Susan Musser is the former Chief Trial Counsel of the US Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition. She focuses her practice on representing clients in high-stakes antitrust litigation and advising on complex regulatory matters. She has worked on some of the highest-profile merger cases in recent years, including the FTC’s successful suits to block the Kroger/Albertsons and Illumina/Grail mergers. Ms. Musser is also among the very few antitrust practitioners with experience at both the FTC and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division.

Ms. Musser has more than 15 years of litigation experience and has served as first-chair trial counsel in numerous high-profile antitrust matters. She has played a critical role in nearly every type of antitrust litigation, including cases charging violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, Section 7 of the Clayton Act, the Robinson Patman Act and the FTC Act.

She has deep knowledge of the procedural, evidentiary and strategic issues that arise in litigation. As an experienced, first-chair trial counsel, she is skilled at developing litigation and trial strategy for cases involving complex procedural and substantive issues, arguing in court, working with experts, taking depositions, presenting witnesses at trial, and overseeing large teams of attorneys from complaint through judgment.

Ms. Musser held several senior positions at the FTC, including Acting Director of the Bureau of Competition, Acting Deputy Director and Chief of the Criminal Liaison Unit. In these roles, she oversaw litigation strategy across the Bureau, coordinated enforcement priorities with DOJ, and managed teams of attorneys and staff. She also worked extensively with both political parties, gaining the respect of both the current FTC Chair, Andrew Ferguson, and his predecessor, Lina Khan.

Before joining the FTC, Ms. Musser was a senior associate in the antitrust and white-collar practice at a global law firm, where she represented clients in multi-district class actions and internal investigations. Her private practice experience includes matters such as the Generic Pharmaceutical Pricing Antitrust Litigation and United States v. Hyundai Oilbank.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Musser served as a trial attorney in both the Litigation II and Criminal II Sections of the DOJ Antitrust Division, where she prosecuted domestic and international cartels and participated in major trials including United States v. American Express and United States v. Purdy.