Douglas Melamed, well-known antitrust and corporate government relations specialist, was hired by the Intel Corporation yesterday. He was appointed nothing less than the position of senior vice president and general counsel. This move by the IT enterprise seems to suggest that it is nowhere near the end of its long line of antitrust cases.

Melamed, 63, has more than 30 years of experience and an extensive background in antitrust practice. Between 1996 and 2001, this new senior vice president worked as acting assistant attorney general in charge of the Antitrust Division for the U.S. Department of Justice, and, later, as principal deputy assistant general. While principal deputy, he dealt with civil non-merger and merger investigations and litigations over a wide range of sections: the division's appellate matters; policy matters involving, among others, the communications, electricity and tobacco industries; and international antitrust enforcement matters.

Not only that, but he had clearance for major acquisitions in the merger clearance process, argued cases in the US Supreme Court, litigated in federal and state trials and even before the Federal Trade Commission. Since 1971 and until recently, he was a partner of WilmerHale, a global law firm where he led the Regulatory and Government Affairs Department and was a member of the Antitrust Competition Practice group in the Washington branch.

Other exploits of the new general counsel include having been an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and authoring numerous articles on antitrust in addition to law and economics. Currently, he is a contributing editor of the Antitrust Law Journal, a member of the Board of Academic Advisors of the Journal of Law, Economics and Policy at George Mason University, as well as a member of the Americam Law Institute and the Yale University Council. He was formerly part of the Sidwell Friends School's board of trustees.

“We are extremely pleased to have Doug join the Intel team. His breadth of experience and legal expertise combined with his background in government are an outstanding fit for us,” Paul Otellini, Intel president and chief executive officer, said.

This development comes very shortly after the antitrust settlement between the leading CPU manufacturer and Advanced Micro Devices. Although the two rivals may have entered a five-year agreement, that doesn't go for all the other IT manufacturers that filed complaints against the Santa Clara-based giant.