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Dynamic Advocate
Matt frequently represents clients before antitrust regulators worldwide and is well-versed in the strategies that lead to favorable outcomes in both transactions and behavioral investigations, as informed by his government experience.
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A Leader at the Forefront of Sustainability and Antitrust
Matt is a leading expert on the antitrust challenges that companies encounter in their sustainability initiatives. He excels in providing strategic antitrust compliance counseling, helping clients navigate standard-setting, joint ventures, and industry advocacy to achieve their sustainability goals.
Matt McDonald advocates on behalf of companies facing government antitrust investigations, including mergers and acquisitions and other civil antitrust investigations. He regularly appears before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), representing companies across a range of industries with a particular emphasis on technology, aerospace and defense, telecommunications, and retail and consumer goods.
Matt has also managed transactions through regulatory agency clearance worldwide, such as China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the European Commission, and the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority. Matt provides antitrust counseling on a wide variety of issues, including joint ventures, collaborations, pricing and distribution, and sustainability initiatives.
Prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Matt served as a staff attorney at the FTC in the Mergers IV division. While at the FTC, he worked on matters relating to the hospital, retail, supermarket, consumer products, and distribution industries. Among other assignments, Matt played an integral role on the trial team in the FTC’s successful challenge to the merger of Sysco and US Foods. Before attending law school, Matt was an analyst with Cornerstone Research, an economic consulting firm.
Matt McDonald advocates on behalf of companies facing government antitrust investigations, including mergers and acquisitions and other civil antitrust investigations. He regularly appears before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), representing companies across a range of industries with a particular emphasis on technology, aerospace and defense, telecommunications, and retail and consumer goods.
Matt has also managed transactions through regulatory agency clearance worldwide, such as China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the European Commission, and the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority. Matt provides antitrust counseling on a wide variety of issues, including joint ventures, collaborations, pricing and distribution, and sustainability initiatives.
Prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Matt served as a staff attorney at the FTC in the Mergers IV division. While at the FTC, he worked on matters relating to the hospital, retail, supermarket, consumer products, and distribution industries. Among other assignments, Matt played an integral role on the trial team in the FTC’s successful challenge to the merger of Sysco and US Foods. Before attending law school, Matt was an analyst with Cornerstone Research, an economic consulting firm.
- J.D., Columbia Law School, 2013Recipient, Hamilton Fellowship; Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar; James Kent Scholar; Senior Editor, Columbia Law Review
- B.A., Economics, University of Virginia, 2007With Highest Honors; Recipient, Phi Beta Kappa; Recipient, Duncan Clarke Hyde Award for academic achievement in economics
- Honored among Lawdragon's 2026 “500 Leading Global Antitrust & Competition Lawyers"
- Named to the 2025 and 2026 Lawdragon “500 X – The Next Generation” lists
- Honored with the FTC’s Janet D. Steiger Award in 2015 for his contributions to the Sysco/US Foods litigation
- Bar of the District of Columbia
- J.D., Columbia Law School, 2013Recipient, Hamilton Fellowship; Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar; James Kent Scholar; Senior Editor, Columbia Law Review
- B.A., Economics, University of Virginia, 2007With Highest Honors; Recipient, Phi Beta Kappa; Recipient, Duncan Clarke Hyde Award for academic achievement in economics
- Honored among Lawdragon's 2026 “500 Leading Global Antitrust & Competition Lawyers"
- Named to the 2025 and 2026 Lawdragon “500 X – The Next Generation” lists
- Honored with the FTC’s Janet D. Steiger Award in 2015 for his contributions to the Sysco/US Foods litigation
- Bar of the District of Columbia
Select Matters
Matt has provided antitrust counsel to clients with respect to the following matters:
- Run:ai Labs in its sale to Nvidia, in a Second Request investigation by the U.S. DOJ and Phase I review by the European Commission
- Transcarent in its $621 million merger with Accolade
- Stripe in its acquisition of Bridge
- LaNova Medicines, in its exclusive global license agreement with Merck
- KnowBe4, in its $4.6 billion acquisition by Vista Equity Partners
- Misfits Market, in its acquisition of Imperfect Foods
- MaxLinear, in its $3.8 billion acquisition of Silicon Motion
- GoFundMe, in its acquisition of Classy
- Lumentum, in its $5.7 billion attempted acquisition of Coherent, and its $918 million acquisition of NeoPhotonics
- Rambus, in its sale of PHY IP assets to Cadence
- Ondot, in its acquisition by Fiserv
- Bungie, in its acquisition by Sony Interactive Entertainment
- DeepMap, in its acquisition by Nvidia
- Credit Karma, in its acquisition by Intuit, in a Second Request investigation by the U.S. DOJ
- Yext, in its acquisition of Hearsay Systems
- Dewpoint Therapeutics, in its research collaboration with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation
- Pismo, in its $1 billion acquisition by Visa
- PacBio in its attempted merger with Illumina, in a Second Request investigation by the Federal Trade Commission
Matt has provided antitrust counsel to clients with respect to the following conduct investigations by government authorities:
- Represented a Fortune 500 company in conjunction with an investigation into compliance with an FTC order
- Represented a Fortune 50 company as a market participant in several Robinson-Patman Act investigations
- Represented multiple publicly traded companies in U.S. DOJ investigations of Section 8 interlocking directorates
Matt has provided antitrust counsel to clients with respect to the following sustainability counseling matters:
- A global apparel brand on antitrust compliance issues related to sustainability initiatives, including standard-setting, joint ventures, and industry advocacy
