Photograph of Kate M. Watkins

Government Experience

  • Department of Justice: Antitrust Division—Legal Intern
  • Federal Trade Commission—Legal Intern, Bureau of Consumer Protection

Education

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A. (2012) with highest distinction, Phi Beta Kappa
  • The George Washington University Law School, J.D. (2016)

Admissions

  • District of Columbia

Kate M. Watkins

Associate
Washington, D.C.
kwatkins@crowell.com
Phone: +1 202.624.2744
1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20004

Kate M. Watkins is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office and is a member of the firm’s Antitrust & Competition group. She counsels and represents clients in a wide range of transactional antitrust matters, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, competitor collaborations, and issues related to compliance with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.  Kate also represents corporate clients in criminal antitrust investigations, most recently related to hiring practices and generic pharmaceuticals.  Her experience spans multiple industries, including aerospace, technology, transportation, health care, and consumer products.

Kate’s recent experience includes:

  • Counseling clients on potential antitrust liability associated with horizontal, vertical, and unilateral conduct while helping achieve business goals.
  • Counseling clients on compliance with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.
  • Providing a variety of antitrust compliance trainings to clients and trade associations across industries.
  • Representing a multinational corporation in a grand jury investigation into hiring practices (no-poach/non-solicitation).
  • Representing a major health care provider in a grand jury investigation alleging no-poaching agreements.
  • Representing United Technologies in connection with its pending merger with The Raytheon Company and its $30 billion acquisition of Rockwell Collins.
  • Representing Gwinnett Health System in its merger with Northside Hospital.
  • Representing AT&T in its proposed merger with Time Warner.
  • Providing a major online retailer with counseling and advocacy assistance associated with an FTC rulemaking.
  • Representing Humana Inc. in its proposed merger with Aetna Inc.
  • Counseling retail clients on necessary advertising disclosures and registrations for compliance with various state laws.

Kate maintains an active and varied pro bono practice, including representing Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petitioners, drafting comments on behalf of women’s rights organizations opposing regulatory restrictions of contraceptive coverage, and serving as a guardian ad litem or counsel in numerous child custody matters.

Kate is also an active member of the ABA Antitrust Section where she is serving as a 2020 Young Lawyer Representative. 

Kate earned her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School in 2016, where she served as executive articles editor for the American Intellectual Property Law Association Quarterly Journal. During law school, Kate interned at the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection. She was also recognized as a 2016 Outstanding Law Student by the National Association of Women Lawyers for her work in furthering the advancement of women in society and promoting the concerns of women in the legal profession. She received her B.A. with highest distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2012.


Affiliations

Admitted to practice: District of Columbia, Texas (inactive)

Memberships

  • American Bar Association
    • Antitrust Section
    • Young Lawyers Division
  • National Association of Women Lawyers

Publications


Client Alerts & Newsletters


Firm News & Announcements

Feb.22.2019 Crowell & Moring's Antitrust Group Listed as "Highly Recommended" in Global Competition Review's 19th Annual "GCR 100"