Rachel Carlo

Rachel focuses on antitrust matters, including civil enforcement, private litigation, compliance advice, and investigations into mergers and anticompetitive conduct. 

Before joining Steptoe, Rachel was an attorney at the Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Competition, where she investigated proposed mergers in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, commercial real estate valuation services, and consumer goods.

In her role at the FTC Rachel reviewed Hart-Scott-Rodino filings for potential anticompetitive effects and advised the Commission on which filings warranted investigation. She worked on multiple high-profile merger investigations, collaborating with FTC leaders, third-parties, industry experts, and merging parties to investigate multibillion-dollar transactions. Rachel has experience drafting Voluntary Request Letters, Second Requests, and Civil Investigative Demands, and has served as first and second chair in investigational hearings.

Rachel briefed FTC leaders and Commissioners on the findings of merger investigations and made recommendations as to whether the Commission should move to block a transaction, negotiate a consent, or allow the transaction to close.

During her time at the FTC Rachel helped craft and negotiate innovative consent decrees, that protected the Commission’s interests and allowed merging-parties to close their transactions.