Insuring compliance with the antitrust laws in the United States can be a time-consuming and complex endeavor. Two different federal agencies -- the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice -- enforce multiple antitrust laws and sometimes disagree on enforcement policies and priorities. The mandates of these agencies frequently intersect with the missions of other federal agencies, including the Patent and Trademark Office, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Communications Commission. Further complexity is introduced by the State Attorneys General, which enforce divergent state antitrust laws and emphasize varying enforcement priorities. Criminal sanctions for price-fixing, civil litigants seeking treble damages, and class actions further raise the stakes that companies face in the United States.
O'Melveny's US Antitrust and Competition Practice is well-positioned to guide companies through this daunting maze. O’Melveny offers unmatched breadth and quality of expertise in litigating antitrust cases in federal and state courts, representing companies before federal and state antitrust agencies, and counseling clients on the nuances of both federal and state antitrust laws. Our lawyers have extensive experience representing both companies and individuals facing criminal antitrust charges, litigating complex civil class actions, and obtaining regulatory approval of high-profile mergers. We provide ongoing counsel to clients facing complex and evolving business issues, including the design of antitrust-compliant licensing and distribution agreements and the development of legal strategies in precedent-setting price-fixing and monopolization cases.
Our lawyers augment their capabilities by partnering closely with renowned economists and consultants. Our advocacy and antitrust victories have set legal precedents, changed industry landscapes, and shaped antitrust policy worldwide. Indeed, our efforts have been recognized by organizations like
Global Competition Review,
Chambers USA,
Legal 500, and the
International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers. Further, many of our lawyers have distinguished themselves through their innovative efforts and leadership before the bench, at the negotiating table, and within the Bar. Within our ranks are veteran Executive Branch and Capitol Hill policy makers, some of the most respected litigators and regulatory antitrust attorneys, and experts in antitrust and competition policy in the United States.
O’Melveny’s antitrust team has successfully represented companies in many sectors of the economy, including aviation, banking, chemicals, defense, entertainment, health care, high technology, manufacturing, oil and gas, retailing, and telecommunications.
Key Facts
- 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.
- 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.”
- Competition Law360 named O’Melveny a “Competition Group of the Year" in both 2011 and 2009.
- Our Washington, DC practice was chosen as the “Best Law Firm in Washington DC for Antitrust Work 2009/10” by Corporate INTL Magazine.
- 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.
- US News & World Report / Best Lawyers ranked our National Antitrust practice in Tier 1 in its inaugural "Best Law Firms" survey (2010).
- Legal 500 consistently recommends our Antitrust/Competition Practice for competition matters. 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.”
- 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 Global (2011) continues to commend 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.”
Cartels and criminal investigations
-
• Global experience in amnesty/leniency programs in the US, EU, and Japan
• Price fixing and bid rigging
• Customer and market sharing
-
Civil litigation and advocacy
-
• Direct and indirect purchaser class actions
• Litigation between corporations alleging monopolization and other antitrust violations
• Litigation at the crossroads of antitrust laws and intellectual property rights
• Representing clients before the European Commission, the JFTC, FTC, DOJ and MOFCOM
-
Counseling and complianc
-
• Comprehensive compliance audits and compliance programs
• Exclusive dealing
• Mergers and joint ventures
• Monopolization and abuse of market power
• Patent and know-how licensing
• Purchasing agreements and monopsony power
• Refusals to deal
• Standard-setting organizations and trade association activities
• Vertical price and non-price restraints
-
Mergers