Matthew J Reilly

Practice Areas

Matt leads Kirkland’s U.S. antitrust and competition practice and is among the country’s preeminent antitrust practitioners. Clients regularly rely on Matt to navigate the approval process for the most complex, high-profile transactions, and to prepare to litigate mergers that face steep resistance from the agencies. Matt has led over a dozen agency-litigated merger challenges, representing either the FTC or the merging parties. He is one of very few antitrust attorneys to have led successful merger trials as first-chair trial counsel both for and against the federal enforcement agencies. Matt has been brought into dozens of merger investigations post-Second Request to help obtain deal approval, prepare for litigation, and when necessary, to litigate the deal on behalf of the merging parties after the agencies had signaled serious concerns. Matt also frequently assists clients navigating high-stakes non-merger litigations and investigations, against both governmental and private plaintiffs.

Career

Kirkland & Ellis (2016–present); Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (2012–2016);

FTC—Assistant Director, Mergers IV Division (2007–2012); Deputy Assistant Director, Mergers I Division (2004–2007).

Chairman’s Award recipient— FTC’s highest honor.

Personal

Georgetown University Law Center, J.D.; Duke University, Sanford Institute of Public Policy, M.A.; Colby College, B.A.