- A large retailer on antitrust compliance regarding a sustainable sourcing initiative
- Several nonprofit organizations on antitrust compliance regarding shareholder engagement initiatives on sustainability issues
Select Matters
Matt has provided antitrust counsel to clients with respect to the following matters:
- Run:ai Labs in its sale to Nvidia, in a Second Request investigation by the U.S. DOJ and Phase I review by the European Commission
- Transcarent in its $621 million merger with Accolade
- Stripe in its acquisition of Bridge
- LaNova Medicines, in its exclusive global license agreement with Merck
- KnowBe4, in its $4.6 billion acquisition by Vista Equity Partners
- Misfits Market, in its acquisition of Imperfect Foods
- MaxLinear, in its $3.8 billion acquisition of Silicon Motion
- GoFundMe, in its acquisition of Classy
- Lumentum, in its $5.7 billion attempted acquisition of Coherent, and its $918 million acquisition of NeoPhotonics
- Rambus, in its sale of PHY IP assets to Cadence
- Ondot, in its acquisition by Fiserv
- Bungie, in its acquisition by Sony Interactive Entertainment
- DeepMap, in its acquisition by Nvidia
- Credit Karma, in its acquisition by Intuit, in a Second Request investigation by the U.S. DOJ
- Yext, in its acquisition of Hearsay Systems
- Dewpoint Therapeutics, in its research collaboration with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation
- Pismo, in its $1 billion acquisition by Visa
- PacBio in its attempted merger with Illumina, in a Second Request investigation by the Federal Trade Commission
Matt has provided antitrust counsel to clients with respect to the following conduct investigations by government authorities:
- Represented a Fortune 500 company in conjunction with an investigation into compliance with an FTC order
- Represented a Fortune 50 company as a market participant in several Robinson-Patman Act investigations
- Represented multiple publicly traded companies in U.S. DOJ investigations of Section 8 interlocking directorates
Matt has provided antitrust counsel to clients with respect to the following sustainability counseling matters:
- A global apparel brand on antitrust compliance issues related to sustainability initiatives, including standard-setting, joint ventures, and industry advocacy
- A large retailer on antitrust compliance regarding a sustainable sourcing initiative
- Several nonprofit organizations on antitrust compliance regarding shareholder engagement initiatives on sustainability issues
Select Publications
- Co-author, “The Trump FTC Takes New Action Against Non-Competes, While Abandoning Defense of the Biden-Era Non-Compete Clause Rule,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, September 12, 2025
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Co-author, “Weaponizing Antitrust: An Unsubstantiated Attack Against Climate Initiatives,” Westlaw Today, February 7, 2025
- Co-author, “2025 Year in Preview: Pending Decisions at the U.S. Antitrust Agencies,“ Wilson Sonsini Alert, January 24, 2025
- Co-author, “Gun-Jumping Violation Results in Record-Breaking Penalties,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, January 9, 2025
- Co-author, “Antitrust Laws and ESG Shareholder Engagement,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, January 6, 2025
- Co-author, “Antitrust and Sustainability: Potential Paths Forward for U.S. Companies,” The Antitrust Source, August 30, 2023
- Co-author, “Home Court Disadvantage: In Illumina/Grail, FTC Loses Another Case Before Its Own Court,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, October 3, 2022
- Co-author, “Antitrust Hits the Metaverse: FTC Sues to Block Meta Platforms, Inc. from Acquiring a VR Fitness App,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, August 1, 2022
- Co-author, “FTC and NLRB Join Forces to Enforce Antitrust Laws in U.S. Labor Markets,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, July 21, 2022
- Co-author, “DOJ Files Emergency Preliminary Injunction Motion Against Booz Allen and EverWatch Merger,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, July 19, 2022
- Co-author, “DOJ Files Lawsuit to Block National Security Support Services Merger,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, July 5, 2022
- Co-author, “New York State Legislature Considers Far-Reaching Antitrust Reforms with ‘21st Century Antitrust Act’,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, June 16, 2021
- Co-author, "Implications of the Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines for Vertical Mergers Involving Technology Start-Ups," Truth on the Market, February 7, 2020
Select Publications
- Co-author, “The Trump FTC Takes New Action Against Non-Competes, While Abandoning Defense of the Biden-Era Non-Compete Clause Rule,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, September 12, 2025
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Co-author, “Weaponizing Antitrust: An Unsubstantiated Attack Against Climate Initiatives,” Westlaw Today, February 7, 2025
- Co-author, “2025 Year in Preview: Pending Decisions at the U.S. Antitrust Agencies,“ Wilson Sonsini Alert, January 24, 2025
- Co-author, “Gun-Jumping Violation Results in Record-Breaking Penalties,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, January 9, 2025
- Co-author, “Antitrust Laws and ESG Shareholder Engagement,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, January 6, 2025
- Co-author, “Antitrust and Sustainability: Potential Paths Forward for U.S. Companies,” The Antitrust Source, August 30, 2023
- Co-author, “Home Court Disadvantage: In Illumina/Grail, FTC Loses Another Case Before Its Own Court,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, October 3, 2022
- Co-author, “Antitrust Hits the Metaverse: FTC Sues to Block Meta Platforms, Inc. from Acquiring a VR Fitness App,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, August 1, 2022
- Co-author, “FTC and NLRB Join Forces to Enforce Antitrust Laws in U.S. Labor Markets,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, July 21, 2022
- Co-author, “DOJ Files Emergency Preliminary Injunction Motion Against Booz Allen and EverWatch Merger,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, July 19, 2022
- Co-author, “DOJ Files Lawsuit to Block National Security Support Services Merger,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, July 5, 2022
- Co-author, “New York State Legislature Considers Far-Reaching Antitrust Reforms with ‘21st Century Antitrust Act’,” Wilson Sonsini Alert, June 16, 2021
- Co-author, "Implications of the Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines for Vertical Mergers Involving Technology Start-Ups," Truth on the Market, February 7, 2020
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