Anna Pletcher is an experienced litigator and first-chair trial lawyer who represents clients on a broad range of civil and criminal antitrust issues, as well as sensitive white collar and corporate investigations.
Anna brings over a decade of impressive government experience to her clients in private practice, having served as a Trial Attorney for the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division prior to joining O’Melveny, where she led significant prosecutions and investigations of a variety of complex criminal and civil cases and served as Assistant Chief of the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office. Her experience on criminal matters includes prosecuting price fixing, bid rigging, market manipulation, fraud, and money laundering. Anna also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Major Crimes unit in San Francisco. On the civil side, Anna’s experience includes investigating proposed mergers and prosecuting a major technology company for entering into a no-poach agreement.
During her decade-long tenure as a prosecutor, Anna worked closely with various components of the federal and state criminal justice systems, including the FBI, United States Probation, and the California Attorney General’s office. Recognized for her exemplary work, Anna received the Assistant Attorney General’s Award in 2014, 2011, and 2007.
The Daily Journal has named Anna to its 2022 list of “Top Women Lawyers,” which recognizes the best women lawyers in California, and she was similarly recognized in its “Top Antitrust Lawyers in California” rankings in 2021. Between 2014 and 2016, Anna served as an Adjunct Professor at her alma mater, Berkeley Law, developing and teaching an advanced seminar for students interested in the practice of white-collar criminal law.
Anna is the Deputy Regional Director of Programs for the Hispanic National Bar Association’s Bay Area Chapter, and serves on the Board of Directors for Bay Area Legal Aid, the largest legal aid provider serving seven Bay Area Counties, providing low-income clients with free civil legal assistance related to a variety of critical issues, including consumer protection, housing, health care, immigration, and domestic violence and sexual assault prevention. She also serves as a facilitator for Youth Transforming Justice, a non-profit, restorative diversion program for teens.
Get to Know Anna
I love that antitrust law is continually changing. The Sherman Act is a statute of few words, but an enormous body of jurisprudence has developed around it through the common law. As societal values change and new technologies develop, antitrust law adapts with it. I think there is an increasing understanding that antitrust law plays an important role in the health of our economy and our democracy. Antitrust is intellectually interesting, but it is also very meaningful.
Volunteering in my community. I am president of the Association of Latino Marin Attorneys and a volunteer judge for Marin County Youth Court, a diversion program for youth based on restorative-justice principles.
As the child of immigrants and the first in my family to attend college, I have felt an enormous duty to serve this country, which has truly been a land of opportunity for my parents and grandparents. My mom, the Puerto Rican-born daughter of a garment worker, and my dad, the son of a US Marine and letter carrier, instilled in me not just the value of education but open-mindedness.
My husband and I are avid tandem cyclists. A few years back, we became the first tandem couple to complete “La Vuelta,” a 375-mile, three-day ride circumnavigating the island of Puerto Rico. Also, I’m a pretty decent baker: My peach pie once earned honorable mention at the Marin County Fair!
- Defending the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company in a criminal price-fixing investigation, securing a complete acquittal following three trials against the Department of Justice.
- Representing a performing rights society in its antitrust litigation with a consortium of radio station owners.
- Defending an international automobile manufacturer in an antitrust class action, achieving a favorable settlement on the eve of trial.
- On behalf of a genetic testing company, won a preliminary injunction preventing the government from enforcing regulations that would limit access to prenatal screening laboratories
- Providing Covid-19 re-opening advice to several organizations including a global supplier of semiconductors and a computer hardware manufacturer.
- Advising a global manufacturer on labor antitrust matters and an internal investigation.
- Advising an entity in a civil antitrust investigation in the esports industry.
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- California
Court Admissions
- US District Court, Eastern and Northern Districts of California
- US Court of Appeals, First and Ninth Circuits
Education
- University of California at Berkeley, J.D.: California Law Review; Order of the Coif
- Yale College, B.A
Honors & Awards
- Named a Future Star by Benchmark Litigation (2024)
- Named to the Daily Journal’s list of “Top 100 Lawyers” (2023)
- Recognized by Best Lawyers® for Criminal Defense: White-Collar in San Francisco, CA (2023-2024)
- Recommended by The Legal 500 US for Cartel (2022, 2023)
- Named to the “500 Leading Litigators in America” list by Lawdragon (2022)
- Selected by the Daily Journal as a Top Woman Lawyer (2022)
- Selected as one of the Daily Journal’s “Top Antitrust Lawyers in California” (2021)
- Recommended by The Legal 500 US (2020)
- Minority Bar Coalition Unity Award (2020)
- Assistant Attorney General’s Award (2007, 2011, 2014)
Professional Activities
Clerkships
- Honorable Douglas P. Woodlock, United States District Court, District of Massachusetts
Adjunct Professor
- University of California, Berkeley Law School (2014-2016)
- University of California, Hastings College of Law (2012-2013)
Leadership
- Vice Chair, ABA Antitrust Trial Practice Committee (2022-present)
- Deputy Regional Director of Programs, Hispanic National Bar Association (2020-present)
- Board Member, Bay Area Legal Aid (2020-present)
- Board Member, Youth Leadership Institute (2020-present)
- President, Association of Latino Marin Attorneys (2019-2020)
- Board Member, Marin County Bar Association (2016-2019)
- Steering Committee Member, Marin Coalition to End Human Trafficking (2015-2018)
- Treasurer, Federal Bar Association, Criminal Section (2015-2017)
- Chair, Marin Women’s Commission (2014-2016)
- Bay Area Chapter Board Member, American Constitution Society (2009-2014)
Speaking Engagements
- “Oral History of the LCD Screens Case,” ABA Antitrust Section Podcast (January 2024)
- “Roundtable on the DOJ Leniency Program,” ABA Antitrust Law Section (August 2023)
- “The Delicate Dance of Joint Defense Groups,” ABA Antitrust Section Podcast (July 2023)
- “Cartel Investigations, Domestic & International,” ABA 2022 Antitrust Masters Course Conference (October 2022)
- “The Defense Perspective on Hot Issues & Trends in White Collar, Securities, and Antitrust Enforcement,” Conference Sponsored by the Federal Bar Association, the ABA, and the Women’s White Collar Defense Association (February 2020)
- “What Does a Price Fixer Look Like? Understanding the Profile of Criminal Antitrust Defendants,” ABA Antitrust Section Podcast (February 2020)
- “Antitrust and Diversity” 12th Annual San Francisco and Silicon Valley Legal Market Conference (December 2019)
- “Breaking Up Is So Hard to Do: Can the Antitrust Law Be Used to Bust Up “Big Tech” Companies?” Hispanic National Bar Association's Annual Convention (September 2019)
Recent Publications
- “What California Can Teach Us About a World Without Non-Competes,” (co-authors Julia Schiller and Mike Rosenblatt), American Bar Association Antitrust Source Magazine (December 2023)
- “Are Sustainability and Competition Truly Incompatible?,” (co-authors Kelse Moen, Emme Tyler, and Molly Shuminer), The Recorder (February 2023)
- “Why Economics Matters in Criminal Antitrust Cases” (co-authors Kelse Moen and John Gonzalez), American Bar Association Antitrust Magazine (Spring 2023)
- “When Silence Is Not Golden: Real World Implications of Non-Parties “Taking the Fifth” in Civil Proceedings,” (co-authors Michael Tubach and Trisha Parikh), American Bar Association Antitrust Magazine Volume 35, No. 2 (Spring 2021)
Corporate & Government Experience
- Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force
- Assistant Chief, San Francisco Office, US Department of Justice, Antitrust Division
- Special Assistant US Attorney, Northern District of California