William Cooke

About William Cooke

Will is a Senior Associate in our global antitrust, competition and trade practice, based in Washington, DC.

Will represents clients in antitrust investigations before the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). His practice focuses on merger clearance investigations where he advises on pre-merger negotiations and post-filing advocacy. He also has experience litigating cases in both federal court and the FTC’s administrative court.

Before entering private practice, Will was a staff attorney in the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. During his experience at the FTC, he conducted merger reviews and represented the agency in litigations to enjoin mergers and acquisitions in several industries including medical devices, pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment, and life science and consumer products. Will was recognized with the FTC’s Stephen A. Nye Award for work during agency litigation and investigations that far exceeds the performance expected of a relatively new legal practitioner.

Prior to joining Freshfields, Will was a member of the antitrust and competition practice of another major international law firm where he advised clients seeking regulatory approval of transactions across several global jurisdictions and represented a pharmaceutical company in a federal court proceeding alleging its competitor engaged in unlawful anticompetitive behavior. Will’s prior experience also includes serving as a Judicial Intern to the Honorable Amit P. Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia during law school.