Bruce McDonald represents energy, transportation, and telecommunications companies in antitrust government investigations and enforcement actions, merger reviews, and antitrust private litigation. He has worked extensively in related sectors, including petroleum and petrochemicals, oil field services, electricity, aviation, satellite communications, and media.
Bruce served as deputy assistant attorney general with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) for four years from 2003 to 2007. While at DOJ his antitrust enforcement responsibilities covered energy, telecommunications, transportation, health care, and regulated markets. The attorney general appointed Bruce to serve as DOJ's representative on the Electric Energy Competition Task Force created by Congress. He was also part of the U.S. delegation that negotiated the "open skies" agreement between the United States and the European Union.
Bruce previously served as chair of the State Bar of Texas' Antitrust & Business Litigation Section, as chair of the ABA Antitrust Section's Transportation & Energy Committee, and chair of the Houston Bar Association's Antitrust Section. Bruce has testified before committees of the United States Senate and House of Representatives and speaks and writes frequently on antitrust law enforcement and policy. He also taught antitrust and trade regulation as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center. He is a member of the Supreme Court Bar of the United States, the State Bar of Texas, the District of Columbia Bar, and the American Bar Association. Bruce is involved in community and pro bono matters that serve church, civic, and family and youth organizations.
Experience
Additional Publications
- September 2023
DOJ and FTC Radically Revise Antitrust Merger Guidelines: FAQs for Business - 2020
Waldman, McDonald and Gleason, Jones Day Antitrust Law Answer Book - December 2020
The Future of Airline Booking: A Bumpy Ride for the Sabre-Farelogix Merger, ABA Air & Space Lawyer, Volume 33, Number 4 - May 2019
When One Door Closes: Court Requires Divestiture in Long-Consummated Merger, The M&A Lawyer, Volume 23, Issue 5 - January 2019
U.S. Antitrust Agencies Introduce Reforms to Speed Up Merger Reviews. Republished by M&A Lawyer, January 2019, Vol. 23, Issue 1 and Transaction Advisors, January 2019 - January 2019
U.S. Antitrust Agencies Introduce Reforms to Speed Up Merger Reviews, The M&A Lawyer, 22 No. 9 M&A Law. NL 1 - June 2014
Successful Merger of American Airlines and US Airways Shows Facts, Facts, Facts Critical to Antitrust Review, The Texas Lawbook (June 25, 2014)
Additional Speaking Engagements
- February 2021
Antitrust Enforcement Under the Biden Administration - October 27-28, 2020
Chair’s Remarks and panel on Reviewing Key Aspects of Joint Ventures, Antitrust TX 2020 conference - September 24, 2019
Chair’s Remarks, Antitrust TX 2019 conference - September 17, 2019
Remarks welcoming 2019 award recipient Marion C. Blakey, L. Welch Pogue Award for Lifetime Achievement in Aviation - July 4, 2018
Pay Up, Sell Off, or Do What You’re Told: The Wild World of Antitrust Remedies, NERA Antitrust Summit - June 21, 2018
DOJ v. AT&T/Time Warner and the Future of Antitrust Enforcement, State Bar of Texas Antitrust & Business Litigation Section - April 11, 2017
Antitrust in the New Administration: Change That Matters?, Houston Bar Association Antitrust & Trade Regulation Section - June 22, 2016
Remarks welcoming 2016 award recipient JetBlue Airways CEO Dave Barger, L. Welch Pogue Award for Lifetime Achievement in Aviation - April 28, 2016
Aviation Competition seminar, Civil Aviation Administration of China - February 1, 2016
DOJ v. United Airlines, American Bar Association presentation - October 7, 2015
International Antitrust Conference: Antitrust Worldwide for Companies in Texas - May 7, 2015
Turmoil in the Oil Patch: Risks and Opportunities for Oil & Gas Companies and Investors, Jones Day seminar - February 26, 2015
Roundtable on Competition Law, IATA Legal Symposium - October 26, 2013
Presentation on airline mergers, joint ventures, and antitrust litigation, Fifth Annual McGill Conference on International Aviation - May 29, 2013
Antitrust Law in the Aviation Industry - May 16, 2013
New Antitrust Challenges for U.S. Companies Around the Globe - June 22, 2011
Executive Roundtable Series - Growing Your Business: How to Handle Legal and Regulatory Hurdles Both Before and After They Arise - April 1, 2011
The Southwest -AirTran Merger: Important Airline Competition Issues; Local Effects, DC Bar presentation - March 8, 2011
Disgorgement by the DOJ and FTC, ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting - March 7, 2011
Developments at the Antitrust Enforcement Agencies, ABA Public Utility, Communications & Transportation Section Spring Meeting - February 15, 2011
Antitrust Litigation for Airlines, International Air Transport Association Legal Symposium - October 12, 2010
Antitrust Under the Obama Administration and the "New" Supreme Court - February 16, 2010
Executive Roundtable Series: Antitrust in the Obama Administration: Developments in the First Year and What to Expect Next - June 26, 2009
Are There Different Rule of Reason Tests for Vertical and Horizontal Conduct?, ABA Antitrust Section teleconference - May 28, 2009
The Department of Justice, Remarks to The Archer Center, University of Texas - February 20, 2009
U.S. Antitrust Regime: Agencies, Investigation Procedures, and Methods, China-US Law Seminar - February 20, 2009
M&A, Joint Ventures, & Airline Alliances, China-US Law Seminar - November 13, 2008
Past is Prologue -- Taking a Hard Look at the Last Administration's Agenda and Accomplishments, ABA Antitrust Section Fall Forum - September 2008
Global Air Transportation Industry Forum, Sponsored by EDS and Microsoft - March 27, 2008
From Standard Oil to Today: Antitrust Enforcement in the Oil Industry, ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting - February 10-12, 2008
Managing Global Change: The New Legal Challenges - IATA Legal Symposium 2008 - November 11, 2007
Compliance Policies and Programs: Perspectives of Government and Client, Association for Corporate Counsel and Pennsylvania Bar Association program on Antitrust Compliance and Antitrust Issues in Business Transactions - October 4, 2007
Changes in the Airline Industry – New Entrants, Mergers, Alliances, Competition, and Consolidation: Responding to Breaking Events, American Bar Association Forum on Air & Space Law 2007 Annual Meeting - October 3, 2007
Antitrust Enforcement in the Energy Industry: Perspectives From Inside the Government - September 25, 2007
U.S. Antitrust Enforcement and Issues for European Business, remarks at breakfast seminar - June 13, 2007
Second Guessing Federal Merger Enforcement, CRA International Current Topics in Antitrust Economics and Competition Policy - May 24, 2007
Approval of Consent Decrees: Telecom Mergers Yield the First Interpretation of 2004 Tunney Act Amendments, American Bar Association teleconference - May 11, 2007
International Merger Control, University of London conference on Trends and Developments in Global Competition Law - February 12, 2007
Competition in the Air, The International Air Transport Association, Legal Symposium 2007 - September 6, 2006
Examining Competition in Group Health Care, testimony, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate - July 25, 2006
Competition in Real Estate Brokerage Services, testimony, Committee on Financial Services, United States House of Representatives - July 18, 2006
Refusals to Deal, moderator, DOJ/FTC Joint Hearings on Single Firm Conduct and Antitrust Law - June 23, 2006
The Antitrust Division & Two-Sided Markets, eSapience Conference on Antitrust for Two-Sided Markets Conference, Massachusetts Institute of Technology - July 6, 2006
The Trans-Atlantic Antitrust Dialogue: What Do You Know?, British Institute of International Comparative Law, Trans-Atlantic Dialogue conference - May 9, 2006
Antitrust Enforcers Roundtable, Practicing Law Institute 47th Annual Antitrust Law Institute - March 29, 2006
Breakfast with the Antitrust Division deputies, ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting - March 29, 2006
Exclusive Dealing Agreements: A New Frontier?, DOJ Perspective, ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting - February 3, 2006
Federal and State Enforcement Roundtable, Practicing Law Institute 45th Annual Advanced Antitrust Seminar: Distribution & Marketing - September 27, 2005
Duty to Deal with Others, panelist, International Bar Association - November 3, 2005
Antitrust for Airlines, Regional Airline Association President's Council Meeting - October 28, 2005
Recent Developments in U.S. and European Union Enforcement of Antitrust Activities, SMU Law Review Association Corporate Counsel Symposium - June 24, 2005
