DENVER – Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that the firm has further bolstered its Health Care and Life Sciences Sector and Antitrust Practice Group with the addition of Partner Diane Hazel in Denver. Hazel joins Foley from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, where she served as the First Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Unit.
As head of the Antitrust Unit at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Hazel oversaw all antitrust matters, including investigations, litigations, and policy and legislative work, and managed a significant team of attorneys, investigators, and paralegals. In that capacity, she supervised dozens of antitrust matters and maintained an active litigation and merger review practice. Hazel’s practice also included matters in high-profile areas, with a particular focus on the health care, life sciences, and technology sectors.
“Antitrust continues to be a very active area given the number of enforcement actions, the breadth of the affected industries, and the government’s more aggressive posture toward antitrust enforcement in general. The demand for skilled antitrust lawyers like Diane is high,” said Elizabeth Haas, chair of Foley’s Antitrust Practice Group. “Diane’s front-line experience in high-profile antitrust litigation and merger matters in the health care sector adds considerable depth and expertise in a key area where we are seeing increased demand.”
Prior to her time at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Hazel spent five years in private practice representing clients in complex civil litigation and class action matters involving antitrust and consumer protection claims. Before that, Hazel was an attorney at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, Health Care Division, where she investigated and prosecuted antitrust matters in the health care and pharmaceutical industries. During her tenure at the FTC, she was awarded a Fulbright Grant from the U.S. State Department and spent a year in Namibia working with the Namibian government on antitrust and consumer protection matters.
“Diane has built strong relationships with practitioners in private practice and the state and federal enforcement agencies, and she is extremely well-respected in the Denver community,” said Emily Weber, managing partner of Foley’s Denver office. “Her experience in both the public and private sector and diverse antitrust background significantly enhances the capabilities of our team in Denver and compliments the continued westward expansion of the firm’s Antitrust Practice. Diane is an excellent business and cultural fit for Foley, and we are delighted to welcome her to the team.”
“I was attracted to Foley for a number of reasons, but particularly the firm’s national footprint, its Denver presence, its reputation in the Health Care Sector, and its strong Antitrust Practice,” said Hazel. “The breadth of matters on which the practice works, including litigation, counseling, and civil conduct and merger investigations, aligns with my scope of antitrust experience from my time in federal and state government as well as private practice. I’m excited to join the team and look forward to the opportunity to help grow the Denver office and Foley’s presence in the region and beyond.”
