Dallas/Washington, July 18, 2025 — In a significant development for former Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield, the Federal Trade Commission has voted unanimously to reopen and vacate its prior order that had barred Sheffield from joining ExxonMobil’s board of directors following its acquisition of Pioneer.
The reversal comes after a coordinated and thoughtful litigation effort by legal teams at McKool Smith, led by Robert Manley, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. The Cleary firm had represented Mr. Sheffield in the FTC administrative process.
In March 2025, Mr. Sheffield petitioned the FTC to vacate the order. After the FTC denied the petition, McKool Smith and Cleary Gottleib filed a federal complaint on behalf of Mr. Sheffield challenging the FTC’s actions. [Link to Complaint.] In its July 17 decision, the Commission set aside the order by a unanimous 3–0 vote. News of the matter and of Mr. Sheffield’s success was reported in the Wall Street Journal.
The entire legal team is honored to have worked together on behalf of Mr. Sheffield to achieve a resolution that protects individual rights while respecting the critical role of the FTC in antitrust enforcement.
Along with Mr. Manley, the McKool Smith legal team included Associates Tyler Freeman and Josh Jones.
With more than 130 trial lawyers across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York, and Washington, D.C., McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America’s leading trial firms. The firm has secured 18 nine-figure jury verdicts and 16 eight-figure jury verdicts, obtaining more VerdictSearch and The National Law Journal “Top 100 Verdicts” than any other law firm. McKool Smith represents clients in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, insurance recovery, and white-collar defense matters.
