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Antitrust | Complex Business Litigation | Government Enforcement | Insurance
Intellectual Property | Securities Litigation
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How big is our practice group?
Thirteen partners and twenty-one associates.
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Mariel Goetz (Harvard Law School '08) has been a lawyer at Ropes & Gray since 2008. Most recently, Mariel worked on a second request from the Federal Trade Commission received in connection with a merger investigation. Mariel played a critical role in working with the client and economists to prepare responses to the FTC's requests. |
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What
do we do?
We represent a broad range of domestic and international clients, including private equity, investment and hedge fund clients, corporations, individuals and trade and professional associations, in all aspects of antitrust and competition law counseling and litigation. We represent clients in criminal and civil investigations before state and federal antitrust enforcement agencies and litigate the full range of antitrust claims – both for plaintiffs and defendants – in courts and in arbitrations. Our attorneys regularly counsel clients in connection with joint ventures and distribution agreements and we also obtain clearances for mergers and acquisitions from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. We have particular expertise in the areas of high technology, life sciences, transportation, telecommunications and health care. We also have considerable experience in handling complex issues at the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property, including matters involving litigating monopolization claims, and counseling with respect to distribution, licensing, or pooling arrangements. |
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Michael Laufert (Georgetown University Law Center ’09) joined Ropes & Gray in 2009. Michael has worked on merger investigations and antitrust litigation, and he is particularly interested in the intersection between antitrust and intellectual property law. Recently, Michael helped draft a successful motion to dismiss a class action antitrust suit involving allegations of illegal tying and monopolization. |
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have we done lately? |
Civil Antitrust Litigation
- In re ODD Antitrust Litigation. We represent a manufacturer of optical disk drive products in defending class actions alleging participation in an international price fixing cartel.
- In re Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation. We represent Polar Air Cargo and Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings in consolidated antitrust class actions that allege a conspiracy among major air cargo carriers to fix charges related to air cargo transportation worldwide.
- Marchese v. Cablevision Systems Corp. We represent Cablevision in defending a class action challenging Cablevision’s failure to create full compatibility with third-party set-top boxes as unlawful tying. For a description of an associate’s role in this matter, click here.
- In re Cathode Tube Antitrust Litigation. We successfully secured dismissal of price fixing claims brought against our client, Daewoo International Corporation, in a case alleging an international conspiracy to fix price charges for CRTs and CRT products.
Criminal Antitrust Investigations and Defense
- We represent multiple executives accused of price fixing in an international criminal investigation by the Antitrust Division in the auto parts industry.
- We represent the Chief Financial Officer of a major municipal bond firm accused by the Antitrust Division and state attorneys general of price fixing.
- We achieved a highly favorable result, including a non-prosecution agreement, for a vendor of Internet services in connection with a criminal investigation of an alleged bid-rigging and market-allocation scheme.
Antitrust Mergers & Acquisitions
- McKesson/U.S. Oncology. We represented Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and its portfolio company, U.S. Oncology, before the FTC in successfully clearing the sale of U.S. Oncology to McKesson, a major pharmaceutical distribution company.
- LabCorp/Genzyme. We represented Genzyme before the FTC in successfully clearing the $925 million sale of its esoteric laboratory services business to LabCorp, including coordinating worldwide antitrust filings.
- Becton Dickinson/Accuri. We represented Becton Dickinson before the Federal Trade Commission on its $205 million acquisition of Accuri Cytometers, Inc., a company that develops and manufactures personal flow cytometers for researchers. For a description of an associate’s role in this matter, click here.
- Caterpillar/EMD.We represented a consortium of private equity companies in their $820 million sale of Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. (EMD), the world’s largest builder of diesel-electric locomotives for commercial railroads, before the Antitrust Division in clearing its sale to Caterpillar, Inc. We also represented EMD in securing merger clearances in Brazil, Canada, and South Africa.
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Melissa Davenport (Georgetown University Law Center ’08) has been a member of the Antitrust Department of Ropes & Gray since 2010. Melissa has focused on assisting clients undergoing merger review by the Federal Trade Commission, drafting white papers and developing support for antitrust arguments in response to FTC inquiries. |
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Jane
Willis (Harvard Law School '94) is a Litigation partner
in the Antitrust group who regularly handles, among other
things, antitrust agency enforcement actions (such as price-fixing
investigations), Federal Trade Commission and Department
Of Justice merger review proceedings, and private antitrust
litigation. |
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When do we meet?
The group meets quarterly over lunch to review and discuss client and legal developments.
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