Renata Hesse named acting chief of DOJ's Antitrust Division

Attorney General Eric Holder has named Renata Hesse as the acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.

Hesse, a veteran of major technology cases, took over the post from Joseph Wayland. Hesse joined the Justice Department in 1997 and was the lead lawyer during the remedy phase of the antitrust case against Microsoft. She also oversaw the government's challenge of First Data Corp.’s acquisition of Concord EFS. She left DOJ in 2006 for private practice, but returned to the government last year when Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski tapped her to oversee the agency's review of AT&T's $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile. Opposition from both the Justice Department and the FCC forced the companies to abandon the deal late last year. She then returned to the Justice Department as a deputy assistant attorney general, leading the department's efforts on intellectual property issues.