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Payton T. Thornton

(he/him/his)

Associate

[email protected]

+1.202.434.7435

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Payton is an antitrust litigation associate, who practices in all aspects of antitrust, competition, and consumer protection law, including antitrust compliance counseling, Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification filings and government merger review, and conduct investigations before the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, and state attorneys general. Payton provides strategic, business-centric advice to clients, primarily in the health care and technology industries. Payton also provides key guidance to clients engaging in strategic transactions throughout the HSR filing and review process, Second Requests, and merger litigation.

While at Mintz, Payton has represented several clients in the life sciences, health care, and technology industries in federal merger reviews before the FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division. Payton has subject matter expertise in the new filing requirements under the HSR Act and regularly counsels clients through diligence and the HSR filing process, as well as through Second Requests and merger reviews before the antitrust agencies. Payton also counsels clients through complex antitrust conduct investigations before the antitrust agencies and state attorneys general. During law school, Payton worked as an antitrust legal intern at Mintz, as an antitrust legal intern for a technology think tank, and as an in-house law clerk for a 501(c)(6) chamber of commerce. He also worked as a research assistant at the Global Antitrust Institute.

Payton earned his JD with a concentration in Antitrust Law. In law school, 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

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Trump Antitrust Enforcers Outline “America First” Antitrust Enforcement

May 6, 2025 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Robert Kidwell, Payton Thornton

Several Trump Administration antitrust enforcers have written or spoken about the direction of conservative antitrust enforcement policy. 

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The FTC—led by Chairman Andrew Ferguson—launched a public inquiry this week into “how federal regulations can harm competition in the American economy.

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PBM Update: Special Edition - FTC Releases Second Interim Staff Report in PBM Inquiry

January 23, 2025 | Alert | By Rachel A. Alexander, Theresa Carnegie, Tara E. Dwyer, Joseph Miller, Lauren Moldawer, Bridgette Keller, Samantha Hawkins, Payton Thornton

In this Special Edition of the PBM Policy and Legislative Update, the Mintz Health team partnered with our Antitrust colleagues to analyze the FTC’s Second Report titled Specialty Generic Drugs: A Growing Profit Center for Vertically Integrated Pharmacy Benefit Managers.

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Health Care Enforcement Trends & 2025 Outlook

January 17, 2025 | Blog | By Karen Lovitch, Samantha Kingsbury, Keshav Ahuja, Eoin Beirne, Grady Campion, Daniel Cody, Tara E. Dwyer, Laurence Freedman, Hope Foster, Jane Haviland, Nicole Henry, Caitie Hill, Robert Kidwell, Nick A. LaPalme, Scott Lashway, Kevin McGinty, Payton Thornton, Matthew Stein, Rachel Yount

Our 2025 edition of EnforceMintz reflects on health care enforcement trends, predicts how health care enforcement may evolve, and offers practical guidance about what these trends and predictions mean for health care providers, payors, and other stakeholders.

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EnforceMintz — Don’t Forget Your Other Regulators: Consumer Protection Enforcement in Health Care Markets

January 16, 2025 | Blog | By Robert Kidwell, Samantha Kingsbury, Payton Thornton

In 2024, the FTC and state attorneys general pursued various theories of liability against a diverse array of entities offering health care or health care–related services, and employed numerous different enforcement tools and partnerships. We expect that the agencies will continue developing these strategies in 2025.

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FTC Announces 2025 Thresholds for HSR Act Filings and Interlocking Directorates Violations

January 14, 2025 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Robert Kidwell, Kristina Van Horn, Payton Thornton, Sherwet H. Witherington

Read about the FTC’s increased jurisdictional thresholds for notifications under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, the HSR Act filing fee schedule, and the interlocking directorate thresholds under Section 8 of the Clayton Act, which take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

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The FTC and Department of Justice Antitrust Division have withdrawn the Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors, which were originally issued in April 2000.

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Information Sharing in the Trump Administration

November 19, 2024 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Payton Thornton

As January 20, 2025, approaches, antitrust practitioners and the business communities are searching for clues whether the incoming Trump Administration and its antitrust officials will continue the Biden Administration’s approach to the exchange of competitively sensitive information, particularly through the use of algorithmic software.

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Federal Trade Commission Finalizes HSR Changes

October 11, 2024 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Robert Kidwell, Kristina Van Horn, Payton Thornton

The new HSR form, instructions, and implementing rules were announced yesterday and are set to take effect 90 days from publication in the Federal Register.

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Two Sides to Every Monopolization Suit: DOJ Sues Visa for Debit Monopolization

September 30, 2024 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Payton Thornton

On September 24, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) filed a monopolization suit against Visa, Inc. (“Visa”), alleging that Visa has a monopoly in general purpose debit network services and general purpose card-not-present debit network services that violates Section 2 of the Sherman Act.

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News & Press

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An article written by Member Bruce Sokler and Associate Payton Thornton was recently published by Law360 about the Department of Justice’s Visa debit monopolization suit and how it might unfold. 

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Publications

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Payton is an antitrust litigation associate, who practices in all aspects of antitrust, competition, and consumer protection law, including antitrust compliance counseling, Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification filings and government merger review, and conduct investigations before the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, and state attorneys general. Payton provides strategic, business-centric advice to clients, primarily in the health care and technology industries. Payton also provides key guidance to clients engaging in strategic transactions throughout the HSR filing and review process, Second Requests, and merger litigation.

Recognition & Awards

  • Washington DC Super Lawyers: Rising Star - Antitrust Litigation (2024)

  • 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)

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Payton is an antitrust litigation associate, who practices in all aspects of antitrust, competition, and consumer protection law, including antitrust compliance counseling, Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification filings and government merger review, and conduct investigations before the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, and state attorneys general. Payton provides strategic, business-centric advice to clients, primarily in the health care and technology industries. Payton also provides key guidance to clients engaging in strategic transactions throughout the HSR filing and review process, Second Requests, and merger litigation.

Involvement

  • Young Lawyer Representative to The Antitrust Source, Antitrust Law Section, American Bar Association
  • Board of Directors, District of Columbia LGBTQ+ Bar Association, Social Chair
  • Member, American Health Law Association - Antitrust Practice Group
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