Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at ASU hires David Gelfand to head antitrust program

The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University announced today the appointment of one of the country’s leading antitrust lawyers to expand the school’s work in this important area of law.

David Gelfand joins ASU Law as professor of practice and the Sims Chair in Competition Law and Regulation. Joe Sims, an ASU Law alumnus and nationally renowned antitrust lawyer, recently established the chair.

Gelfand has over 30 years of experience, both in private practice and as a government lawyer. He was a senior antitrust partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, one of the country’s premier law firms, and served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Litigation in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2013–16.

“ASU Law constantly seeks to create new centers and programs that will give our students the best possible legal education along with the practical experience they will need for their future careers,” said Adam Chodorow, ASU Law co-interim dean. “Hiring faculty who are at the top of their fields, backed by the support of amazing alumni like Joe Sims, is critical to accomplishing this. That is why we are thrilled to bring Dave Gelfand onboard, and can’t wait to see the difference he will make in our antitrust offerings and the broader legal community.”

The professional experience, knowledge and passion for antitrust Gelfand brings to ASU Law will increase thoughtful debate and engage students in how to think critically about pressing issues that affect consumers, businesses and the economy.

“I am thrilled to be taking on my new responsibilities with ASU Law at a time when there is so much interest in antitrust, and I am especially honored to be entrusted with the job of carrying out Joe’s vision for this program,” Gelfand said. “Antitrust is going through a period of reexamination and debate, and the resulting policies will have an enormous impact on innovation, technology and U.S. industry. I look forward to teaching the next generation of antitrust leaders at ASU Law, as well as developing public-facing programs that contribute to this debate.”

There is growing interest by legislators and the public in antitrust, driven both by the perception that tech companies have become too dominant and that industries generally have become too concentrated and powerful. Gelfand hopes to create opportunities for the antitrust bar to learn about and debate legislative and regulatory proposals that will also provide students educational opportunities in an area that is in high demand from potential government and private employers.

“Dave has been one of the most respected antitrust lawyers in the United States for many years,” Sims said. “It is gratifying that someone of his caliber would be the first person to hold the Sims Chair. I look forward to doing whatever I can to help him build a program that will be an important voice for competition law and regulation that is practical and effective.”

Sims, regarded as an antitrust pioneer, spent 45 years at the forefront of his practice as a partner at Jones Day in Washington, D.C. Before joining Jones Day in 1978, he held a variety of positions in the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, including deputy assistant attorney general for policy planning and legislation, and deputy assistant attorney general for regulated industries and foreign commerce.

“Our mission is to build and operate an organization that studies antitrust developments; organizes events to further discussion and debate in the field; motivates and trains law students to become antitrust lawyers; facilitates engagement with leading practitioners, enforcers and policymakers; and leads to thoughtful, common sense antitrust enforcement that promotes competition and improves the world,” Gelfand said.