J. Paul McGrath
{{Short description|American lawyer (1940–2013)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = J. Paul McGrath
| image =
| caption =
| office1 = United States Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division
| president1 = Ronald Reagan
| term_start1 = December 16, 1983
| term_end1 = April 1, 1985
| predecessor1 = William Baxter
| successor1 = Douglas H. Ginsburg
| office2 = United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division
| president2 = Ronald Reagan
| term_start2 = 1981
| term_end2 = December 16, 1983
| predecessor2 = Alice Daniel
| successor2 = Richard K. Willard
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1940|9|9}}
| birth_place = Rochester, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|7|9|1940|9|9}}
| death_place = Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.
| party = Republican
| education = {{no wrap|College of the Holy Cross (BA)}}
Harvard University (LLB)
}}
J. Paul McGrath (September 9, 1940 – July 9, 2013) was an American lawyer who served as the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division from 1981 to 1983 and as the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division from 1983 to 1985.{{cite web|author=Leslie Maitland Werner |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/10/business/antitrust-chief-gives-his-views.html |title=Antitrust Chief Gives His Views |work=The New York Times |date=1984-01-10 |accessdate=2019-04-18}}{{Cite news |last=Werner |first=Leslie Maitland |date=1984-01-15 |title=The Same Policy, With A New Style |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/15/business/the-same-policy-with-a-new-style.html |access-date=2024-06-20 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
Early life and education
McGrath was born on September 9, 1940, in Rochester, New York.{{Cite web |date=July 12, 1981 |title=Nomination of J. Paul McGrath To Be an Assistant Attorney General |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/nomination-j-paul-mcgrath-be-assistant-attorney-general |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=The American Presidency Project |publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara}} His father was Thomas E. McGrath,{{Cite news |date=1964-01-22 |title=Robinson—McGrath |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/01/22/archives/robinsonmcgrath.html |access-date=2024-06-20 |work=The New York Times |pages=42 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} a vice president at the Eastman Kodak Company.
McGrath was the first valedictorian of McQuaid Jesuit High School in 1958,{{Cite web |date=July 2013 |title=J. McGrath Obituary |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/democratandchronicle/name/j-mcgrath-obituary?id=16117899 |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=Democrat and Chronicle |via=Legacy.com}} then was educated at the College of the Holy Cross, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history with honors in 1962. McGrath then attended Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, receiving a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) with honors in 1965.
Career
After graduating from law school, McGrath entered private practice at the law firm of Dewey Ballantine, where he spent the entirety of his private career. He was the managing general partner and chairman of the firm's litigation department until 1992. Most of his practice concerned antitrust litigation and counseling.{{Cite journal |last=Crane |first=Mark |last2=Foster |first2=David L. |last3=Hills |first3=Carla A. |last4=Pogue |first4=Richard W. |date=1984 |title=Interview with J. Paul McGrath, Assistant Attorney General Antitrust Division |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40840695 |journal=Antitrust Law Journal |publisher=American Bar Association |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=27–48 |issn=0003-6056}}
President Ronald Reagan nominated McGrath to be an assistant attorney general of the United States in 1981. He first served as an assistant attorney general for the Civil Division of the U.S. Justice Department, then became the assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division on December 16, 1983, succeeding William Baxter. During his time under the Antitrust Division, McGrath attempted to make joint ventures as suitable alternatives to corporate mergers.{{Cite news |last=Potts |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Potts |date=2023-12-27 |title=McGrath to Resign As Antitrust Chief |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1984/12/20/mcgrath-to-resign-as-antitrust-chief/fb747b50-f14e-47c0-94bb-8460b4111ae1/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} He also continued the policies established by Baxter regarding mergers and issued guidelines for companies.{{Cite web |last=Rosewicz |first=Barbara |date=February 2, 1984 |title=J. Paul McGrath, the Reagan administration's antitrust chief, says... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/02/02/J-Paul-McGrath-the-Reagan-administrations-antitrust-chief-says/7006444546000/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=United Press International |language=en}}
After serving for about five years in the Justice Department as the primary antitrust lawyer under the Reagan administration, McGrath announced on December 18, 1984, that he intended to leave and return to private practice. Reagan selected Douglas H. Ginsburg as his successor.{{Cite web |date=July 17, 1985 |title=Nomination of Douglas H. Ginsburg To Be an Assistant Attorney General |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/nomination-douglas-h-ginsburg-be-assistant-attorney-general |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=The American Presidency Project}} After leaving government service, McGrath became the senior vice president, general counsel, and company secretary of American Standard Companies until retiring in 2004.
Personal life and death
McGrath died on July 9, 2013, in Montclair, New Jersey, at age 72. He married his wife, Eileen Patricia Robinson, in 1964. They had four children: John, David, Trish, and Robyn.