Antitrust and Unfair Competition

Our Antitrust and Unfair Competition practice encompasses both counseling and litigation.

We advise clients in planning and structuring mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, as well as licensing, franchise, and distribution arrangements.  We also assist clients in developing antitrust compliance programs and conducting antitrust audits to assure compliance with antitrust laws.

We negotiate with federal and state antitrust authorities to resolve antitrust disputes in a variety of areas, including mergers, acquisitions, resale price maintenance, and horizontal price-fixing. We also represent clients in civil and criminal investigations and enforcement actions, and in private treble damage actions involving a wide variety of business transactions, including class actions based on federal and state antitrust claims.

Our experience includes:

• Representing a major chemical company and its corporate parent in connection with the defense of an action brought by the Federal Trade Commission to enjoin the acquisition of the polyvinyl chloride assets of another company.
• Representing a group of major motion picture companies before the Justice Department in challenging the licensing and exhibition practices of one of the major pay cable television networks.
• Representing a processed egg products manufacturer in putative antitrust class actions alleging conspiracy to allocate customers and markets and to fix the prices of shell eggs and egg products.
• Representing plaintiffs in a consumer class action against a kitchen appliance manufacturer for alleged participation in a retail price maintenance scheme in connection with the sale of food processors, resulting in a favorable settlement for the plaintiff class.
• Representing a major motion picture distributor in an antitrust action challenging the practices of the major television networks in televising programs produced by their own subsidiaries.
• Representing an association of dealers of auto parts in restructuring the discount received by its franchisee members from a large supplier of automotive parts in the purchase of mufflers, exhaust system parts, brakes and shock absorbers and in resolving potential Robinson-Patman Act issues.
• Representing a major building supplies firm in Florida in defending a series of class action antitrust cases alleging price-fixing in the sale of building supplies resulting in a favorable settlement for the client.
• Filing amicus curiae briefs on behalf of a major trade association client to successfully oppose, on federal preemption and antitrust grounds, a challenge to a state sales-below-cost law.
• Representing a bar review course provider in an action against a competitor for alleged monopolization, false advertising, tortious interference with contractual relations and unfair competition.

We represent major trade associations in a variety of industries, including motion pictures, telecommunications, stock photography, automotive services, and apparel, providing antitrust, corporate and tax advice both to trade associations and their members.