Ropes & Gray has added Michael McFalls as a partner in Washington. McFalls advises clients on antitrust issues, particularly in the intellectual property, life sciences, pharmaceutical, health care, and private equity arenas.
McFalls, who was previously a partner at Jones Day, recently represented Bayer CropScience in its acquisition of Athenix Corp. and Abbott Laboratories in its acquisition of Visiogen. He has also represented XM in its combination with Sirius; Abbott Laboratories in its acquisitions of Kos Pharmaceuticals, Therasense, and Knoll AG’s pharmaceutical business; Procter & Gamble in its acquisitions of Gillette, Wella, and Clairol; RJR in its combination with Brown & Williamson; and King Pharmaceuticals in its acquisition of Alpharma.
As an attorney-advisor to Federal Trade Commission chairman Robert Pitofsky from 1997 to 2000, McFalls worked on the Guidelines for Competitor Collaborations, the first set of guidelines issued jointly by the FTC and the Justice Department. The guidelines address horizontal agreements among competitors, including joint ventures and strategic alliances.
In a statement, Mark Popofsky, co-head of Ropes & Gray’s antitrust practice, said McFalls is “renowned for his expertise in the interface of antitrust and intellectual property issues—especially in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, and health care industries—and for his deft handling of agency investigations.”
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