WilmerHale is pleased to announce the hire of Gil Ohana in its growing Palo Alto office. Mr. Ohana joins the firm as counsel in the Antitrust and Competition Department from Cisco Systems, Inc. where he was director of antitrust and competition for the company.
In his position with Cisco, Mr. Ohana was responsible for obtaining antitrust approval for multiple acquisitions in the US, the European Union, and with other national competition authorities. He has also defended the company against antitrust and unfair trade practice allegations as well as coordinated responses to government investigations in the US, Europe, Japan and Korea.
Prior to joining Cisco, Mr. Ohana was a senior attorney at Hewlett-Packard Company in their antitrust department and, before that, also served as a trial attorney in the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice. During his time at Justice, he participated in government merger and non-merger investigations in computer software, computer hardware, interactive services and financial services. He was involved in some of the most high-profile public investigations and cases in the past fifteen years, including US v. Microsoft (monopolization), US v. Microsoft and Intuit (merger) and US v. Computer Associates (merger).
Mr. Ohana will add a West Coast presence to WilmerHale’s highly-regarded Antitrust and Competition Department. His position in the Palo Alto office will extend the firm’s ability to serve clients on the West Coast while tapping into the firm’s established antitrust presence and resources. WilmerHale has one of the leading antitrust and competition practices in the US and Europe. With more than 50 years' experience and over 70 competition lawyers in the US, Europe and China, we have secured antitrust clearance for hundreds of complex mergers and joint ventures, helped clients avoid fines and prison terms in many cartel investigations, and won numerous victories for clients in private and government litigation.
"We are delighted to welcome Gil to the firm. He brings unique antitrust experience that will be invaluable to clients both nationally and internationally. Gil is a recognized authority on the application of the antitrust laws to the highly dynamic technology and communications sectors of our economy and his presence in our Palo Alto office will enhance our ability to serve the needs of our clients in those industries and on the West coast generally,” said William Kolasky, co-chair of WilmerHale’s Antitrust and Competition Department.
Having received his JD from Columbia University Law School, Mr. Ohana was a law clerk for the Honorable Joel M. Flaum of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, IL. He was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar at Columbia and served as Articles Editor for the Columbia Law Review. Mr. Ohana received his AB from Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude.