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.

Read less

Calling All De-Regulators: FTC Issues Request for Public Comment on Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers

April 15, 2025 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Robert Kidwell, Payton Thornton

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

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.

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.

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.

December 12, 2024 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Robert Kidwell, Payton Thornton

The FTC and Department of Justice Antitrust Division have withdrawn the Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors, which were originally issued in April 2000.

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.

August 7, 2024 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Robert Kidwell, Payton Thornton

On Monday, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a 277-page opinion finding Google liable for monopolizing the general search services and general search text ads markets.

January 23, 2024 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Robert Kidwell, Farrah Short, Sherwet H. Witherington, Payton Thornton

Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced increased jurisdictional thresholds for premerger notification filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”), as amended. The FTC revises the thresholds annually based on changes in the gross national product. The new thresholds take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and apply to all transactions closing on or after that date.

December 27, 2023 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Robert Kidwell, Payton Thornton, Matthew Tikhonovsky

September 1, 2023 | Article | By Robert Kidwell, Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Raj Gambhir

Read about the FTC’s complaint against Automated AI and affiliated entities and individuals over AI-related misleading claims in the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI.