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Axinn Welcomes Former DOJ Antitrust Division Leader Jacklin Chou Lem to San Francisco Antitrust Practice

News

Axinn Welcomes Former DOJ Antitrust Division Leader Jacklin Chou Lem to San Francisco Antitrust Practice
News

News

Axinn Welcomes Former DOJ Antitrust Division Leader Jacklin Chou Lem to San Francisco Antitrust Practice

2025-08-19 23:30 Last Updated At:08-20 00:01

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 19, 2025--

Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP announced today that Jacklin “Jackie” Lem, who most recently served as Civil Chief of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office, has joined its Antitrust practice as a partner in the San Francisco, CA office.  

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250819727001/en/

At the DOJ, Jackie was at the forefront of several of the Antitrust Division’s most high-profile matters involving Silicon Valley technology companies, including monopolization and merger cases such as United States v. Apple and United States v. HPE/Juniper Networks. Jackie also led complex international and domestic criminal cartel matters.

Having served at the DOJ in the Bay Area across five different presidential administrations, Jackie is uniquely positioned to help technology clients navigate the evolving antitrust landscape, particularly as the technology industry adapts to transformations such as AI.   

“We're thrilled to welcome Jackie to our team in California,” said Mike Keeley, chair of Axinn’s Antitrust practice. “The current antitrust landscape requires attorneys who understand how enforcers are thinking today and how they will react to future developments. Bringing Jackie on board further strengthens our position as the go-to firm for high-stakes antitrust matters in the face of increasing regulatory scrutiny and litigation." 

“Having been across the table from Jackie when she was at DOJ, we know firsthand how formidable and impressive she is,” said Daniel Bitton, antitrust partner and founder of Axinn’s San Francisco office. “Given her seventeen years at the Division’s San Francisco Office, Jackie has an unparalleled understanding of antitrust enforcement in the tech industry–where it has been and where it is going . Few other lawyers can match her depth of tech-sector experience, and we’re excited to add her to our bench as we expand our California presence.” 

Jackie pioneered the first civil antitrust enforcement and litigation program for the Division’s San Francisco office. In addition, she helped direct office-wide strategic planning at the Antitrust Division, supervised attorney recruitment and development, and advised senior DOJ leadership, including the Assistant Attorney General. Jackie also received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, one of the Department’s highest honors, in recognition of her work as lead prosecutor in a price-fixing cartel litigation. 

"Joining Axinn represents the perfect opportunity to leverage my government expertise, my experience at trial, and my enforcement perspective in service of the firm's growing client base,” said Jackie. “I'm eager to counsel clients around competition risks and to defend their interests and business models in antitrust matters, while upholding Axinn’s reputation for excellence.”  

Jackie is a graduate, with distinction, of Stanford Law School and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is also a frequent speaker at antitrust conferences around the globe.  

About Axinn
Incisive. Inclusive. Invested. Inquisitive. We’re Axinn. Focusing on antitrust, intellectual property, and litigation, we make it our mission to understand your business, so we can anticipate every move. Acting with precision and conviction, we protect and accelerate your business growth, always thinking ahead. Visit us at axinn.com. 

Jackie Lem joins Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP

Jackie Lem joins Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP

MOSCOW (AP) — A court in Moscow on Friday began considering a lawsuit filed by the central bank against Euroclear, the Brussels-based clearing house that holds the bulk of Russian assets frozen by the European Union.

The lawsuit seeks to recover 18.2 trillion rubles ($232 billion) in damages incurred when Russia was barred from managing and disposing of its Euroclear funds and securities, the bank said. The case is being heard behind closed doors.

The EU has frozen 210 billion euros ($244 billion) worth of Russian assets as part of the sanctions imposed on Moscow after it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Euroclear holds around 193 billion euros of the seized funds.

Moscow's Arbitration Court picked up the case even though the EU last month set aside its initial plan to use frozen Russian assets to assist Ukraine after failing to convince Belgium that it would be protected from Russia's retaliation. The bloc opted instead for borrowing 90 billion euros on capital markers to provide an interest-free loan to Ukraine to meet its military and economic needs for the next two years.

Russia's Central Bank has condemned the use of frozen assets to aid Ukraine as “illegal, contrary to international law,” arguing that they violated “the principles of sovereign immunity of assets.”

Participants gather in Moscow's Arbitration Court to hold a hearing to consider a lawsuit by Russia's Central Bank against Belgium-based financial clearinghouse Euroclear in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Participants gather in Moscow's Arbitration Court to hold a hearing to consider a lawsuit by Russia's Central Bank against Belgium-based financial clearinghouse Euroclear in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Participants gather in Moscow's Arbitration Court to hold a hearing to consider a lawsuit by Russia's Central Bank against Belgium-based financial clearinghouse Euroclear in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Participants gather in Moscow's Arbitration Court to hold a hearing to consider a lawsuit by Russia's Central Bank against Belgium-based financial clearinghouse Euroclear in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Participants gather in Moscow's Arbitration Court to hold a hearing to consider a lawsuit by Russia's Central Bank against the Euroclear Group in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Participants gather in Moscow's Arbitration Court to hold a hearing to consider a lawsuit by Russia's Central Bank against the Euroclear Group in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Participants gather in Moscow's Arbitration Court to hold a hearing to consider a lawsuit by Russia's Central Bank against Belgium-based financial clearinghouse Euroclear in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Participants gather in Moscow's Arbitration Court to hold a hearing to consider a lawsuit by Russia's Central Bank against Belgium-based financial clearinghouse Euroclear in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

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