Tara L. Reinhart

Ms. Reinhart is the former chief trial counsel for the Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Competition. While there, she led a trial team to victory in the FTC’s challenge to Staples’ proposed acquisition of Office Depot, among several other proceedings. Since returning to Skadden, Ms. Reinhart has led trial teams in two Department of Justice Antitrust Division merger challenges, including a win on behalf of Sabre Corporation in 2020. In 2022, Ms. Reinhart again successfully represented Sabre in a three-week jury trial victory in an action brought by US Airways alleging violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, with a jury finding Sabre not liable on one claim and awarding $1 in damages on the other. In January 2023, on the eve of trial, Ms. Reinhart obtained dismissal of all federal antitrust claims brought against Norfolk Southern Railway Company in a lawsuit by CSX Transportation. Additional recent cases of note include defending Norfolk Southern in a long-running multidistrict litigation alleging conspiracy to fix prices through fuel surcharges; Pfizer in multidistrict litigation involving allegations of price-fixing generic pharmaceuticals; and Sabre in a Texas state lawsuit brought by American Airlines.

In private practice in the government investigations area, Ms. Reinhart has handled criminal and civil investigations by the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, the FTC and state attorneys general in many industries. She represents companies and individuals in FTC investigations into alleged violations of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act for unfair advertising and marketing practices, such as allegations of deceptive online advertising, negative option marketing and multi-level marketing. Ms. Reinhart has handled criminal antitrust investigations for companies and individuals in myriad industries, including fashion retail, cement, pharmaceuticals, auto parts, freight forwarding, marine hose, air cargo, helicopter transportation, industrial chemicals, methionine, vitamins and graphite electrodes.

Additionally, Ms. Reinhart advises clients on antitrust compliance matters, including designing compliance programs, training executives and performing compliance audits.

Ms. Reinhart has been selected for inclusion repeatedly in Chambers USA, in which clients noted that she is “very talented at working through issues strategically and tactically,” and as one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Litigators in America and Leading Lawyers in the USA. In addition, she was named a finalist for Global Competition Review’s 2023 Litigator of the Year award and selected to GCR’s 2021 Women in Antitrust list.

Ms. Reinhart frequently speaks and writes on breaking antitrust issues. Her most recent activity includes: 2024 ABA “Trust and Trade” podcast, “Breaking Down the Closing Arguments in US v Google”; 2024 ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting, “Trying A Section 2 Case: Best Practices”; 2024 Skadden “Fierce Competition” podcast, “Understanding the FTC’s Landmark Ban on Noncompetes”; 2023 Skadden “Fierce Competition” podcast, “Private Equity Under the Antitrust Microscope”; 2023 ABA “Merger Guidelines Workshop”; 2023 NPR podcast, “Breaking Up Big Business Is Hard To Do”; June 2024, Westlaw Today, “FTC-DOJ Inquiry on Serial Acquisitions: Cracking Down on Private Equity Roll-Ups?”; June 2024, “The CLS Blue Sky Blog,” “Skadden Discusses FTC-DOJ Request for Information on Serial Acquisitions and PE Roll-Ups”; and May 2023, “The CLS Blue Sky Blog,” “Skadden Discusses DOJ Loss in Fourth Criminal No-Poach Case.”