Law360 Turns to Shook Partner for Insight on Big Tech Antitrust Case

The U.S. Department of Justice has just filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Virginia in an attempt to break up Google’s dominance in the advertising business. It is the first lawsuit filed in this jurisdiction, which is known for its speedy trial times, and the second lawsuit filed following the state attorney general in Texas.

Law360 interviewed Shook’s Antitrust Co-Chair Ryan Sandrock about the new filing, “Old Biz, New Court, Big Breakup: Inside the New Google Suit.” For more than two years, Sandrock served as a Digital Markets Trial Attorney in the DOJ’s Antitrust Division. His most notable DOJ work included United States v. Google.

Sandrock told Law360, “When talking about the Texas case, Google often mentions state Attorney General Ken Paxton by name, possibly to suggest a partisan nature to the action. They can’t do that with the DOJ.”

Sandrock joined Shook last fall and focuses on litigation, transactions, investigations and counseling with a competition or consumer protection nexus.

The case is United States v. Google LLC, No. 1:23-cv-00108, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.