International cartel enforcement is increasingly a coordinated effort by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the European Commission (EC), and other competition authorities. As a result, we employ a coordinated, global strategy to defend clients. Our attorneys in the US and in Europe work in tandem with a network of counsel in other countries to fashion and implement a comprehensive strategy in criminal antitrust matters.
Arnold & Porter LLP lawyers represent an international clientele of business organizations and individuals. We are or have been involved in the most well-known industry-wide criminal and international cartel investigations conducted by the DOJ Antitrust Division or the European Commission (or both) for many years. These include investigations into the following industries, among others: municipal bonds, airline passenger and cargo, auto parts, refrigeration components, high-voltage power cable, cathode ray tubes (CRT), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)/computer memory devices, maritime shipping, optical disk drives, food additives, industrial chemicals, cellular phones, dairy foods, vitamins, orthopaedic implant devices, and industrial diamonds.
In the US, a key aspect of our cartel practice is the defense of private antitrust litigation which regularly follows closely after the announcement of a government investigation. In the EU, our attorneys litigate cartel cases in the Luxembourg-based General Court and the European Court of Justice (e.g., Dutch bitumen, gas insulated switchgears, international removals).
Our attorneys have obtained corporate amnesty agreements, secured nonprosecution dispositions, negotiated countless plea agreements, as well as tried cases on their merits. In a particularly significant criminal antitrust trial, we achieved dismissal of the US government's criminal case against GE for allegedly fixing the price of industrial diamonds. Other representations include:
- Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. and Roche Vitamins Inc. in resolution of the largest criminal price-fixing case in US antitrust history.
- Micron Technology, Inc. in obtaining amnesty in connection with the DOJ's criminal investigation of DRAM pricing.
- A major financial services firm in connection with government investigations into the marketing and sale of guaranteed investment contracts and other financial instruments to municipalities.
There have also been numerous nonpublic representations where we have successfully advocated for declination of prosecution and obtained other favorable results for our clients.
Click here to see a representative list of our experience with respect to criminal antitrust and cartel matters.