Antitrust and Competition

O’Melveny offers seamless antitrust and competition representation on three continents, with offices in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Brussels, Tokyo, and Beijing. At any given moment, we are shepherding mergers through global clearance processes, designing antitrust-compliant licensing or distribution agreements, and vindicating our clients’ interests in the courtroom.

Members of our practice group routinely represent clients before antitrust and competition agencies around the world. Our antitrust and competition lawyers include former high-ranking regulatory officials who maintain close contact with the enforcement agencies, providing clients with invaluable insights into governmental decision-making processes.

The Firm has extensive experience coordinating the global premerger review of complex international mergers and obtaining clearance in challenging situations. For example, we represented Northwest Airlines in its merger with Delta Air Lines, achieving merger clearance from the DOJ, the EC, and six other jurisdictions.  If litigation of a high-stakes acquisition becomes necessary, we are among the few law firms that have the courtroom experience necessary to litigate these complex cases successfully. An illustrative matters is our successful defense of Triton Coal’s acquisition by Arch Coal when the FTC sued to block the transaction.

O'Melveny's antitrust lawyers possess unsurpassed trial and litigation skills as denoted by the precedent setting results achieved by the firm in antitrust treble damages litigation. For instance, the firm prevailed in New York's highest court in what the Global Competition Review termed "a landmark ruling" when the unanimous court held that treble damages class actions are not cognizable under New York's antitrust statute, the Donnelly act (see Sperry v. Crompton Corp., 863 n.e.2d 1012 (2007)). The firm also achieved the dismissal of foreign claims under the rapidly evolving case law of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act (see In re Rubber Chemicals Antitrust Litigation, 504 F. Supp.2d 777 (N.D. Cal. 2007)). Finally, by way of example, the firm successfully defended Nippon Paper in a precedent setting criminal antitrust case which marked the first time criminal charges had been brought against wholly foreign conduct (see United States v. Nippon Paper Indus. Co. Ltd., 62 F. Supp.2d 173 (D. Mass. 1999) (granting judgment of acquittal)).

Many of the Firm’s current antitrust litigation partners began their careers defending antitrust treble-damages cases for the banking, insurance, and airline industries in the 1980s, and handling the airline price-signaling litigation in the 1990s, often cited as a template for antitrust analysis for B2B e-commerce exchanges. The firm’s involvement in high-profile antitrust litigation continues today as shown by our successful representation of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. against Intel Corporation in the United States, Europe, and Asia in one of the largest antitrust and competition cases ever commenced.

What Others Say About Us

• O'Melveny won "Competition Team of the Year" at The Lawyer Awards (2010). O'Melveny's Brussels team won the prestigious award on the basis of its tremendously successful work for Advanced Micro Devices in the Intel case.  In awarding O'Melveny, The Lawyer wrote, "Working on one of the biggest competition cases of the year was always going to be a feather in the cap for O'Melveny & Myers, but winning it against the odds and securing a record-breaking fine in the process shows what a remarkable job the team pulled off." One judge said the case "has the feel of a David taking on not one but two Goliaths - Intel and the European Commission." In addition to winning the team award, Partner Riccardo Celli was a finalist for the "Partner of the Year" award for his leadership during the case.
• Global Competition Review’s 2011 edition of GCR 100―its guide to the world’s leading competition practices―lists O’Melveny’s DC practice in its “Elite” section for the second consecutive year. In the 2010 edition of GCR 100, GCR comments that the “strength of the firm’s [DC] antitrust team wins praise from rivals,” and lists our California antitrust practice in its “Highly Recommended” category, stating that O’Melveny “boasts one of California’s strongest antitrust practices.” GCR also highlights O’Melveny’s Brussels practice in its annual “Brussels Competition Bar Survey” in the December 2010 issue, calling the team “renowned on the Brussels circuit,” and lists our New York practice in the “Recommended” category in its December 2011 New York Country Survey, stating that O’Melveny’s “team has made an impressive showing in New York, especially in litigation matters.” 
• O’Melveny’s Antitrust and Competition practice was shortlisted for Chambers USA Awards for Excellence in antitrust for 2010. In addition, practice co-chair Richard Parker was a finalist for the Award for Excellence in Antitrust in 2009.
• Chambers Global (2011) commends our global practice in the areas of Competition/European Law and US Competition Law, stating that our team “has a high-profile Washington, DC practice and further impresses through its strength in Asia and presence in Brussels and London.” 
• Chambers USA (2011) ranks O’Melveny’s antitrust practice as among the leading practices in California, DC, and Nationwide. Chambers says that “the team is particularly renowned for its expertise in Section 2 cases and for its strong track record in class action civil work.” Sources are quoted as stating, “the group really stands out for its hands-on approach; the lawyers are responsive, thoughtful and extremely client-focused;” and “a team that has a really strong collection of high-quality practitioners.”
• Chambers Europe (2012) notes that our lawyers “really know the ropes,” and “give practical advice and turn work around quickly.”
• Chambers Asia (2011) ranks O'Melveny its Competition/Antitrust (International Firms): China category, quoting a source who states “I'm always impressed by the lawyers’ ability to give us practical advice in what is a rather theoretical area.”
• Competition Law360 named O’Melveny a “Competition Group of the Year" in both 2011 and 2009.  
• Our Washington, DC practice was chosen as Corporate Intl Magazine’s 2009/10 US Legal Awards’ “Best Law Firm in Washington DC for Antitrust Work 2009/10.”
• Legal 500 USA (2010) says that our “strong and growing reputation in the market is richly deserved as a result of a series of high-profile mandates and impressive bi-coastal coverage,” and that we have “a growing presence for litigation and merger clearance work.”
• Legal 500 EMEA (2012) writes that O’Melveny’s Brussels team "is appreciated for its ‘solid understanding of client’s business.’"
• IFLR 1000 (2010) recommends our European Antitrust and Competition Practice, quoting one client who makes reference to the "very bright people" at O'Melveny and commenting, "Their service is excellent and they are very knowledgeable. Nothing but praise for their competition practice." Partner Riccardo Celli is recognized by IFLR as a "leading lawyer" and partner Christian Riis-Madsen is commended by peers as "a rising star in the antitrust community."

• US News & World Report / Best Lawyers ranked our National Antitrust practice in Tier 1 in its inaugural "Best Law Firms" survey (2010).
  

• Benchmark Litigation: The Definitive Guide to America's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys (2010) ranks our national antitrust practice as one of the leading practices in the US.
  

• At the Legal Business Awards 2008, we received “Competition Team of the Year” honors for our representation of TUI AG in its acquisition of First Choice Holidays PLC, forming the leading travel group worldwide.  In addition, O’Melveny was shortlisted for “Competition Team of the Year” at the Legal Business Awards 2010 on the basis of its tremendously successful work for Advanced Micro Devices. In selecting O’Melveny, the Legal Business judges commented: “When O’Melveny took over AMD’s longstanding complaint of abuse of a dominant position against Intel, the case looked dead in the water. The input of Celli’s team led to a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the client, and ultimately finished with the European Commission levying fines worth more than €1bn against Intel.” 

Key Facts

Industry Reach

• Aviation

• Banking/financial services

• Consumer products

• Defense

• Energy

• Healthcare

• Information technology development and manufacturing, including hardware and software

• Manufacturing, including chemicals

• Media, entertainment, and publishing

• Pharmaceuticals

• Retailing

• Semiconductors and other computer components

• Shipping

• Telecommunications