Rob’s Washington, DC-based competition and trade regulation practice involves counseling on the competitive implications of business strategies, regulatory matters, and litigation. He defends clients in complex litigation and in merger and regulatory reviews by agencies such as the US Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Rob’s clients include media and telecommunications companies, health systems and providers, national retailers, trade associations, life sciences companies, and technology companies.

Rob specializes in clearly explaining strategic risks and their relative values in order to help senior executives make informed decisions. He provides advice to clients from across the country and around the world in high-profile matters including:

Complex litigation (class action and otherwise)
Antitrust issues in mergers and acquisitions / second requests
Strategic business planning and risk management
Regulatory issues arising from foreign investments in US businesses (particularly Chinese investment)
Federal and state regulatory investigations
Policy advocacy and notice-and-comment rulemaking
Appellate review of agency action
Trade association counseling
Privacy and data security
Consumer protection and unfair/deceptive trade practices

Rob represents clients in numerous markets, including:

Media content and distribution
Wireless communications
Health care providers and services
Life sciences
Technology
Retail and consumer products
Trade associations and nonprofits

He has written and spoken widely on litigation risk management and cost containment and on issues faced by businesses when they interact with federal and state enforcers and administrative agencies.

Rob is an active supporter of the firm’s pro bono program, providing representation to numerous indigent clients before the Social Security Administration and in local family and domestic relations courts. He has provided corporate and business planning advice to the National Network to End Domestic Violence and other nonprofit clients. He is also an active supporter of the firm’s mentoring and sponsorship program.

Prior to his career in the law, Rob was an on-air radio personality and station production director in Lexington, Kentucky.

Co-lead trial counsel in the 2020 jury trial of a nationwide class action alleging global price fixing in sales of capacitors.
Lead US antitrust counsel for Qiagen N.V. in its $11 billion sale to Thermo Fisher Scientific, announced in March 2020.
Successfully represented a global contract manufacturer before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in its 2020 acquisition by a Chinese investor.
Serves as ongoing antitrust counsel to one of the nation’s largest and most respected integrated physician/hospital provider network on matters including mergers, affiliations, investigations, and litigation.
Represented the nation’s premier retail pharmacy chain in its $27 billion industry-transforming acquisition of a “big three” pharmacy benefits manager.
Serves as ongoing antitrust counsel to several of the world’s leading genetic and molecular diagnostic test developers and providers.
Lead counsel for three separate cable operators in sprawling multidistrict litigation involving more than 30 separate suits filed around the country relating to the alleged tying of cable set-top boxes to certain cable services.
Serves as ongoing antitrust counsel to one of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands in health care equipment and technology.
Serves as ongoing antitrust, regulatory, and litigation counsel to several of the nation’s leading cable, media, and wireless telecommunications companies and trade associations.
Provides ongoing antitrust and foreign investment counsel to dozens of early-stage companies in biotech, health care, green energy, and high-tech manufacturing.

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Unbridling the FTC and Giving POWER to the NYC People
Introduced Legislation Would Expand Federal and Local Consumer Protection Enforcement

October 27, 2026 | Blog | By Hope Foster, Robert Kidwell, Samantha Kingsbury, Lexie Gallo-Cook, Jane Haviland, Melody Tangellamudi

Proposed legislation would expand FTC enforcement powers and New York City consumer protections, increasing civil penalties and private litigation risks.

July 17, 2026 | Blog | By Hope Foster, Lexie Gallo-Cook, Robert Kidwell, Jane Haviland, Samantha Kingsbury

The FTC's action against Handy over “up to” earnings claims serves as a reminder that the agency remains focused on seeking civil penalties, while internal disagreement persists over the scope of its penalty offense authority.

April 6, 2026 | Blog | By Hope Foster, Lexie Gallo-Cook, Robert Kidwell, Samantha Kingsbury, Sherwet H. Witherington

Kathy Hochul’s FAIR Business Practices Act significantly expands New York’s consumer protection law, broadening the NYAG’s enforcement authority over unfair and abusive practices—including in purely commercial conduct—with health care as a key priority.

March 25, 2026 | Blog | By Lexie Gallo-Cook, Hope Foster, Jane Haviland, Robert Kidwell, Samantha Kingsbury

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson announced the launch of a Healthcare Task Force on March 20, 2026, signaling a significant escalation in the FTC’s approach to healthcare oversight. The directive aligns with President Trump’s February 25, 2025 Executive Order, Making America Healthy Again by Empowering Patients with Clear, Accurate, and Actionable Healthcare Pricing Information (Executive Order), and reflects FTC’s intent to institutionalize and broaden healthcare enforcement while shaping policy moving forward.

March 20, 2026 | Alert | By Robert Kidwell, Kristina Van Horn, Sherwet H. Witherington

FTC’s new HSR rules have been vacated effective immediately following a Fifth Circuit ruling, reducing filing burdens for now while the appeal remains pending.

Cognitive Dissonance II: Oral Arguments at Second Circuit in Quincy Bioscience’s Brain Health Dietary Supplements Case

March 11, 2026 | Blog | By Hope Foster, Robert Kidwell, Lexie Gallo-Cook, Samantha Kingsbury, Sherwet H. Witherington, Wali Miller

The Second Circuit weighs materiality under New York Executive Law Section 63(12), the scope of FTC injunctions, and the NYAG’s bid for damages in the Prevagen case.

February 20, 2026 | Blog | By Hope Foster, Robert Kidwell, Lexie Gallo-Cook, Samantha Kingsbury, Sherwet H. Witherington

Legal battle over Prevagen heads to the Second Circuit as FTC and NYAG dispute nationwide injunction, state authority, and standards for dietary supplement claims.

January 15, 2026 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Robert Kidwell, Kristina Van Horn, Sherwet H. Witherington

Learn about the FTC’s 2026 updates to Hart-Scott-Rodino Act thresholds, filing fees, and interlocking directorate rules, and what these changes mean for mergers, acquisitions, and compliance strategies.