Vice Chair, United States Policy and Comments Committee, Section of Antitrust Law, 2024-present
- Vice Chair, Health Care and Pharmaceuticals Committee, Section of Antitrust Law, 2021-2024
- Vice Chair, Trial and Practice Committee, Section of Antitrust Law, American Bar Association, 2018-2020
- Young Lawyer Representative, Health Care and Pharmaceuticals Committee, Section of Antitrust Law, American Bar Association, 2016-2017
- Honored among Lawdragon's 2026 “500 Leading Global Antitrust & Competition Lawyers"
- Named to the 2025 and 2026 Lawdragon “500 X – The Next Generation” lists
- Bar of the District of Columbia
- State Bar of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
- J.D., George Mason University School of Law, 2011
Articles Editor, George Mason Law Review, 2010-2011; Presidential Management Fellow
- B.S.F.S., International Politics, Georgetown University, 2005
- Vice Chair, United States Policy and Comments Committee, Section of Antitrust Law, 2024-present
- Vice Chair, Health Care and Pharmaceuticals Committee, Section of Antitrust Law, 2021-2024
- Vice Chair, Trial and Practice Committee, Section of Antitrust Law, American Bar Association, 2018-2020
- Young Lawyer Representative, Health Care and Pharmaceuticals Committee, Section of Antitrust Law, American Bar Association, 2016-2017
- Honored among Lawdragon's 2026 “500 Leading Global Antitrust & Competition Lawyers"
- Named to the 2025 and 2026 Lawdragon “500 X – The Next Generation” lists
- Bar of the District of Columbia
- State Bar of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
Select Transactions
Transactions
- Hawaiian Airlines in its $1.9 billion acquisition by Alaska Airlines, the first airline merger cleared by the antitrust agencies in nearly a decade
- Scale Computing in its acquisition by Acumera
- Marvell Technology in its $2.5 billion sale of its Automotive Ethernet business to Infineon Technologies
- Ampere Computing in its $6.5 billion sale to SoftBank Group Corp.
- Bolt Medical in its $600 million acquisition by Boston Scientific
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals in its $700 million acquisition of Exscientia
- Silk Road in its $1.16 billion acquisition by Boston Scientific
- Vizio in its $2.3 billion acquisition by Walmart
- Dren Bio in its strategic collaboration with Novartis
- Bungie in its $3.6 billion acquisition by Sony
- DTx Pharma in its acquisition by Novartis, valued up to $1 billion
- Qualcomm in its acquisitions of Veoneer, Skyhook, Cellwize, and Autotalks
- Element Biosciences as a third party in the FTC’s challenge of Illumina/Grail
- Lyft in its $500 million sale of L5 Assets to Toyota’s Woven Planet
- Plaid in its proposed $5.3 billion acquisition by Visa
- Careem in its $3.1 billion acquisition by Uber
- Lumentum in its $1.8 billion acquisition of Oclaro
- NetSuite in its $9.3 billion acquisition by Oracle
- Trulia in its $3.5 billion acquisition by Zillow
- Fiserv, Inc. in its $700 million acquisition of Elan Financial Services
- Google in its acquisitions of Waze and Nest
Antitrust Litigation
- Mylan Pharmaceuticals in several matters pertaining to insulin glargine, including as lead counsel in affirmative litigation against Sanofi alleging illegal monopolization of the insulin glargine market, and in connection with the FTC’s administrative litigation against PBMs
- Open To The Public Investing, Inc. (“Public.com”) in In re January 2021 Short Squeeze Trading Litigation; obtained voluntary dismissal
- Mylan Pharmaceuticals as plaintiff against Teva Corporation alleging monopolization of the market for multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone
- Reddy’s Laboratories in monopolization case against Amarin pertaining to Vascepa
- Mylan Pharmaceuticals as plaintiff against Celgene Corporation alleging monopolization of the markets for cancer Thalomid and Revlimid; prevailed at summary judgment and obtained favorable monetary settlement
- Mylan Pharmaceuticals in In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation
- Lupin Pharmaceuticals in In re Glumetza Antitrust Litigation
Government Investigations
- Represented cooperating witness in U.S. v. Usher et al., the Department of Justice’s investigation and criminal prosecution in the foreign exchange market, as well as in follow-on civil litigation
- Represented U.S. Treasury traders in regulatory investigation
- Represented U.S. Treasury Swaps trader in regulatory investigation and subsequent consent
- Represented Supranationals, Sovereigns and Agencies (SSA) trader in regulatory investigation
- Four other traders across three financial instruments in connection with government investigations in the United States and internationally
Antitrust Counseling
- Represent many leading technology companies in connection with regulatory investigations touching upon all areas of antitrust jurisprudence
- Range of intellectual property issues, including standard-essential patents, participation in standard-development organizations, patent pooling, and other competition risks associated with patent assertion and aggregation
- Pricing practices including price discrimination, most favored nation clauses (MFNs), minimum requirements, exclusivity, and conditional payment terms
Select Transactions
Transactions
- Hawaiian Airlines in its $1.9 billion acquisition by Alaska Airlines, the first airline merger cleared by the antitrust agencies in nearly a decade
- Scale Computing in its acquisition by Acumera
- Marvell Technology in its $2.5 billion sale of its Automotive Ethernet business to Infineon Technologies
- Ampere Computing in its $6.5 billion sale to SoftBank Group Corp.
