Antitrust and Competition Regulation and Enforcement
Our Antitrust and Competition Regulation and Enforcement practice includes all aspects of antitrust and competition-related regulatory compliance and defense of clients in antitrust and competition investigations and regulatory enforcement actions.
Our team includes several former federal prosecutors and we regularly assist companies and executives in regulatory investigations relating to allegations of antitrust and competition law violations. Whether responding to a DOJ criminal investigation or an FTC civil investigation, our Chambers and The Legal 500-ranked white collar defense and corporate investigations team has a superb record in achieving favorable results on behalf of our clients. In enforcement actions, we are skilled trial lawyers and are comfortable handling cases in federal courts as well as before FTC administrative law judges.
We have particular strength in helping companies navigate parallel government and civil actions, working with them to determine the most advantageous litigation strategy, including working with economic experts as appropriate, when facing criminal and civil actions relating to the same conduct. We also have significant appellate experience in antitrust and competition matters.
We also regularly counsel clients on regulatory compliance matters for companies across a variety of industries, including representing parties contemplating mergers, acquisitions, and other transactions with competitive implications before the FTC, DOJ, and other regulators. We conduct internal investigations as part of our compliance counseling, when appropriate.
Two of our partners have served in leadership roles within the ABA Antitrust Section for years, and our senior attorneys regularly lecture and write on issues of interest to the antitrust community.
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Antitrust and Competition Investigations
Defended one of the country’s largest manufacturers of disposable cups and plastic cutlery against allegations of criminal and civil cartel activity in the industry; no criminal charges were brought and obtained dismissal of civil case.
Represented a commodities trading firm in connection with a Department of Justice criminal antitrust investigation of alleged price-fixing of brokerage commissions in energy trading.
Represented a road salt manufacturer in a criminal antitrust investigation by the DOJ Antitrust Division and various state attorneys general, avoiding any charges against the client.
Read MoreMelissa H Maxman was quoted in a Bloomberg article regarding Google’s internet dominance and the effects on internet searches, noting that “bringing plaintiff cases in the U.S. will be challenging, especially after the Federal Trade Commission closed its investigation of Google in 2013.”
The Capitol Forum Interview Series features a discussion with Melissa H Maxman, Managing Partner of C&G's Washington, D.C. office.
View the interview here.
Cohen & Gresser is pleased to announce the opening of its fourth office in Washington, D.C. The Washington office will be led by partner Melissa H Maxman, and will handle a range of commercial litigation and regulatory enforcement matters, with a focus on U.S. antitrust issues, criminal and civil litigation, and compliance and regulatory disputes in the federal agencies.
- Juries acquitted two sets of defendants of antitrust claims involving labor markets.
- The Antitrust Division will continue to pursue labor cases and has three more trials pending.
- The Division is willing to accept some losses in trials as a cost of taking a more aggressive enforcement position.
In this C&G Client Alert, Melissa H Maxman, Ronald F Wick, Erica Lai, and Danielle Morello discuss the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) announcement that it will now consider crediting companies for “robust” compliance programs at the charging stage of criminal antitrust investigations. This signals a reversal of the DOJ’s longstanding policy of allowing substantial penalty reductions only for “early-in” whistleblowers.
Ronald F Wick discusses the implications of the Federal Trade Commission's plan to create a new task force focused on monitoring competition in U.S. technology markets in his latest C&G Client Alert.
Considering traditional antitrust principles, it is hard to conceive the government losing this case.
Erica Lai served as the moderator of a panel discussion titled “Promoting Women’s Professional Development And How Men Can Help – During the Challenges of the Pandemic and Beyond.” The panel was hosted by American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section’s Women.Connected committee.
Melissa H Maxman guest lectured at Fordham Law School’s Global Cartels course on the topic of International Cartel Enforcement and The Globalization of Antitrust.
Melissa H Maxman participated in a presentation, titled “The Incoherent Justification for Naked Restraints of Competition: What the Dental Self-Regulation Cases Tell Us about the Cavities in Antitrust Law” at the 19th Annual Loyola Antitrust Colloquium at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Partner Melissa Maxman appeared on Legal Talk Network’s podcast series ‘On the Road’ on the ‘Antitrust Exemptions in Sports--& More!’ episode. She joined host Creighton Macy of Baker McKenzie, and panelists Sathya Gosselin of Hausfeld and Kim Scott of Miller Canfield, in a discussion about antitrust exemptions in sports, antitrust careers, and litigating sports cases.
Ron Wick moderated this second installment in the Civil Practice & Procedure Committee's Class Action Series, which offered insights into best practices in presenting and rebutting economic evidence, including retaining and working with experts; tactical considerations and evidentiary issues unique to class actions; and the impact of the Supreme Court's most recent class certification decisions on antitrust class actions.
Consumer Antitrust Institute in Chicago
ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting Panel, Washington DC
International Association of Korean Lawyers, IAKL Seoul Conference Program, Washington, D.C.
Association of Transportation Law Professionals (“ATLP”) 87th Annual Meeting in New Orleans
Melissa was a primary commentator at this event.
Melissa was a panelist at this event.
Melissa was a speaker at this event.
Melissa was a speaker at this event.
Melissa was a speaker at this CLE course.
Melissa was a speaker at this event.
Multiple presentations while at the U.S. Department of Justice, including to the U.S. Navy, officials and military in Guam, and agencies and governmental bodies in California, Nevada, and Alaska.
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