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Ryan Tansey, former Chief of the DOJ Antitrust Division’s Washington, D.C. Criminal Section, is an antitrust expert and seasoned litigator and trial lawyer in King & Spalding’s New York office. Whether representing clients in high-stakes criminal investigations, parallel class actions, or helping them proactively manage risk, Ryan leverages his substantial first-chair trial experience and a decade at the Department of Justice shaping national antitrust enforcement priorities and leading some of the Department’s most complex matters across multiple components and four presidential administrations.
Ryan’s practice focuses on guiding clients through every phase of criminal and civil antitrust matters, as well as broader commercial disputes. He represents clients in federal and state investigations, litigates civil class actions, and counsels on antitrust compliance and proactive risk management. As a true first-chair trial lawyer, Ryan is one of very few antitrust experts who also has the skill and experience to lead the most complex cases from inception through to trial and successful jury verdict. He is known for his strategic vision and helping clients formulate a strategy that balances legal risks, collateral consequences, and reputational concerns.
Before joining King & Spalding, Ryan was Chief of the Antitrust Division’s largest section in Washington, D.C., supervising hundreds of grand jury investigations and dozens of charges, plea agreements, and trials nationwide. He oversaw a groundbreaking criminal deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with Teva Pharmaceuticals, levying a $225 million criminal fine—the largest penalty ever imposed in a domestic antitrust cartel case—and requiring unprecedented criminal divestitures to address liability in the generic pharmaceuticals price-fixing case. His team of 90 federal prosecutors and professional staff handled matters across industries like technology and AI, telecommunications, healthcare, financial services, energy, defense contracting, and consumer products. Ryan also played a key role in shaping national antitrust enforcement strategies and policy initiatives, such as implementing the Division’s inaugural Whistleblower Rewards Program and overseeing its first $1 million payout. Throughout this time, Ryan forged relationships and worked closely with foreign competition authorities, state attorneys general, and numerous U.S. agencies and DOJ components on parallel investigations and enforcement.
Earlier in his career, Ryan was a top federal prosecutor in multiple DOJ components. As a Trial Attorney in the Antitrust Division he led numerous cases, including one of the decade’s most significant international cartel prosecutions—Korea Fuel Supply—which resulted in five corporate convictions and over $363 million in penalties. His work earned him the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service and the U.S. Army’s Patriotic Civilian Service Award. Ryan also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Alaska where he led its northern office and successfully prosecuted complex cases ranging from securities fraud and bribery schemes to wildlife poaching, murder-for-hires, and the state’s largest pill mill prosecution.
Throughout his tenure at DOJ, Ryan was tapped as a first-chair trial expert. He has led many complex, multi-month trials to favorable verdicts and received numerous DOJ accolades for his trial work, including the EOUSA Director’s Award and selection as a returning instructor at DOJ’s Criminal Trial Advocacy class, where he trained hundreds of federal prosecutors in trial skills.
Prior to his DOJ service, Ryan practiced at a leading international law firm, defending clients in complex civil and criminal antitrust matters, including MDLs, class actions, and investigations concerning LIBOR, Forex, interchange fees, and global shipping.
Ryan earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Connecticut. He is admitted to practice in New York and Massachusetts.
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