GeyerGorey LLP today announced that Richard S. Rosenberg, formerly a prosecutor with the Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, has joined the firm and will be resident in the firm’s Philadelphia Office.

According to GeyerGorey partner Bradford Geyer, who was a long-time colleague of Rosenberg’s at the Antitrust Division, Rosenberg was known to be a highly critical analyst who would pick apart a case as it was developing to ensure that all potential defenses had been considered and evaluated before a case was brought. Rosenberg developed a reputation for constructing “worst case” scenarios that government might face in trying a case, built upon potential case weaknesses, imperfections and even blemishes. So critical could Rosenberg be that it was not unheard of for Antitrust Division staff to be quite displeased with Rosenberg’s negative view of the merits of a Division case. At the Division, Rosenberg’s office was often referred to as “the Skunkworks” — a cozy den where Rosenberg anticipated potential defense strategies and “wargamed” the various anticipated angles of attack by the defense.

Rosenberg comes to the firm just a week after Wendy Norman, also a former Department of Justice prosecutor. According to Norman, “Rich’s creativity allowed trials staffs to better anticipate defenses and prepare for them. Although most of us appreciated Rich’s deconstruction of a case, it was often unpleasant and, for many, scary to hear.”

“Rich was notorious for the sleepless nights he would cause prosecutors,” Geyer added. “We used to joke that he was a plant by the manufacturer of Ambein. Sometimes we also joked that we didn’t know what team he worked for. We thought he might be part of a defense team strategy to scare us to death.” Norman concluded her assessment of Rosenberg by saying that “Luckily, we rarely encountered a defense as sophisticated as Rich developed, but when we did, we were ready.”

Rosenberg served in the Antitrust Division from 1979 to 2013. A graduate of Georgetown Law School, Rosenberg’s reputation within the Antitrust Division that was as important, influential and appreciated as it was closely held.