George “Chip” Nierlich is a partner and a member of the firm’s Antitrust Group, based in the Washington, D.C. office.
Mr. Nierlich advises clients on antitrust litigation, government investigations, merger control and counseling. He has extensive experience handling complex merger and conduct investigations and litigating antitrust matters, including matters involving technology, healthcare, algorithmic pricing and information sharing.
Prior to joining Debevoise, Mr. Nierlich served in a series of senior leadership positions in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Most recently, he served as Acting Director of Litigation, the senior career official overseeing the Division’s antitrust litigation. He previously served as Acting Director of Civil Enforcement (Mergers), Deputy Director for Civil Enforcement, Acting Assistant Section Chief of the Technology & Digital Platforms Section and Acting Assistant Section Chief of the Defense, Industrials & Aerospace Section.
During his six years at the DOJ, Mr. Nierlich reviewed and investigated more than 100 proposed transactions and worked on significant merger and conduct matters, including U.S. v. Google, U.S. v. HPE and Juniper, U.S. v. RealPage and U.S. v. UnitedHealth and Change.
His experience includes leading merger control and conduct investigations through the filing of a complaint, examining senior executives and other fact witnesses at trial, taking fact and expert depositions, preparing and examining expert witnesses, arguing dispositive and expert motions and negotiating settlements. He also has significant experience working with state antitrust enforcement authorities in connection with major federal enforcement matters.
Prior to joining the DOJ in 2020, Mr. Nierlich spent 18 years at another international law firm, including 13 years as an equity partner. He was a leader of the firm’s Class Actions Practice Group and represented clients in complex litigation, including major technology companies. Earlier in his career, he practiced at another law firm and clerked for Judge Morris Sheppard Arnold of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Mr. Nierlich received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1997, where he served as President of the Harvard Law Student Government and notes editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Claremont McKenna College in 1994.