Elaine Johnston
Image of Elaine Johnston

Elaine Johnston

Of Counsel

Email

elaine.johnston@aoshearman.com

Phone

+1 212 610 6388

Offices

New York

V-CARD
Elaine previously served as a partner and leader in the firm’s Antitrust practice. She has handled matters in a wide range of industries, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, oil and gas, engineering, banking and financial services, agricultural products, and vitamins.

She has been featured in Chambers USA, BTI Client Service All-Stars, PLC Which Lawyer?, The International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers, Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Competition and Antitrust Lawyers, and Global Competition Review's Women in Antitrust 2025, and received a 2024 Women, Influence & Power in Law Lifetime Achievement Award from Corporate Counsel.

Elaine has an active practice before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) representing merging parties in connection with mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures, as well as companies in non-merger investigations, and she is particularly experienced in coordinating U.S., European, and other foreign antitrust clearances on complex cross-border deals. Elaine also has an active antitrust litigation practice including representing the Belarusian Potash Company, Experian, Mercuria, and a public petroleum and natural gas company. In addition, she regularly advises companies on business conduct, including worldwide distribution and licensing arrangements, patent pools, information exchanges and benchmarking.

Elaine has been ranked in Chambers USA for more than 20 years.

Elaine is a member of the American Bar Association (Antitrust section) and the New York State Bar Association (former Chair, Antitrust Law section). She previously served as a member of the editorial board of the ABA’s Competition Laws Outside the United States, an associate editor of the Antitrust Law Journal, and a member of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. She is a frequent speaker at antitrust conferences and seminars.

Experience

Representative matters

  • LPL Financial Holdings Inc. on its USD2.7 billion acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network, the largest privately-held independent U.S. wealth management firm.
  • RHI Magnesita on its USD410 million acquisition of Resco, cleared following a DOJ Second Request.
  • L'Oréal Groupe on its acquisition of a majority stake in the British premium skincare brand Medik8.
  • Advent on its joint venture with LANXESS and EUR3.7 billion deal combining DSM’s and LANXESS’s performance materials businesses.
  • DSM on its EUR42 billion merger with Firmenich, a Swiss manufacturer of fragrances and flavors, which required merger filings in 12 jurisdictions across the globe, including the US, EU, Brazil, and China, and was subject to unconditional clearances in all jurisdictions.
  • Cargill on its USD440 million acquisition of the North American and European chocolate business of rival ADM which was reviewed and cleared in the U.S. and the EU.
  • A private equity firm on its significant minority investment in Special New Fruit Licensing and its acquisition of International Fruit Genetics, both companies active in grape breeding, which was cleared in the U.S. following a DOJ Second Request and, in the EU, following a Phase 1 review.
  • Greif, Inc., the NYSE-listed, Ohio-based global industrial packaging company, on its acquisition of Caraustar Industries, a recycled paperboard and packaging solutions company, from H.I.G. Capital, for approximately USD1.8 billion.

Published Work

  • “Antitrust focus on Private Equity Funds and Serial Acquisitions” CPI Antitrust Chronicle (June 2024), with Puja Patel and Ben Stievator
  • Co-author, 'Antitrust Aspects of Settling Intellectual Property Litigation,' Intellectual Property Antitrust 2006, published by the Practising Law Institute, 2006, republished in The Licensing Journal Volume 26 Number 8, September 2006, with Matthew J. Galvin.
  • 'Antitrust Liability for Acts and Omissions in Dealing with Government Entities,' Intellectual Property Antitrust 2005, published by the Practising Law Institute, 2005.
  • 'Intellectual Property as an 'Essential Facility,'' Intellectual Property Antitrust 2004, published by the Practising Law Institute, 2004, republished in The Computer & Internet Lawyer, February 2005.
  • Co-author, 'Contrast or Convergence? The IP Guidelines and the New EU Technology Transfer Block Exemption,' Antitrust Magazine, Spring 1995, with Ronald W. Davis.
  • 'Dual Representation in Antitrust Investigations,' Antitrust Law in New York State, published by the New York State Bar Association, 1995.
  • Contributor, Bellamy & Child, Common Market Law of Competition, Fourth Edition (Sweet & Maxwell 1993); responsible for section on intellectual property licensing.
  • Co-author, 'Antitrust Aspects of Reverse Engineering,' Intellectual Property Antitrust 1993, published by the Practising Law Institute, 1993, with David Bender.

Leadership Positions And Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association, Antitrust Section
  • New York State Bar Association, Former Chair, Antitrust Law Section. Former Associate Editor of the Antitrust Law Journal
  • Former Member of Committee on Antitrust and Trade Regulation of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York
  • Former Member of Editorial Board of Competition Laws Outside the United States

Recognition

“Elaine is always part of the solution for our business - she helps us achieve our goals while managing risk from a legal perspective.”
WHO’S WHO LEGAL COMPETITION 2021
“She's experienced and client-focused, she's is an outstanding partner.”
Chambers USA 2022, Antitrust: New York

Awards

  • Ranked in Chambers USA: Antitrust

Qualifications

Admissions

Registered Foreign Lawyer, England and Wales, 2024

Bar of the State of New York, 1988

Southern District of New York, 1995

Eastern District of New York, 1995

Courts

United States District Courts

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2009

Academic

LL.M., University of Michigan Law School, Fulbright Scholar, 1987

M.A., Cambridge University, 1984

B.A. honors, Clare College Cambridge, 1980

Languages

English
Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.