- Bolt Medical in its $600 million acquisition by Boston Scientific
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals in its $700 million acquisition of Exscientia
- Silk Road in its $1.16 billion acquisition by Boston Scientific
- Vizio in its $2.3 billion acquisition by Walmart
- Dren Bio in its strategic collaboration with Novartis
- Bungie in its $3.6 billion acquisition by Sony
- DTx Pharma in its acquisition by Novartis, valued up to $1 billion
- Qualcomm in its acquisitions of Veoneer, Skyhook, Cellwize, and Autotalks
- Element Biosciences as a third party in the FTC’s challenge of Illumina/Grail
- Lyft in its $500 million sale of L5 Assets to Toyota’s Woven Planet
- Plaid in its proposed $5.3 billion acquisition by Visa
- Careem in its $3.1 billion acquisition by Uber
- Lumentum in its $1.8 billion acquisition of Oclaro
- NetSuite in its $9.3 billion acquisition by Oracle
- Trulia in its $3.5 billion acquisition by Zillow
- Fiserv, Inc. in its $700 million acquisition of Elan Financial Services
- Google in its acquisitions of Waze and Nest
Antitrust Litigation
- Mylan Pharmaceuticals in several matters pertaining to insulin glargine, including as lead counsel in affirmative litigation against Sanofi alleging illegal monopolization of the insulin glargine market, and in connection with the FTC’s administrative litigation against PBMs
- Open To The Public Investing, Inc. (“Public.com”) in In re January 2021 Short Squeeze Trading Litigation; obtained voluntary dismissal
- Mylan Pharmaceuticals as plaintiff against Teva Corporation alleging monopolization of the market for multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone
- Reddy’s Laboratories in monopolization case against Amarin pertaining to Vascepa
- Mylan Pharmaceuticals as plaintiff against Celgene Corporation alleging monopolization of the markets for cancer Thalomid and Revlimid; prevailed at summary judgment and obtained favorable monetary settlement
- Mylan Pharmaceuticals in In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation
- Lupin Pharmaceuticals in In re Glumetza Antitrust Litigation
Government Investigations
- Represented cooperating witness in U.S. v. Usher et al., the Department of Justice’s investigation and criminal prosecution in the foreign exchange market, as well as in follow-on civil litigation
- Represented U.S. Treasury traders in regulatory investigation
- Represented U.S. Treasury Swaps trader in regulatory investigation and subsequent consent
- Represented Supranationals, Sovereigns and Agencies (SSA) trader in regulatory investigation
- Four other traders across three financial instruments in connection with government investigations in the United States and internationally
Antitrust Counseling
- Represent many leading technology companies in connection with regulatory investigations touching upon all areas of antitrust jurisprudence
- Range of intellectual property issues, including standard-essential patents, participation in standard-development organizations, patent pooling, and other competition risks associated with patent assertion and aggregation
- Pricing practices including price discrimination, most favored nation clauses (MFNs), minimum requirements, exclusivity, and conditional payment terms
Select Publications
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Co-author, “Navigating Pharmaceutical Patent Settlements and Reverse Payments: Key Takeaways from the FTC’s Latest MMA Reports,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, January 22, 2025
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Co-author, “2025 Year in Preview: Trends and Key Decisions in Private Litigation,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, January 16, 2025
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Co-author, “Whither Antitrust Enforcement Under Trump 2.0?” Wilson Sonsini Alert, November 15, 2024
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Co-author, “Old-Fashioned Approach Still Wins It for the FTC in Luxury Goods Merger Challenge,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, October 30, 2024
- Co-author with A. Keck and S. Sher, Risk Allocation in Merger Agreements in an Era of Increased Enforcement, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Report, October 2020
- Co-author with T. Hoang and N. Mendelsohn, “Turing the Screws on Illegal 'Comprehensive Schemes': The FTC and States’ Bold Complaint Regarding Daraprim,” Competition Policy International, May 18, 2020
- Editor, Antitrust Law Developments, 2017-Present
- Co-author with S. Silber and J. Bank, “A Return to Republican Antitrust Policies for Pharma,” Law360, January 24, 2017
- Co-author with M. Rosman, S. Silber, J. VanHooreweghe, and J. Bank, “Update on the DOJ's Criminal Investigation into Generic Pharmaceuticals,” WSGR Alert, March 24, 2015
