RICHARD POWERS

Richard A. Powers fights for corporate and individual victims of collusion and monopolization, bringing to bear his extensive experience as a federal antitrust prosecutor. He litigates high-stakes offensive antitrust actions in federal and state courts, provides strategic litigation counseling, and represents victims and whistleblowers before law enforcement agencies and regulators. Richard also represents executives and employees in antitrust and other white-collar litigation and federal, state, and international government enforcement actions. 

As a former federal prosecutor and senior Justice Department official, Richard has over 13 years of experience building, litigating, and leading some of the country’s most complex antitrust cases, culminating in leading the Antitrust Division’s entire portfolio of civil and criminal enforcement matters as the Acting Assistant Attorney General throughout the first year of the Biden administration. For 4.5 years, Richard served as the Antitrust Division’s Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement—the Department’s senior criminal antitrust prosecutor—leading over 100 attorneys in investigating and prosecuting executives and companies for price fixing, bid rigging, and monopolization in federal courts across the country.

Under Richard’s leadership, the Antitrust Division litigated an unprecedented number of cases against corporations and senior executives and brought landmark prosecutions in industries including financial services, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, government procurement, and agriculture. He supervised the Justice Department’s first criminal monopolization cases in half a century and oversaw the prosecution of the first wage fixing and criminal no-poach prosecutions.

Richard’s practice also includes antitrust compliance counseling. As the architect of the Antitrust Division’s most recent comprehensive updates to its policies and guidance on evaluating and crediting compliance, he provides unique insight in designing compliance initiatives to account for recent enforcement actions and policy developments.

Richard was previously a partner at a large international law firm where he counseled corporate and individual clients in the most complex antitrust matters. He is an in-demand public speaker and commentator on all manner of antitrust issues, appearing on television and podcasts, at conferences, and in print. 

Military Experience

A West Point graduate and combat veteran, Richard served in the US Army as an infantry officer achieving the rank of Captain. He received a Bronze Star for his service as a platoon leader and executive officer in Baghdad, Iraq. Richard’s other military awards include the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Ranger Tab, and Parachutist Badge.

Notable Publications & Appearances

• NYU Corporate Compliance Blog on criminal antitrust enforcement

• Op-ed in Federaltimes about honoring veterans through public service 

• Discussing the DOJ Apple litigation on Newsmax 

• Speaking on the ABA's Trust & Trade Podcast about criminal monopolization

Professional Associations

• Co-Chair, Antitrust Committee, Litigation Section, American Bar Association

• Executive Committee, Antitrust Section, New York State Bar Association

Recognitions 

Richard has been recognized by Legal 500 for his significant antitrust litigation capabilities and was named a litigation star by Benchmark Litigation USA in its 2024 edition.