Antitrust and Competition

As vigorous antitrust and competition law enforcement continues around the globe, effectively managing antitrust litigation and regulatory risk have become ever-more critical parts of business strategy and decision making. We can help.

Our Antitrust & Competition team represents clients in contentious and non-contentious matters before the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, the European Commission, and various National Competition Authorities and U.S. state courts. We are also in an era of growth: Recent additions to our team include the Immediate Past Chair of the Antitrust Law Section of the American Bar Association and former Chief Antitrust Counsel of a Fortune 50 company and the former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division at the U.S. DOJ. Over the last year, we’ve welcomed to Paul Hastings numerous practitioners from Los Angeles to Paris who serve to strengthen our offerings in Antitrust and Competition, mirroring our ability to provide the sophisticated legal guidance our clients require.

We have extensive experience advising on the following key areas:

Merger Control. We are recognized for our ability to successfully navigate the merger approval process.
Cartels. Our deep bench of investigations and enforcement attorneys offers clients wide-ranging experience in Asia, Europe, the U.S. and South America.
Litigation. Our practice is renowned for our ability to handle bet-the-company antitrust litigation and M&A litigation.
Compliance. Our multidisciplinary team has encountered and successfully navigated a wide range of issues at the crossroads of antitrust, compliance, due diligence and risk mitigation.

Client Successes

Merger Control

Represented Illumina in the ongoing investigation by the European Commission in relation to the $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail
Represented COSCO in relation to its $6.3 billion acquisition of OOCL (including filings in the EU and South Korea)

Cartel

Represented a large national health insurer in a highly-publicized antitrust matter in connection with opposition to a proposed merger with another leading health insurer by the DOJ and several state attorneys general
Successfully defended Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) in connection with multiple investigations by DOJ criminal antitrust and other global regulators of alleged cartel and manipulation of LIBOR; no global regulator took any action against SMBC

Abuse of Dominance

Represented a U.S. technology company in an ongoing investigation for alleged abuse of dominance at the European Commission level
Represented a U.S. technology company in two ongoing investigations for alleged abuse of dominance at the French level

Antitrust Litigation

Represent digital dentistry leader Align Technology in three cases alleging monopolization of two separate markets, including putative class actions brought by prominent plaintiffs firms
Represented LG Display in dozens of antitrust actions alleging price fixing of TFT-LCD panels brought by individual companies, class consumers, and attorneys general in MDL proceedings in N.D. California and various state courts

State Aid Investigations

Represented a UK-based company in relation to an in-depth state aid investigation by the European Commission

Our Government Experience, Your Advantage

Our practice includes some of the leading antitrust lawyers in the U.S. Our lawyers have held key positions in the U.S. government, including at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, the Federal Trade Commission, and state Attorney General's offices. While in government service, we have:

Argued the largest vertical merger appeal in recent decades
Brought novel merger challenges involving nascent competitors
Litigated merger lawsuits and settlements
Negotiated divestiture settlements
Supervised countless merger reviews
Revised the government's horizontal and vertical merger guidelines

Guiding Clients Through Their Toughest Challenges and Deals

Our team of former U.S. federal prosecutors and international competition specialists, along with our global platform, enable us to defend our clients’ interests across continents. We are among only a handful of firms worldwide with the capability to defend associated “follow-on” civil litigation from investigations in Asia, the United States, and Europe. We have substantial experience navigating compliance with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, including leading multiple responses to DOJ and FTC reviews and second requests. Our team is also renowned for managing non-party responses to regulatory merger investigations, including advocating on behalf of impacted third parties.