John Terzaken

John Terzaken is Global Co-Chair of the Firm’s Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice. John represents domestic and international clients in government enforcement and private litigation of cartel and other alleged antitrust violations, market sector investigations and antitrust compliance, encompassing all major industry sectors, including financial institutions, pharmaceutical, professional services, manufacturing, energy, shipping, food and beverage, and many others. His work highlights include defending:

• Tyson Foods in two major antitrust class actions alleging decades-long conspiracies to fix wages;
• Micron in antitrust class actions alleging collusion of DRAM products, including in a ninth circuit appellate victory in indirect purchaser antitrust litigation; 
• Marinette Marine in dismissal of an antitrust class action;
• Tyson Foods in connection with a New York Attorney General investigative subpoena regarding meat product price gouging;
• Deutsche Bank in dismissal with prejudice of odd-lots litigation;
• 21st Century Oncology in the successful defense of a civil suit alleging monopolization and attempted monopolization in violation of Sherman Act Section 2;
• Deutsche Bank in multiple antitrust class actions alleging collusion with respect to the credit default swap (CDS) market, UK government bond market, and European government bond market;
• Global infrastructure products manufacturer in connection with a criminal antitrust investigation into alleged price fixing, bid rigging and market allocation;
• Global financial institution in criminal investigations and related follow-on civil class action litigation involving trading of securities;
• International consumer foods corporation in a criminal antitrust investigation and related follow-on civil class action litigation involving the seafood industry;
• National healthcare provider in a criminal antitrust investigation into physician services;
• Multinational shipping company in a criminal investigation into potential antitrust violations; and
• Global chemical company in a criminal investigation and related follow-on civil class action litigation involving polyurethane products.

Prior to joining Simpson Thacher, John held a leading position in the DOJ’s Antitrust Division as Director of Criminal Enforcement, where he oversaw the Division’s criminal enforcement nationwide. His range of responsibilities included presiding over some of the largest global cartel investigations ever undertaken by the DOJ. He also served as the Division’s chief liaison with domestic and international law enforcement authorities, as well as the Financial Fraud Coordinator for inter-agency prosecutions and investigations. John’s DOJ service earned him awards of distinction from the Attorney General of the United States and the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division.

He was named as a 2022 “MVP” in Competition by Law360, and is consistently recognized as a leading antitrust lawyer (Band 1) by both Chambers Global and Chambers USA, where clients describe him as “. . . very strategic and creative with investigations,” “one of the strongest lawyers I have ever worked with,” “. . . a superb lawyer in the cartel space,” “highly professional and very responsive,” an attorney who is “extremely well respected,” “. . . smart, provides practical guidance and brings a lot to the table with his DOJ background,” “knows the technical aspects of antitrust law and also how to intuitively apply that to business realities,” and has a “wonderful working manner with clients and government figures.” John is also recognized in The Legal 500 “Hall of Fame,” where sources say he is “the very best of the best,” that he “brings unmatched knowledge, experience, relationships, attention to detail, responsiveness and wisdom to each engagement and interaction,” and that he “is equally comfortable speaking the language of law and the language of business.” He is recognized as a “Litigation Star” both nationally and in D.C. by Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation and is also recognized by Super Lawyers, Lawdragon and Who’s Who Legal: Competition.

John is a member of the Antitrust Sections of the American Bar Association (ABA) and International Bar Association (IBA) and is presently serving an appointment by the ABA on the International Cartel Task Force. In addition to authoring an annual Global Cartel Enforcement Report published by Simpson Thacher, he regularly writes and speaks on antitrust matters for industry publications and events, including serving as the Co-Editor of The Cartels and Leniency Review.

John received his J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law, where he was on the Editorial Board of the Virginia Law Review. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from American University in 1996.