Rita Xia is an associate in Morrison Foerster’s Litigation Department and a member of the firm’s Global Antitrust Law Practice Group.

Rita advises clients on high-stakes antitrust matters, including multibillion-dollar mergers, complex litigation, and sensitive government investigations. She delivers rigorous legal analysis and strategic, business-focused counsel to help clients navigate regulatory scrutiny and resolve disputes.

Rita regularly guides clients through Hart-Scott-Rodino Act filings and merger clearance. She develops litigation strategy in civil and government antitrust actions and defends clients in investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state attorneys general. In her practice, she delivers competition and regulatory solutions across a range of industries, including technology, media and entertainment, energy, retail, materials, financial services, and life sciences.

Rita is actively involved in the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section, where she serves as vice chair of Marketing (2023–2026). She contributes to Antitrust Law Developments, the Section’s leading treatise on competition law, and to the Joint Conduct Committee’s Quick Look newsletter. She also serves as a producer of the Section’s podcast, Trust and Trade.

Before joining Morrison Foerster, Rita practiced in the antitrust and competition group of an international law firm. She previously clerked for a former Commissioner of the FTC and interned in the DOJ Antitrust Division.

Representative Experience

Merger Review 

• Nexstar Media Group in its $6.2 billion proposed acquisition of Tegna Inc.
• SoftBank in its $4 billion proposed acquisition of Digital Bridge.
• SoftBank in its $5.375 billion proposed acquisition of ABB’s Robotics Business.
• SoftBank in its $6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing, successfully cleared in 2025.

Antitrust Litigation

• Nexstar Media Group in a putative class action alleging that television station owners conspired to fix local television advertising prices.
• The Clorox Company and its subsidiary Brita in ZeroWater v. Clorox, Brita, et al. (E.D. Pa.), a case involving allegations of patent ambush, monopolization, and unfair competition. The matter was settled.

Government Investigations

• A national health staffing company in a DOJ criminal antitrust investigation, securing non-prosecution agreements for the company and its executives.

• A major hospital system in a state attorney general investigation involving allegations of price fixing and market allocation.