Evaluating the Competitive Effects of Exclusive Dealing Agreements from the Government Perspective, panelist, ABA Antitrust Section Teleconference - June 16, 2005
Section 2 and Article 82: Cowboys and Gentlemen, The College of Europe Global Competition Law Centre, Second Annual Conference on The Modernisation of Article 82 - May 24, 2005
Antitrust Enforcement and Merger Review: Convergence between EU and U.S. Jurisdictions, The Mentor Group Forum for EU-US Legal-Economic Affairs - May 4, 2005
Telecommunications and Media Merger Environment, Stanford Washington Research Group 2005 Institutional Policy Conference - March 30, 2005
Breakfast with the Antitrust Division deputies, ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting - March 29, 2005
Section 2 in a Second Bush Administration, ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting - March 17, 2005
February 24, 2005
Update from the Antitrust Division, Antitrust Primer and Update 2005 Conference, Lighthouse Seminar Group - February 15, 2005
Remarks to Regulatory Source Associates Annual Telecom Regulation Conference - January 6, 2005
2004 Antitrust Division Review, Recent Developments in Antitrust Law, Virginia State Bar Antitrust Section Winter CLE Luncheon - November 19, 2004
Conduct/Civil Nonmerger Panel Enforcement Developments, panelist, ABA Antitrust Section Fall Forum - November 17, 2004
Update from the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, Antitrust Review and Update Conference, Lighthouse Seminar Group - November 16, 2004
DOJ Antitrust Enforcement and Corporate Compliance Programs, Dallas Bar Association Antitrust Section - November 6, 2004
Balancing the Respective Roles of Regulation and Antitrust in the New Millennium, Phoenix Center 2003 Annual U.S. Telecoms Symposium - June 17, 2004
Transatlantic Alliances, Relationships and Open Skies, British Institute of International Comparative Law, Sixth Competition Law Forum, Competition in Air Transport - April 27, 2004
Antitrust Enforcement and Remedies Policy: Convergence between the EU and U.S. Jurisdictions toward Strengthening EU Competitiveness and the U.S. Market Economy, The Mentor Group Forum for EU-US Legal-Economic Affairs - April 8, 2004
Trinko, Mergers, & More Antitrust, Houston Bar Association Antitrust Section - April 1, 2004
The Struggle for Standards, ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting - March 31, 2004
Transportation Update, ABA Antitrust Section Transportation Industry Committee - February 27-28, 2004
Panelist, UCLA Law First Annual Institute on US and EU Antitrust Aspects of Mergers and Acquisitions - February 25, 2004
The Economic Implications of Seafood Processor Quotas, testimony, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate - January 21, 2004
Interview with The Energy Antitrust News on DAAG for Regulatory Matters for the ABA Antitrust Section Fuel and Energy Industry Committee - December 3, 2003
Antitrust Policy in the Changing Telecom Environment, Charles Schwab Capital Markets Washington Research Telecom Conference 2003 - November 18, 2003
The Outer Limits of Price Agreements, panelist, ABA Antitrust Section Fall Forum - October 17, 2003
Latest Developments in the U.S. Telecommunications Industry, Symposium on Competition Policy in Telecommunication Markets, National Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences - September 16, 2003
DOJ and FCC: Complementary Enforcement and Regulation in the Telecommunications Industry, 2003 Conference of the International Bar Association
Houston's "Antitrust Lawyer of the Year" in 2019 and 2023Best Lawyers in America
- The University of Texas at Austin (J.D. with honors 1988; Order of the Coif; Managing Editor, The Review of Litigation; B.A. with honors 1985); University of London (Course work in European Competition Law 1997)
- Texas and District of Columbia
- Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (2003-2007)
Chambers (2011-2022) — leading antitrust lawyers in Texas (Band 1): "Exceptional judgment and substantive knowledge"
The Legal 500 US — recommended for antitrust, M&A antitrust, and commercial litigation: "Strong in mandates involving the airlines and energy industries"; "‘Practical, responsive, and with a can-do attitude,’ say clients"
Best Lawyers in America — Antitrust Law; Litigation-Antitrust (2016-2023)
Lawdragon — "500 Leading Litigators in America" (2023)
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