PETER K. HUSTON is a partner in Sidley’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Antitrust, White Collar and Complex Commercial Litigation practices. He has 25 years of experience in high-stakes civil and criminal antitrust litigation, trials, government investigations and merger clearance work, both in and out of government. Peter was acknowledged as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal in 2012 and received a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award for corporate antitrust in 2013.

Prior to joining Sidley, Peter served as Assistant Chief in the San Francisco Office of the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice where he led and supervised both criminal cartel matters and civil merger matters. For his government service, Peter was awarded the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award and was twice awarded the Antitrust Division’s Award of Distinction.

Peter was the lead lawyer on multiple high-profile antitrust investigations and trials, including the Antitrust Division’s successful prosecution of members of the LCD cartel, regarded by many as one of the most significant antitrust cases in recent history. He also led other criminal matters, including investigations conducted in coordination with foreign competition authorities, and helped oversee the work of the San Francisco office’s prosecutors.

While at the Antitrust Division, Peter was also the head of the office’s civil program and investigated several proposed mergers. He was the lead trial counsel in United States v. Bazaarvoice, the government’s successful challenge to the consummated merger of the two leading providers of online rating and review software and services.

Before his government service, Peter was in private practice for nearly 20 years. He has represented clients faced with civil and criminal antitrust and unfair competition exposure and has represented entities seeking agency approval for mergers and acquisitions. He has conducted internal investigations for major international corporations in cartel matters, worked on many complex antitrust cases and has significant defense-side trial experience. Peter also provides clients with antitrust advice on numerous subjects and helps them establish effective compliance programs tailored to their specific needs.

Peter earned his J.D. from Cornell Law School, where he was editor of the Cornell International Law Journal. He graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with honors and a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology.