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Brent Snyder
Partner
Antitrust and Competition
San Francisco

D415-947-2113

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  • Leading Antitrust Practitioner

    A nationally and internationally recognized antitrust and competition attorney, Brent has over 30 years of civil and criminal litigation and trial experience in the public and private sectors.

  • Antitrust Division Veteran

    Brent is the former DOJ Acting Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust during the transition between the Obama and Trump administrations as well as the DOJ’s highest-ranking antitrust criminal enforcement attorney, having served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement at the Antitrust Division from 2013 to 2017.

  • Deep Antitrust Cartel Expertise

    Brent brings over two decades of deep expertise investigating and prosecuting global cartel conduct—including prosecutions and investigations in sectors ranging from air transportation, coastal water freight, and thin film liquid crystal display to automobile parts, generic drugs, ocean shipping, packaged seafood, and real estate mortgage foreclosure auctions—and a track record spanning complex litigation, cross-border enforcement, and leadership of the Hong Kong Competition Commission.

Brent Snyder, head of the firm's regulatory and compliance department, brings more than 30 years of civil and criminal litigation and trial experience in both the private and public sectors. He is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on antitrust and competition enforcement in the area of antitrust cartels and related criminal violations. Brent has secured positive outcomes for leading companies and individual executives across industries in investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and other antitrust enforcers, all while ensuring minimal business disruptions. 

Prior to joining the firm, Brent served as chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Competition Commission (HKCC), where he had day-to-day responsibility for all aspects of its enforcement, policy, advocacy, and administration functions. Under his leadership, the HKCC set several important litigation precedents; significantly increased the volume, variety, and complexity of its enforcement work; improved its leniency and cooperation incentives; and enhanced its competition policy and advocacy work.

Previously, Brent was the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement (DAAG) at the DOJ Antitrust Division—the DOJ’s top criminal antitrust official. From 2013 to 2017, he directed all U.S. criminal antitrust investigations and prosecutions, and played a key role in shaping enduring DOJ policy, including the Memorandum on Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing (the so-called “Yates Memo”). As DAAG, Brent oversaw criminal antitrust investigations and prosecutions across numerous industries, including auto parts, capacitors, foreign exchange, generic pharmaceuticals, ocean shipping, packaged seafood, and real estate mortgage foreclosure auctions. His work also included investigations of non-antitrust criminal violations, such as fraud, obstruction of justice, and false statements. In addition, Brent served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust during the transition between the Obama and Trump administrations.

Before becoming DAAG, Brent was a Trial Attorney in the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and then its San Francisco office from 2003 to 2013, where he investigated and prosecuted Sherman Act cases and related criminal violations, including grand jury investigations, indictments, litigation, and jury trials.

Earlier in his career, Brent was a commercial litigation partner in Perkins Coie's Seattle office, where he represented clients in a range of cases, including antitrust, entertainment, employment, contract, and intellectual property law matters, and across multiple industries such as banking, automobile manufacturing, telecommunications, technology, and international trading, among others. Brent began his legal career as a clerk for the Honorable Alan C. Kay, Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court of the District of Hawaii.

Experience

Brent Snyder, head of the firm's regulatory and compliance department, brings more than 30 years of civil and criminal litigation and trial experience in both the private and public sectors. He is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on antitrust and competition enforcement in the area of antitrust cartels and related criminal violations. Brent has secured positive outcomes for leading companies and individual executives across industries in investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and other antitrust enforcers, all while ensuring minimal business disruptions. 

Prior to joining the firm, Brent served as chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Competition Commission (HKCC), where he had day-to-day responsibility for all aspects of its enforcement, policy, advocacy, and administration functions. Under his leadership, the HKCC set several important litigation precedents; significantly increased the volume, variety, and complexity of its enforcement work; improved its leniency and cooperation incentives; and enhanced its competition policy and advocacy work.

Previously, Brent was the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement (DAAG) at the DOJ Antitrust Division—the DOJ’s top criminal antitrust official. From 2013 to 2017, he directed all U.S. criminal antitrust investigations and prosecutions, and played a key role in shaping enduring DOJ policy, including the Memorandum on Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing (the so-called “Yates Memo”). As DAAG, Brent oversaw criminal antitrust investigations and prosecutions across numerous industries, including auto parts, capacitors, foreign exchange, generic pharmaceuticals, ocean shipping, packaged seafood, and real estate mortgage foreclosure auctions. His work also included investigations of non-antitrust criminal violations, such as fraud, obstruction of justice, and false statements. In addition, Brent served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust during the transition between the Obama and Trump administrations.

Before becoming DAAG, Brent was a Trial Attorney in the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and then its San Francisco office from 2003 to 2013, where he investigated and prosecuted Sherman Act cases and related criminal violations, including grand jury investigations, indictments, litigation, and jury trials.

Earlier in his career, Brent was a commercial litigation partner in Perkins Coie's Seattle office, where he represented clients in a range of cases, including antitrust, entertainment, employment, contract, and intellectual property law matters, and across multiple industries such as banking, automobile manufacturing, telecommunications, technology, and international trading, among others. Brent began his legal career as a clerk for the Honorable Alan C. Kay, Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court of the District of Hawaii.

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Wilson Sonsini Practices, Attorneys Recognized in 2026 Chambers USA Guide
The 2026 Chambers USA guide has recognized Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as a leading law firm in 44 geography-specific practice categories and named 87 Wilson Sonsini attorneys among the best in their fields. This year, the firm received four new practice area rankings, including in the nationwide National Security and Capital Markets: Convertible Debt categories, and three improved practice area rankings.
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Wilson Sonsini Global Cartel Law Quarterly Q4 2025/Q1 2026
The firm is pleased to distribute the Wilson Sonsini Global Cartel Law Quarterly Q4 2025/Q1 2026, which provides a summary of key cartel enforcement trends across the U.S., Europe, and beyond. A “cartel” under competition law is typically reserved for agreements between competitors to restrict competition, such as price-fixing, bid-rigging, and market allocations.
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Recent Events
Speaking Engagements
2026 ABA Antitrust International Cartel Workshop
Wilson Sonsini partners Brent Snyder and Jindrich Kloub will play key roles at the 2026 ABA Antitrust International Cartel Workshop in Vienna. Serving as Workshop Vice Chair, Brent Snyder contributes significantly to developing a program centered on developments and trends in international cartel enforcement as well as best practices through “demonstrations” based on a hypothetical cartel. In addition to his leadership role, Brent oversaw the drafting of the hypothetical on which the Workshop will be based, and Wilson Sonsini associate Paige Hammond will participate in the “Introduction to the Hypothetical” session, setting the stage for the Workshop’s in-depth demonstrations of a global cartel investigation.
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Speaking Engagements
2026 ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting
The annual ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting, now in its 74th year, is the largest gathering of competition, consumer protection, and data privacy professionals globally, with lawyers, academics, economists, enforcers, journalists, and students from around the world. It attracts over 4,000 delegates from more than 67 nations arriving for what has become known as "Antitrust Week." The quality of the sessions and the expertise of the faculty are unparalleled. 
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