- Rahul Rao
- Partner / White & Case LLP
Rahul Rao is a Partner in White & Case’s Global Antitrust Practice, where he advises clients on complex competition matters spanning government investigations, merger reviews, litigation, and compliance.
From 2022 to 2025, he served as Deputy Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, overseeing multiple enforcement divisions and helping set agency strategy on mergers, labor markets, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, private equity, and digital platforms. He was a key contributor to several major policy initiatives, including the 2023 Merger Guidelines, the 2025 Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) rule changes, and renewed enforcement under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
Before joining the FTC, Rahul was Managing Assistant Attorney General in the Washington State Attorney General’s Antitrust Division, where he spearheaded the state’s nationally recognized No-Poach Initiative and served as lead litigator on cutting-edge competition cases.
Rahul brings this combined federal and state enforcement experience to bear in advising clients on navigating the fast-evolving antitrust landscape. He has testified before Congress and is a frequent speaker on government enforcement and policy, with a focus on the issues shaping today’s markets across industries from life sciences to digital platforms.