– Chambers USA 2011
“Kaye Scholer maintains an impressive slate of antitrust work... A team of nine partners and more than 20 other antitrust lawyers in litigation, cartel and merger matters that are often placed at the intersection of intellectual property and antitrust law. While pharmaceuticals clients have been a speciality, the firm has proven over the past year that its abilities extend to all segments of the economy.”
– Global Competition Review, December 2011 全部显示
In a challenging economy, employees under pressure to perform sometimes “push the envelope” even in companies with robust compliance policies, exposing their employers to private antitrust litigation and, sometimes, to government investigations and enforcement actions.
Over the past few years, US enforcement authorities –along with their global counterparts –have been more assertive in initiating investigations, pursuing perceived wrongdoing and challenging transactions they view as potentially anticompetitive. In addition, the DOJ and other US law enforcement agencies are going to be increasingly working together more collaboratively in areas where their interests intersect, such as in the financial sector. Couple that with a zealous focus on several other business sectors and increasing international cooperation, and the result is a climate of increased scrutiny on business.
Kaye Scholer’s Antitrust practice provides the experience and insight necessary to assist clients facing such scrutiny and to navigate the complex competition laws that affect business around the world. Our team of lawyers in New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles and Frankfurt assists clients in complex civil and criminal investigations, litigation and transactional matters. We also provide a wide range of counseling and educational services to clients to prevent problems from arising whenever possible.
Our approach is not to tell clients what they cannot do; rather we guide them toward achieving their business objectives within the parameters of the law. We pride ourselves on our ability to explain and apply complex legal and economic principles, and to understand and appreciate our clients’ businesses and objectives. That combination enables us to provide practical, common sense business counseling and to litigate effectively when necessary. And when clients face a “forensic problem” – government civil and criminal investigation, class action litigation, patent/antitrust issue or administrative litigation – we are tenacious at working with them to obtain an appropriate resolution.
Recent examples of our work include:
- Obtained summary judgment dismissing an action by California retail pharmacies alleging a conspiracy among brand name prescription drug manufacturers to fix prices
- Currently defending a major US railroad against price fixing claims in DC federal court
- Assisted a multinational pharmaceutical company in obtaining FTC clearance of several transactions, including its $120 million acquisition of a promising development company.
- Successfully defended Experian in a six-week trial in federal court in Los Angeles against charges that its subsidiary, ConsumerInfo, attempted to monopolize the online credit reporting and monitoring market
Our antitrust team provides clients with the full range of prevention and remediation support:
Prevention
- Counseling on business strategies, M&A, licensing, patent (ANDA) litigation settlements, competitor collaborations
- Pre-merger filings and negotiations with government agencies to obtain clearances
- Executive and employee education and compliance training, including developing written compliance policies, guides and manuals, and conducting seminars
Remediation
- Administrative litigation before the FTC and ITC
- Civil and criminal investigations and proceedings
- Class action and multi-jurisdictional litigation
- Litigation between individual parties
- Patent/antitrust litigation -- bringing infringement actions and defending against antitrust counterclaims or separate antitrust cases