Back in February, as word spread that Justice Department antitrust chief Gail Slater was being pushed out, a few state A.G. offices—New York, Tennessee, and D.C. in particular—saw the writing on the wall. The D.O.J. was preparing to cut a lobbyist-fueled deal in the Live Nation case and leave the states holding the bag, just weeks before a trial many hoped would culminate in a long-sought breakup of Ticketmaster. The states weren’t equipped to lead a monopolization trial of this magnitude on their own. So they went looking for outside help—and got it from Jeffrey Kessler of Winston & Strawn (now Winston Taylor), one of the country’s premier antitrust trial lawyers.