Payton focuses his practice on antitrust and competition matters, including antitrust compliance, merger review, and government investigations. He primarily advises clients in the health care sector.
While earning his JD, Payton served as an antitrust legal intern at Mintz, assisting with federal merger reviews. He also worked as an antitrust law clerk for a think tank focused on technology issues, where his role included drafting, filing, and submitting comments before the Federal Trade Commission on worker non-competes, exclusionary contracts, and unfair methods of competition rulemaking authority. His other roles included working as a research assistant at the Global Antitrust Institute as well as an in-house law clerk for the Stand Together philanthropic community, where he counseled the organization’s clients on a broad range of issues, including employment law, charitable giving, corporate reorganization, tax status, and election law.
In law school, Payton earned his JD with a concentration in Antitrust Law. He served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Law, Economics and Policy and was on the ABA Nationals Team of the Antonin Scalia Law School Moot Court Board.
viewpoints
FTC Announced Increased HSR Thresholds & Revised Filing Fee Schedule
January 23, 2024 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Robert Kidwell, Farrah Short, Sherwet H. Witherington, Payton Thornton
New Merger Enforcement Toolkit: FTC and DOJ Release Final 2023 Merger Guidelines
December 27, 2023 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Joseph Miller, Robert Kidwell, Payton Thornton, Matthew Tikhonovsky
FTC Follows Through on Promise to Roll Over Health Care Roll Ups
September 26, 2023 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Joseph Miller, Payton Thornton
The FTC "Settles" For a Conduct Consent Decree to Resolve Its Challenge to the Amgen-Horizon Merger
September 5, 2023 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Joseph Miller, Payton Thornton
FTC Proposed Settlement Requires Private Equity Firm to Divest Shares, Relinquish Potential Board Seat, and Other Expansive Remedies
August 21, 2023 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Robert Kidwell, Payton Thornton
In with the Old, Out with the New: DOJ and FTC Issue Much-Anticipated Draft Merger Guidelines
July 26, 2023 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Joseph Miller, Robert Kidwell, Farrah Short, Evelyn French, Sherwet H. Witherington, Payton Thornton
Judge Denies FTC’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction in Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision
July 12, 2023 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Payton Thornton
FTC and DOJ Antitrust Memorialize Joint Workshop on the Future of Antitrust Enforcement in the Pharmaceutical Industry
June 6, 2023 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Joseph Miller, Robert Kidwell, Payton Thornton
Unanimous Federal Trade Commission Orders Illumina, Inc. to Divest GRAIL, Inc.
April 5, 2023 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Payton Thornton
DOJ Antitrust Division Announces Indictment Against Health Care Staffing Executive For Nurse Wage-Fixing
March 16, 2023 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Payton Thornton
Recognition & Awards
George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School: Marketplace of Ideas Award (2022)
George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, LGBTQ Resources Center: Possibility Model Award (2022)
Involvement
- Young Lawyer Representative to The Antitrust Source, Antitrust Law Section, American Bar Association
- Board of Directors, District of Columbia LGBTQ+ Bar Association