Shearman & Sterling is representing JetBlue Airway Corp. in its upcoming battle with the Justice Department over the company’s proposed merger with Spirit Airlines, capping off a busy week for the New York-founded law firm.
Shearman lawyers will act as lead counsel for JetBlue in a DOJ antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the merger, the firm said Wednesday. DOJ alleged in a complaint, filed Tuesday in a federal court in Boston, that the company’s combination with Spirit would lead to higher prices for consumers.
The Transportation Department is also seeking to block the deal, pledging to withhold certification required for the carriers to combine operations.
The Shearman team defending JetBlue in the Justice Department suit includes antitrust partners Jessica Delbaum, Ryan Shores, and Rachel Mossman Zieminski. Shores rejoined Shearman in 2021 after serving as associate deputy attorney general and senior advisor for technology industries for DOJ, while Delbaum worked as a trial attorney in DOJ’s antitrust division for three years before joining the firm in 2004.
The firm announced Tuesday that global managing partner and head of its disputes and litigation practice Adam Hakki would become its next senior partner, Shearman’s top role. The decision came just days after Shearman and Hogan Lovells announced they were abandoning talks of a potential merger of the two Big Law firms.
Shearman litigation partners Richard Schwed and Michael Mitchell are also advising JetBlue on the lawsuit. M&A partners Daniel Litowitz and Derrick Lott are lead counsel for JetBlue in the $3.8 billion deal with Spirit, which was announced in late July.
Debevoise & Plimpton and Paul, Weiss, Wharton, Rifkind & Garrison advised Spirit on the merger, with Paul Weiss partner and former high-ranking DOJ antitrust official Andrew Finch advising on antitrust aspects of the tie up. Finch, who co-chairs Paul Weiss’ antitrust group, is advising Spirit on the DOJ lawsuit, according to the firm.
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