Sean M. Farrell

An accomplished prosecutor and trial lawyer with nearly two decades of government and private practice experience, Sean Farrell offers clients a distinctive blend of criminal antitrust enforcement insight and first-chair trial experience. Drawing on a deep understanding of government investigations and enforcement priorities, Sean helps clients anticipate risk, navigate complex regulatory and litigation challenges, and develop effective, strategic defenses in high-stakes matters.

Sean focuses his practice on antitrust cartel investigations and litigation, antitrust compliance counseling, civil antitrust conduct matters, and white-collar defense. Clients facing scrutiny from the DOJ Antitrust Division, the FTC, or foreign competition authorities turn to Sean for guidance shaped by experience on both sides of the table. As a former Chief of the DOJ Antitrust Division’s New York Office—where he led a team of more than 40 prosecutors and staff and oversaw a diverse pipeline of matters spanning the financial, entertainment, health care, and defense industries—Sean brings deep institutional knowledge. He has insight into how the Division thinks, how it makes charging decisions, and what arguments are most persuasive.

Drawing on his government service, Sean guides clients through every stage of the enforcement process, from initial risk assessment and internal investigations to resolution negotiations, leniency applications, and, if necessary, litigation. Having helped shape key Division policies, including revisions to the corporate leniency program, updated compliance guidance, and the launch of the Division’s first-ever whistleblower program, Sean understands how enforcement frameworks are built. He advises clients not only on the law itself, but also on the enforcement priorities and approaches of those who enforce it. He has also partnered with the SEC, CFTC, FTC, and foreign competition authorities on parallel matters, making him particularly well-suited to counsel clients on multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional investigations.

Before joining the Antitrust Division’s New York Office as its Chief, Sean served as an Assistant United States Attorney and then Chief of the Cybercrime Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, where he led high-profile prosecutions of ransomware actors, state-sponsored cyber intrusions, and hack-to-trade securities fraud schemes. He also served as the Acting Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit, supervising securities and commodities fraud prosecutions, including a $650 million Ponzi scheme case pursued in parallel with the SEC. 

Earlier in his career at the Antitrust Division, Sean prosecuted criminal price-fixing and bid-rigging cases in the auto parts, financial services, and defense industries, earning three Assistant Attorney General Awards of Distinction. Prior to his government service, Sean was an associate at a major international law firm, where he handled internal investigations, complex commercial litigation, and parallel antitrust civil actions. He began his career as a law clerk to the Honorable Arthur D. Spatt of the Eastern District of New York.