Antitrust/Competition
Arnold & Porter's Antitrust/Competition practice is recognized worldwide for its breadth and depth of experience and its track record of excellence before government enforcers and in the courts. Our strong understanding of the antitrust agencies, frequent dealings with them, and deep bench of lawyers with senior government experience in the United States and Europe provide us with valuable insight and credibility — key elements for clearing deals and addressing criminal and civil conduct investigations. Our antitrust litigators have extensive experience before judges in jurisdictions favored by the antitrust plaintiff's bar and a record of winning before trial, at trial, and on appeal. Because our Antitrust/Competition practice regularly handles the full range of complex antitrust matters, our clients benefit from the multiple perspectives brought to each engagement.
Sophisticated Understanding of Global Competition Authorities: Our antitrust attorneys have held significant senior leadership positions within the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, and the European Commission.
Strategic Resolution of Complex and Challenging Engagements: Clients come to Arnold & Porter to handle their most complex, challenging transactions and antitrust class action litigation.
Comprehensive Coverage: Our Antitrust/Competition team provides solutions for the full range of complex U.S. and EU antitrust issues, including mergers and joint ventures, cartels and other horizontal agreements, exclusionary conduct, agreements with suppliers and distributors, the intellectual property-antitrust interface, and abusive conduct by dominant firms and state aid in the EU.
Experience Highlights
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Abbvie in its $63 billion acquisition of Allergan, the manufacturer of the well-known medication Botox. The Wall Street Journal reported that this was one of the biggest mergers in the healthcare sector in the year it was announced.
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Fitbit in its $2.1 billion sale to Google.
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AT&T Inc. in its $85.4 billion stock-and-cash acquisition of Time Warner Inc. We successfully defended AT&T in the first vertical merger trial and appeal in decades.
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Monsanto Company in obtaining US and EU competition clearances in connection with the company's $66 billion acquisition by Bayer, as well as coordinated antitrust/competition approvals in almost 30 other jurisdictions worldwide.
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Major technology manufacturer in securing the dismissal of an antitrust case that alleged an unlawful employee no-poach agreement and preserving the dismissal on appeal.
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Oakland Raiders in winning dismissal of an antitrust challenge to the Oakland Raiders’ relocation to Las Vegas and preserving the judgment on appeal to the Ninth Circuit. City of Oakland v. Oakland Raiders et al.
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Major pharmaceutical company in successfully defending it in putative antitrust class actions alleging that defendants procured patent by fraud and engaged in sham patent litigation. United Food and Commercial Workers Unions and Employers Midwest Health Benefits Fund, et al. v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., et al.
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HarperCollins Publishers and Penguin Random House in multiple private retailer litigation matters following federal and state government investigations into the sale of eBooks. DNAML PTY, Limited v. Apple, Inc., Abbey House Media Inc. v. Apple Inc., and Diesel Ebooks, LLC v. Apple Inc., et al.
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General Electric in obtaining antitrust clearance in the US and Europe for the company's €12.35 billion acquisition of Alstom.
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Visa Inc. in 40 litigation actions, consolidated into MDL 1720, brought by merchants contending that practices relating to so-called "interchange" fees and "no surcharge" rules violate the antitrust law. In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation.
