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Payton T. Thornton

(he/him/his)

Associate

[email protected]

+1.202.434.7435

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Payton focuses his practice on antitrust and competition matters, including antitrust compliance, merger review, and government investigations. He primarily advises clients in the health care sector.

While earning his JD, Payton served as an antitrust legal intern at Mintz, assisting with federal merger reviews. He also worked as an antitrust law clerk for a think tank focused on technology issues, where his role included drafting, filing, and submitting comments before the Federal Trade Commission on worker non-competes, exclusionary contracts, and unfair methods of competition rulemaking authority. His other roles included working as a research assistant at the Global Antitrust Institute as well as an in-house law clerk for the Stand Together philanthropic community, where he counseled the organization’s clients on a broad range of issues, including employment law, charitable giving, corporate reorganization, tax status, and election law.

In law school, Payton earned his JD with a concentration in Antitrust Law. He served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Law, Economics and Policy and was on the ABA Nationals Team of the Antonin Scalia Law School Moot Court Board.

viewpoints

Late last week, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced its withdrawal of a string of healthcare enforcement policy statements issued in 1993, 1996, and 2011.

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Prior to the recent midterm elections, we wrote about five Senate Republicans who issued a warning letter to major U.S. law firms regarding the potential antitrust implications of Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) investing and activities. The letter advises that ESG activities may be viewed as “climate cartels” and present antitrust risk when firms engage in ESG group initiatives. With the midterm election results, those Senate Republicans will likely not be able to follow through on this line of investigation. However, House Republicans have taken up the issue, and they will have the ability to conduct antitrust scrutiny of ESG initiatives.

 
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This article examines The Federal Trade Commission's (the “FTC”) long-awaited policy statement on its authority to police “unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce."
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Last week, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) announced that health care staffing company VDA OC LLC pleaded guilty to criminal antitrust charges for engaging in a “no-poach” conspiracy relating to hiring arrangements for school nurses.

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The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) recently announced that it has required several directors to resign from simultaneously serving on the corporate boards of competitor companies.
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News & Press

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An article written by Member Bruce Sokler and Associate Payton Thornton was recently published by Law360 about the Department of Justice’s Visa debit monopolization suit and how it might unfold. 

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Recognition & Awards

  • George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School: Marketplace of Ideas Award (2022)

  • George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, LGBTQ Resources Center: Possibility Model Award (2022)

  • Washington DC Super Lawyers: Rising Star - Antitrust Litigation (2024)

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Involvement

  • Young Lawyer Representative to The Antitrust Source, Antitrust Law Section, American Bar Association
  • Board of Directors, District of Columbia LGBTQ+ Bar Association
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