Danks_Ryan

Ryan Danks

Danks_Ryan

Ryan Danks *

Partner

Washington DC + 1 202 663 6586

Ryan Danks draws on over two decades of experience as a senior antitrust enforcer and lead counsel in merger, civil non-merger, and criminal cartel matters to help solve antitrust problems for companies and their executives.

Mr. Danks has the singular distinction of having held senior career positions in both civil and criminal antitrust enforcement. Until December 2025, Mr. Danks was the highest-ranked career civil enforcer at the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division. As Director of Civil Enforcement, Mr. Danks oversaw more than a dozen litigations against high-profile mergers, anticompetitive conduct, or monopolies, including nine trials in just three years. As chief of the Washington Criminal I Section from 2018 to 2022, Mr. Danks spearheaded the largest domestic cartel and public procurement investigations in the Division’s history, resulting in more than $1 billion in criminal fines and penalties and civil recoveries. Earlier in his career, Mr. Danks served as counsel to the Assistant Attorney General and led litigation teams in high-profile cases such as U.S. v. US Airways. and U.S. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Mr. Danks has unique and extensive knowledge of current enforcement priorities and policies, many of which he played a critical role in developing. He has managed both civil and criminal parallel proceedings, collaborated with leaders from other domestic and international competition agencies, and has built training programs for attorneys and managers. His work has spanned nearly every type of antitrust litigation, including cases under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act and Sections 7 and 7A of the Clayton Act, and criminal prosecutions for fraud, obstruction of justice, and tax crimes. He also contributed to significant policy documents such as the 2023 Merger Guidelines and played a key role in developing and implementing the department’s approach to labor market antitrust enforcement.

Mr. Danks is recognized for his strategic approach to litigation, his skill in developing and executing trial strategy, and his ability to lead large teams through complex procedural and substantive challenges. He is widely respected in the antitrust bar for his vast knowledge and judgment. In December 2025, he received the Neil E. Roberts Award for Excellence in Antitrust Enforcement from the Antitrust Division in recognition of his lifetime contributions to its work. Earlier in his career he was recognized with several Assistant Attorney General Awards of Distinction from the Antitrust Division or Criminal Division and was named one of Global Competition Review’s “40 Under 40 Global Antitrust Practitioners.”

Insights & News

View all of Ryan's insights & news

Credentials

  • Education

    • JD, University of Michigan Law School, 2002

      cum laude

    • BA, Political Science, DePauw University, 1999

      magna cum laude

  • Admissions

    • Illinois

  • Clerkships

    • The Hon. Thomas B. Russell, US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, 2002 - 2004

* Not admitted to practice in Washington DC but is supervised by attorneys in that office.

Credentials

* Not admitted to practice in Washington DC but is supervised by attorneys in that office.

Notice

Unless you are an existing client, before communicating with WilmerHale by e-mail (or otherwise), please read the Disclaimer referenced by this link. (The Disclaimer is also accessible from the opening of this website). As noted therein, until you have received from us a written statement that we represent you in a particular manner (an "engagement letter") you should not send to us any confidential information about any such matter. After we have undertaken representation of you concerning a matter, you will be our client, and we may thereafter exchange confidential information freely.

Thank you for your interest in WilmerHale.

I Accept Cancel