- Co-author with S. Silber and J. Lutinski, “Citizen Petitions Aimed at Delaying Generic Competition Remain a Concern,” WSGR Alert, February 11, 2015
- Co-author with S. Silber, M. Rosman, J. VanHooreweghe, and K. Kemp, “DOJ Investigation into Generic Pharmaceutical Pricing Signals Potential Criminal Exposure,” WSGR Alert, November 12, 2014
- Co-author with Mark Rosman and J. VanHooreweghe, “DOJ's Antitrust Division Reverses Policy on Individual Carve-Outs in Company Plea Agreements,” WSGR Alert, April 17, 2013
- “A One-Stop Shop for Outlining Patent Abuse,” Patent Progress, February 6, 2013
Select Speaking Engagements
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Speaker, “Navigating Antitrust Challenges in Business Exits: Strategies for Success,” Wilson Sonsini Medical Device & Digital Health Conference, June 6, 2025
- Panelist, “PBM Tactics: Tough Competition or Antitrust Violation?” 2022 ABA Antitrust in Healthcare Conference, June 2, 2022
- Panelist, “Antitrust Considerations in Structuring Pharmaceutical Settlements,” Berkley Law 2022 Advanced Life Sciences Institute, April 22, 2022
- Panelist, “What’s New in Reverse Payment Litigation,” Antitrust in Healthcare Virtual Conference, February 2021
- Panelist, “The 2020 Candidates' Views on Competition & Antitrust,” American Bar Association, New York, New York, November 4, 2019
- Panelist, “Antitrust Enforcement in the Pharmaceutical Industry,” 2019 Antitrust and Consumer Law Institute, Washington D.C., September 26, 2019
- Moderator, “Recent Issues in Reverse Payments Litigations,” American Bar Association, New York, New York, September 14, 2017
- Moderator, “The Use of Structural Presumptions in Merger Analysis,” American Bar Association, Washington D.C., June 26, 2015
Select Publications
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Co-author, “Navigating Pharmaceutical Patent Settlements and Reverse Payments: Key Takeaways from the FTC’s Latest MMA Reports,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, January 22, 2025
-
Co-author, “2025 Year in Preview: Trends and Key Decisions in Private Litigation,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, January 16, 2025
-
Co-author, “Whither Antitrust Enforcement Under Trump 2.0?” Wilson Sonsini Alert, November 15, 2024
-
Co-author, “Old-Fashioned Approach Still Wins It for the FTC in Luxury Goods Merger Challenge,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, October 30, 2024
- Co-author with A. Keck and S. Sher, Risk Allocation in Merger Agreements in an Era of Increased Enforcement, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Report, October 2020
- Co-author with T. Hoang and N. Mendelsohn, “Turing the Screws on Illegal 'Comprehensive Schemes': The FTC and States’ Bold Complaint Regarding Daraprim,” Competition Policy International, May 18, 2020
- Editor, Antitrust Law Developments, 2017-Present
- Co-author with S. Silber and J. Bank, “A Return to Republican Antitrust Policies for Pharma,” Law360, January 24, 2017
- Co-author with M. Rosman, S. Silber, J. VanHooreweghe, and J. Bank, “Update on the DOJ's Criminal Investigation into Generic Pharmaceuticals,” WSGR Alert, March 24, 2015
- Co-author with S. Silber and J. Lutinski, “Citizen Petitions Aimed at Delaying Generic Competition Remain a Concern,” WSGR Alert, February 11, 2015
- Co-author with S. Silber, M. Rosman, J. VanHooreweghe, and K. Kemp, “DOJ Investigation into Generic Pharmaceutical Pricing Signals Potential Criminal Exposure,” WSGR Alert, November 12, 2014
- Co-author with Mark Rosman and J. VanHooreweghe, “DOJ's Antitrust Division Reverses Policy on Individual Carve-Outs in Company Plea Agreements,” WSGR Alert, April 17, 2013
- “A One-Stop Shop for Outlining Patent Abuse,” Patent Progress, February 6, 2013
Select Speaking Engagements
-
Speaker, “Navigating Antitrust Challenges in Business Exits: Strategies for Success,” Wilson Sonsini Medical Device & Digital Health Conference, June 6, 2025
- Panelist, “PBM Tactics: Tough Competition or Antitrust Violation?” 2022 ABA Antitrust in Healthcare Conference, June 2, 2022
- Panelist, “Antitrust Considerations in Structuring Pharmaceutical Settlements,” Berkley Law 2022 Advanced Life Sciences Institute, April 22, 2022
- Panelist, “What’s New in Reverse Payment Litigation,” Antitrust in Healthcare Virtual Conference, February 2021
- Panelist, “The 2020 Candidates' Views on Competition & Antitrust,” American Bar Association, New York, New York, November 4, 2019
- Panelist, “Antitrust Enforcement in the Pharmaceutical Industry,” 2019 Antitrust and Consumer Law Institute, Washington D.C., September 26, 2019
- Moderator, “Recent Issues in Reverse Payments Litigations,” American Bar Association, New York, New York, September 14, 2017
- Moderator, “The Use of Structural Presumptions in Merger Analysis,” American Bar Association, Washington D.C., June 26, 2015
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