James John Tierney

James J. Tierney, age 71, passed away on October 28, 2025 in Annapolis, MD after a 4-year struggle with pancreatic cancer. Jim was a well-respected leader in the U.S. antitrust bar in public service and private practice and a devoted husband, father, and grandfather.

Jim was born in Bath, Maine in April of 1954, to James F. and Madeleine R. Tierney, and raised in the New York City suburbs. He graduated from Scarsdale High School where he met Patricia Ann O’Hara and made lifelong friends. He married Patti, his first and only love, in Scarsdale in 1978. Jim earned a B.A in political science from Allegheny College, Meadville, PA, (Go Gators!) where he ran track and cross country. He earned his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law in Seattle, WA, where he was an editor of the Law Review. After a two year Judicial Clerkship with the Washington State Supreme Court, Jim and Patti moved to Montgomery Village, MD, where they raised their three daughters.

Jim began his 37-year legal career protecting the American consumer with the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division. For the last ten years of his 28 year government service, Jim was Chief of the Litigation Section with responsibility for enforcing the antitrust laws in a wide variety of industries, including the high tech and financial services sectors. After retiring from government service, Jim joined Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe’s Washington, D.C. office as an antitrust partner where he defended Fortune 500 companies including Microsoft, Cisco and Netflix before the Antitrust Division and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Jim developed a reputation as a fair and transparent prosecutor who was always willing to share credit with colleagues.

Jim worked on some of the most complex antitrust matters of his time. He worked on three landmark monopolization cases – U.S. v. IBM (1956), U.S. v. Microsoft and U.S. v. Google. Jim also litigated dozens of high-profile merger cases where the DOJ alleged the mergers would lead to higher prices for goods and services, including U.S. v. Oracle/Peoplesoft, U.S. v. H&R Block/TaxAct, U.S. v. Bazaarvoice/PowerReviews, U.S. v. Anheuser-Busch InBev/Groupo Modelo, and many others.

Jim and his family loved the water. They enjoyed the boardwalks, arcades and seafood joints in dozens of beach towns, from Cape Cod to the Outer Banks to Key West, but the Jersey Shore was their favorite. Other favorite activities were attending his daughters’ sporting events and making blueberry waffles for their friends after sleepovers. Throughout his life, Jim was an avid tennis and softball player and a lifelong fan of the N.Y. Yankees and N.Y. Giants.

Jim and Patti retired to Annapolis to enjoy the natural beauty of the Chesapeake Bay. They settled in the Eastport section of Annapolis, known to the locals as the Maritime Republic of Eastport (Up the Republic!) In addition to pursuing his hobbies and going on walks with his dogs, Patches, Sprocket and Kai, Jim and Patti roamed the shores of the Chesapeake Bay searching for local music at the many Tiki Bars and Crab Shacks. When not exploring the Bay, Jim spent as much time as possible with his grandsons, applying his analytic skills to learning about dinosaurs, sharks, spiders and all things Wild Kratt.

Jim is survived by his wife of 47 years, Patti, and their three daughters, Meghan, Michaela, and Nora, Michaela’s husband Keith Wechter and their sons Elliott and Calvin. He is also survived by his sisters Anita Tierney and Margaret DiRenno and brother Michael Tierney. He was predeceased by his parents and twin brother, Marc.

Private ceremony to be held off his beloved Jersey Shore. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity of your choice or pancan.org/donate (pancreatic cancer) or cbf.org/donate (Chesapeake Bay).