Exclusive: DoJ antitrust chief reveals plans to leave in 2021

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Cookies Settings

Exclusive: DoJ antitrust chief reveals plans to leave in 2021

Makan Delrahim, the head of the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division

In an exclusive interview, assistant attorney general Makan Delrahim says he will leave the Department of Justice at the end of Trump’s first term, whether the president wins the election or not

Makan Delrahim, the head of the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, has told Managing IP that he plans to step down after Donald Trump’s first term, whether the president wins or loses the election on November 3.

In an exclusive interview, Delrahim said: “My plans have been to leave at the end of this president's first term. Regardless of the outcome of the election, I anticipate that there will be someone else in my seat in the next year.”

Managing IP will publish the full interview with Delrahim, in which he talks about why he is leaving the DoJ, his record at the department and what he thinks about criticism of his approach to antitrust enforcement of standard essential patents, next week. 

Delrahim, who was appointed to his role as assistant attorney general in September 2017, was also interviewed by this publication in 2018.

He spoke about his commitment to the New Madison approach, which sets out that antitrust law should not be used as a tool to police FRAND commitments that patent-holders unilaterally make to standard setting organisations, and other plans for his term at the DoJ.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

François Pochart, Grégoire Desrousseaux and Lionel Martin, long-standing figures in the firm’s patent litigation team, are set to help launch a Paris-based litigation offering
The Unitary Patent has passed 100,000 registrations, but new data raises the question of whether 30% uptake is a ceiling or a staging post for further growth, say Michael Nielsen and Darren Smyth of EIP and Andrew Samm at Patently
The new generation of in-house IP leaders want commercial judgment, accessibility and flexibility, with AI raising expectations around both fees and delivery
The firm launched a San Diego office earlier this month, but California investment and expansion is far from complete
The industry’s response to AI requires an unfamiliar ingredient as firms battle to shape their futures
The firm is looking beyond replacing recently departed talent, betting instead on senior leaders to strengthen and expand its patent litigation platform
Olga Partington, director in Sterne Kessler’s biotechnology and chemical practice group, shares why a patent's vulnerability peaks when it is young, rather than when it is most valuable, under the PTAB's new framework
IP experts gathered in San Francisco last week to discuss the changing global SEP landscape and new licensing models for AI infrastructure
SKW Schwarz partner Daniel Kendziur explains how new green claims rules are changing his workload and bringing him into direct contact with marketing, PR and government affairs teams
The government is targeting earlier resolution of SEP disputes while ruling out a standalone IPEC rate determination track and restrictions on injunctions
Gift this article