Pete Schwingler is a nationally recognized antitrust lawyer and class action litigator. He has tried three Clayton Act merger challenges, including two of the largest in U.S. history. Outside the courtroom, Pete advises businesses on antitrust compliance, helps companies navigate antitrust issues related to mergers and acquisitions, and represents clients facing government investigations.
Pete spent four years as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, where he investigated and tried several high-profile matters, including the government's successful challenge of Anthem's proposed $54 billion merger with Cigna. He also played a significant role in the government's challenge to the $85 billion AT&T/Time Warner merger.
Pete serves as lead counsel in several high-profile antitrust matters, including a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) "second request" investigation, a collection of class action and individual antitrust lawsuits against the pork industry, and a monopolization case against a health care provider. He also has defended financial institutions, including banks and property and casualty insurers, in class actions across the country.
Pete regularly speaks at CLE and client events on topics related to antitrust, including promoting competition in the food and agriculture sector. Recent events include a presentation to local business leaders on the current political climate and what it means for enforcement under the antitrust laws and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). He is president of the Minnesota Bar Association's Antitrust Law Section; a vice chair of the Trial Practice Committee of the American Bar Association (ABA), Antitrust Section; and lead author for the Minnesota chapter of the ABA's principal state-law antitrust treatise.
- Columbia University (J.D. 2008; Hamilton Fellow; Kent Scholar; Articles Editor, Columbia Law Review); Gustavus Adolphus College (B.A. in Mathematics and Financial Economics summa cum laude 2005; Phi Beta Kappa)
- Minnesota, District of Columbia, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, and U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third and Eighth Circuits
- Trial Attorney, Litigation I Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice (2014-2018)
Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service
United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, Award of Distinction
BTI Client Service All-Star 2024
Recognized in:Minnesota Lawyer's The POWER 30: Business Litigation
The Best Lawyers in America
Chambers USA, Antitrust, including Up and Coming Attorney
Benchmark Litigation "40 & Under Hot List"
- Law Clerk to Chief Judge James B. Loken, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit (2008-2009)