Antitrust

Practical Counsel for Complex Antitrust Issues

Competitive markets are shaped by innovation, shifting business strategies, and increasingly assertive enforcement by federal, state, and international regulators. In this environment, antitrust issues can arise unexpectedly — through competitor interactions, distribution and pricing decisions, data‑driven business models, or strategic transactions that attract regulatory scrutiny. When they do, companies need counsel who understand both the legal landscape and the commercial realities at stake.

Our antitrust team combines litigation strength, practical counseling, and sophisticated transactional insight to help clients navigate these challenges with confidence. We work across industries and jurisdictions, guiding clients through disputes, investigations, and high‑stakes business decisions where competition law plays a central role.

Antitrust Litigation

Antitrust cases are often driven as much by economic narrative as by legal doctrine. Courts are asked to evaluate how markets function, how competitors interact, and whether conduct has affected competition in a meaningful way.

We represent clients in complex antitrust litigation in federal and state courts, including class actions, multidistrict proceedings, and competitor suits. Our team’s experience spans claims involving allegations of price fixing, monopolization, exclusive dealing, tying, and other conduct challenged under competition laws, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. Early case strategy is critical in these matters, particularly on the defense side. In all cases, we know how to manage large‑scale discovery, develop compelling economic and factual narratives, and position cases for success through motion practice, trial, or strategic resolution. Our team also defends clients facing parallel civil litigation and government investigations, where coordination and precision are essential.

Counseling and Compliance

Not all antitrust risk arises in the context of litigation or investigations. Many of the more difficult questions come up in the course of ordinary business decisions, including pricing strategies, distribution models, joint ventures, competitor collaborations, information-sharing, and interactions with competitors, including trade-association participation. Sound antitrust compliance is essential to avoiding costly disputes, and our team has experience providing practical, business‑focused guidance on these types of day‑to‑day issues. Our lawyers design and implement compliance programs tailored to a company’s risk profile and industry dynamics.

When sensitive questions arise — whether during internal reviews, market shifts, or unexpected competitor contact — we deliver clear, timely advice that helps clients move forward confidently and responsibly. We advise clients on these issues, with the aim of identifying where risk is likely to develop and how it can be addressed without disrupting the business.

Transactions and Merger Review

Antitrust risk is often identified too late in the life of a transaction. Our team works closely with deal teams to assess competitive risk, anticipate how regulators are likely to view the transaction, prepare Hart-Scott Rodino filings, and guide clients through reviews by the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, and state attorneys general. In this setting, timing and positioning matter. Decisions made early in the process often determine whether a transaction proceeds on schedule or becomes delayed by extended review.

Our lawyers are adept at coordinating economic analyses, developing advocacy strategies, and negotiating remedies when necessary to secure clearance. Whether a transaction is straightforward or presents complex competitive issues, we help clients anticipate regulatory challenges and keep deals on track.

How We Work

Clients usually involve antitrust counsel when the stakes are already defined and the margin for error is limited. In those situations, advice needs to be direct and grounded in how these matters typically unfold.

We focus on the issues that are most likely to affect the outcome, rather than addressing every theoretical risk. Matters are staffed leanly so that clients work directly with senior lawyers who remain involved as the situation develops.

Experience Across Industries

We have worked with clients in financial services, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, and consumer-facing industries. Each presents different competitive considerations and regulatory concerns, which inform how antitrust issues are analyzed and resolved.

Representative Experience

Our antitrust team has experience in wide variety of antitrust matters:

• Ongoing defense of a major hospital system concerning alleged violations of the antitrust laws.
• Ongoing representation of a former hospital in antitrust litigation against major health insurers in New Jersey and their trade association involving allegations of a group boycott.
• Ongoing representation in high-stakes litigation involving claims of unfair competition and trade secret misappropriation, with alleged damages exceeding $50 million.
• Represented a group of companies that accept payment cards in major antitrust litigation against card payment networks and banks concerning interchange fees and network rules.
• Represented an NFL franchise in its attempt to secure a new stadium on Manhattan’s west side.
• Successfully obtained dismissal of a United States Department of Justice indictment charging the former president of a publicly traded chemical company with conspiracy to violate the Sherman Act, arising from alleged market allocation and price-fixing conduct in the aluminum sulfate industry, on the eve of trial in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
• Represented a national pharmacy chain in multi-district litigation involving alleged claims of market allocation and price fixing.
• Represented an international airline in defense of a class action accusing a group of airlines of price fixing.
• Handled an antitrust matter before the Federal Trade Commission involving the acquisition of a newspaper by Newhouse Publications.
• Successfully obtained dismissal of purported Sherman Act Section 1 claims at the pleading stage, with the court finding no cognizable antitrust injury and rejecting attempts to recast alleged misconduct as a federal antitrust violation.
• Secured an $850,000 judgment in a matter involving trade secret misappropriation and spoliation of evidence.

Contact

Our antitrust attorneys work with clients to address issues strategically and with a clear understanding of the business considerations at stake. We are available to discuss these matters at any stage.