Sullivan & Cromwell Adds Ryan Shores as Antitrust Group Co-Head in Washington

Sullivan & Cromwell appointed Ryan Shores as a partner and co-head of its Antitrust Group in Washington, D.C., the firm said in a November 5 announcement covered by Pulse 2.0. Shores co-leads the group with Renata Hesse and joins from private practice, after senior roles at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Shores's Antitrust and Government Record

Shores has served as lead trial counsel in multiple merger challenges brought by federal antitrust agencies and private parties, according to the announcement. His litigation work includes defending businesses against allegations of price-fixing, market allocation, monopolization, attempted monopolization, tying arrangements and exclusive dealing. He also advises companies on merger reviews and regulatory approvals, including transactions facing significant antitrust scrutiny, and his experience spans technology, building products, internet retail, banking, credit cards, airlines, energy, defense and aerospace.

Before returning to private practice, Shores was Associate Deputy Attorney General and Senior Advisor for Technology Industries at the Department of Justice. In that role he oversaw the department's antitrust review of major online platforms. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law and a bachelor's degree from Huntingdon College, and he clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.

"Ryan is a leading antitrust trial lawyer with an exceptional track record of defending monopolization and conspiracy claims, merger challenges, and government investigations," said Robert Giuffra and Scott Miller, co-chairs of Sullivan & Cromwell. Hesse said Shores's "extensive experience handling high-stakes antitrust litigation, combined with his deep understanding of government enforcement priorities, will be invaluable to our clients." Shores said he was "thrilled to join Sullivan & Cromwell and help build on the Firm's rich history of handling the most critical, precedent-setting antitrust matters."

Sullivan & Cromwell's Deal Rankings

According to akta.pro company records, Sullivan & Cromwell led all law firm advisers in announced global deals in the first quarter of 2026 with $540 billion, a 35.4 percent market share, and an average announced deal value of $12.9 billion. The same records show the firm advised on $442.5 billion in deal value, ranking first in Bloomberg Law's M&A league tables for the quarter, and ranked fifth globally in 2025 M&A legal adviser rankings by value, according to GlobalData's Legal Advisers League Table, at $490.3 billion.

Earlier Leadership Moves at the Firm

In October 2026, Sullivan & Cromwell hired Jonathan Ellis, Michael Huston and Nicholas Crown as co-heads of its Supreme Court and appellate practice, Reuters reported. The trio replaced four partners who left for Gibson Dunn in April, including former acting solicitor general Jeffrey Wall. In the same week, Sullivan & Cromwell, Ashurst Perkins Coie, Mayer Brown, DLA Piper and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman announced new partner and special counsel additions in their Washington, D.C., offices in antitrust and complex litigation, Law.com reported.

Abu Dhabi Office Leadership

Sullivan & Cromwell is opening its first Middle East office in Abu Dhabi, led by Ahmed T. el-Gaili, who rejoins as a partner from Latham & Watkins, Bloomberg reported in September 2026. The office will serve clients in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf on complex cross-border mandates.