Jones Day announces leadership appointments for Antitrust, Litigation, Latin America, Brussels, Houston, and San Diego
The Firm announces the following Practice and Office leadership changes, effective January 1, 2025:
- Alexandre Verheyden—Co-Leader, Antitrust & Competition Law Practice
- Steve Geise—Co-Leader, Business & Tort Litigation Practice
- Artur Badra—Chair of Latin America Practice
- Sébastien Champagne—Partner-in-Charge, Brussels Office
- Nicole Perry—Partner-in-Charge, Houston Office
- Shireen Matthews—Partner-in-Charge, San Diego Office
Alexandre Verheyden—Co-Leader, Antitrust & Competition Law Practice
With a focus on antitrust and competition law and significant experience in transatlantic mergers and cartels, Alexandre Verheyden represents major corporations and governments before the European Commission, European courts, and national authorities. His practice spans all areas of antitrust/competition law, including mergers, cartels, abuse of dominance, state aid, and litigation. Mr. Verheyden joins Craig Waldman in leading the Firm's Antitrust & Competition Law Practice, which has successfully represented clients in many of the most challenging and complex antitrust matters.
Mr. Verheyden has practiced competition law in Brussels for over 30 years and has deep knowledge in the technology and telecommunications sectors. Recent achievements include obtaining Phase I clearance of a multibillion dollar acquisition by a leading chip manufacturing company and involvement in several follow-on antitrust damage claims. Other achievements include the successful dismissal of a Commission investigation under Articles 101 and 102 TFEU of the pricing practices of a global chip manufacturer and the dismissal of a Commission cartel investigation of a major automobile parts manufacturer. He has served as Partner-in-Charge of the Firm's Brussels Office since 2018 and as co-chair of the Communications Committee of the International Bar Association.
Steve Geise—Co-Leader, Business & Tort Litigation Practice
A nationally recognized first-chair trial lawyer who has tried dozens of high-stakes cases in courtrooms throughout the United States, Mr. Geise joins John Majoras in leading the Firm's Business & Tort Litigation Practice, a team of over 400 lawyers serving clients from pre-suit counseling through appeal, including trial lawyers with "bet-the-company" experience who have taken more than 100 cases to trial in the last three years. Mr. Geise was recognized as one of the 100 "Leading Commercial Litigators" in California, "who lead major litigation in California and nationally" by the Daily Journal in 2024 and is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.
His trial teams secured a defense verdict for Celgene in a multibillion-dollar fraud case in Pikeville, Kentucky in 2023, and earned the Daily Journal's "Top Defense Verdict Award" for a 2017 win in Oakland for R.J. Reynolds. Mr. Geise has served as Partner-in-Charge of the Firm's San Diego Office since 2020 and, before that, served as its Administrative Partner for eight years. A Master in the Welsh Inn of Court who also serves on its Executive Committee, he also served as a Lawyer Representative for the Southern District of California.
Artur Badra—Chair of Latin America Practice
Artur Badra, based in Jones Day's São Paulo Office, brings over 20 years of experience in coordinating corporate legal strategies for global clients across Latin America, as well as Latin American companies in their global businesses. In his new role as Chair of the Firm's Latin America Practice, he will work closely with Luis Riesgo, Partner-in-Charge of the region, to strengthen the Firm's integrated approach to the increasingly complex, multijurisdictional challenges faced by clients operating in the region.
Fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, Mr. Badra was born and raised in São Paulo. He earned his LLM from Instituto de Empresa in Madrid after studying at Holy Cross College in Brazil. Mr. Badra joined Jones Day in Madrid in 2007 and moved to São Paulo in 2011 to assist with the opening of the Firm's office there. He regularly leads the Latin American aspects of global M&A transactions, coordinating teams across multiple offices and collaborating with local counsel. He also advises major Latin American companies on their international operations.
Sébastien Champagne—Partner-in-Charge, Brussels Office
Sébastien Champagne is part of the Firm's Global Disputes Practice and he focuses on complex domestic and cross-border litigation. He also has an active arbitration practice both as counsel and arbitrator. For over 30 years, Mr. Champagne has regularly represented and advised major national and international corporations in pretrial negotiations and in litigation before judicial and administrative courts as well as before various arbitral institutions. His practices concentrates mainly on commercial, telecom, antitrust, and regulatory/ESG matters. Notably, Mr. Champagne successfully represented several telecom operators and electronic payment companies in various high-stakes antitrust private enforcement matters. He also represents a leading global integrated energy company in a major climate change litigation.
Mr. Champagne serves as a deputy judge at the Enterprise Court of Brussels since 2015. He is also a member of the Firm's Investigations & White Collar Defense Practice advising and assisting clients in internal compliance investigations. Mr. Champagne has been a member of the Brussels Bar Council since 2023.
Nicole Perry—Partner-in-Charge, Houston Office
With more than 18 years of experience successfully leading trial teams, Nicole Perry focuses on complex civil litigation in state and federal courts, with an emphasis on energy, technology, and tort matters. Recent achievements include defeating class certification in an Airline Deregulation Act matter for Global Medical Response, dismissal of 17 human trafficking matters filed across the country on behalf of Hilton, a nonsuit of fraud and other claims after just three weeks of litigation, and two zero-dollar settlements in arbitration and breach-of-contract matters. She previously served as the Administrative Partner, Hiring Partner, and Pro Bono Partner in Houston; and she continues to lead Firm anti-human trafficking initiatives related to public awareness and data issues.
Ms. Perry has significant hearing, trial, and arbitration experience and has represented clients in Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act cases, preemption matters, purported class actions, trade secret and copyright lawsuits, declaratory judgment actions, fraud and breach of contract proceedings, and employment disputes. She also represents clients in disputes across the energy industry, including litigation related to natural gas processing facilities, cogeneration plants, polypropylene plants, refining operations, and pipelines. Ms. Perry counsels clients on cybersecurity issues, data protection measures, and compliance with privacy laws and regularly speaks and writes on cybersecurity, open source, and anti-human trafficking topics.
Shireen Matthews—Partner-in-Charge, San Diego Office
A former federal prosecutor who helps companies conduct internal investigations and build, enhance, and maintain effective corporate compliance programs, Shireen Matthews regularly defends clients in high-stakes government investigations and regulatory proceedings relating to health care, false claims, cybersecurity, and data privacy. She also is an experienced civil litigator who represents businesses facing complex, and often enterprise-threatening, litigation, and has managed civil discovery, including depositions and motion practice, from case inception through trial. Ms. Matthews served as Hiring Partner, Diversity Chair, and Administrative Partner in San Diego.
Prior to joining Jones Day in 2013, Ms. Matthews served as the Criminal Health Care Fraud Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of California. Her achievements included uncovering a multimillion dollar fraud involving stolen medical equipment from Camp Pendleton, prosecution of wide-ranging contract fraud by a San Diego-based biotech firm, and obtaining one of the largest individual restitution awards for the Social Security trust fund. She serves on the board of trustees for Scripps Health and is a past president of the San Diego Chapters of the South Asian Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association. Ms. Matthews also serves on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County and the San Diego Federal Bar Foundation.
