Kent A. Gardiner is the Chairman of Crowell & Moring LLP. He specializes in antitrust and other complex litigation, including class actions, antitrust/intellectual property cases, and multi-district litigation. He is a member of the New York and Washington, D.C. bars, as well as many federal, district and appellate courts.
Prior to entering private practice, Kent was a trial attorney with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In that position he tried various price-fixing, bid-rigging cases, as well as mail fraud, perjury and other criminal cases. He was responsible for directing numerous grand jury investigations involving antitrust, RICO and fraud charges.
At Crowell & Moring, Kent litigates antitrust and other complex cases, and represents clients in grand jury investigations and other proceedings before the Department of Justice. Kent also represents corporations that have been injured by pricing overcharges or other fraudulent conduct, to help them fulfill their obligations to shareholders to recover those assets. Kent also devotes a considerable portion of his practice to counseling and training companies on reducing antitrust and other litigation risks.
Kent has been recognized by Chambers USA 2008 as a leading lawyer in the area of antitrust law, cited for knowing "how to take a hard line when needs be, but ...equally savvy at reaching settlements using diplomacy."
Recent matters include:
· Represented plaintiff DuPont in case alleging misappropriation of over 100 trade secrets relating to KEVLAR® fiber technology in one of the largest trade secret misappropriation cases in United States history; obtained a $919.9 million verdict against Kolon for the theft of KEVLAR® technology.
· Representing an international airline in relation to domestic and international investigations into alleged worldwide collusion in the air cargo industry.
· Representing a Class I railroad in defense of Section 1 multi-jurisdictional class action litigation alleging conspiracy to fix fuel surcharge prices.
· Representing a major agricultural company in connection with an ongoing international Department of Justice investigation.
· Representing a group of corporations in opt-out litigation against the largest global computer chip manufacturers for their involvement in an international conspiracy to fix prices in the dynamic random access memory (DRAM) industry; obtained substantial recoveries.
· Represented a major chemicals manufacturer in global antitrust investigations and related class action litigations; obtained non-prosecution commitment.
· Represented a major metals manufacturer in DOJ and European Commission investigation; closed without prosecution.
· Represented a major construction company in international government contracts/antitrust investigation; closed without prosecution.
· Tried antitrust/contract/tort defense case with $200 million in claimed damages; settled mid-trial for no damages and plaintiffs' payment of defense costs.
· Tried criminal antitrust case in marine construction industry; obtained dismissal at close of prosecutor's case.
· Represented more than one hundred companies over the last 10 years in recovering overcharges by suppliers involved in price-fixing conspiracies.
Publications
· "Reinvented Law Firms Emphasize Collective Knowledge," The National Law Journal (June 13, 2011). Author: Kent A. Gardiner.
· "Firms Need to Reinvent Relationships With Clients," The National Law Journal (June 6, 2011). Author: Kent A. Gardiner.
· "After the Honeymoon - It's not just the chase: What happens post-merger matters more," Legal Times, Vol. XXX, No. 46 (November 12, 2007). Author: Kent A. Gardiner.
· "Exchanging Glances," The Global Competition Review (August/September 2007). Co-Authors: Kent A. Gardiner, Bridget E. Calhoun, Matthew F. Scarlato and Volker Soyez.
· "Private Damages Actions and Global Recovery Solutions for Multinationals: Understanding the Pitfalls of US Class Actions," Global Competition Review of the Americas (October 2006). Co-Authors: Kent A. Gardiner, Daniel A. Sasse and Jerome A. Murphy.
· "What Is 'Quality of Life'?," Legal Times (February 27, 2006). Author: Kent A. Gardiner.
· "Explosives Antitrust Litigation Continues," Crowell & Moring Mining Law Monitor (October 1998). Co-Authors: Richard McMillan, Kent Gardiner and David M. Schnorrenberg.
· "DOJ Antitrust Division Approves Securities Industry Y2K Plan," The "Year 2000 Problem" Legal Update, Vol. 1, No. 2 (August 1998). Co-Authors: Kent A. Gardiner and Jonathan A. Epstein.
· "Responding to Kodak: How to Defend Your Company's Aftermarket," Corporate Counsellor (January & February 1996). Co-Authors: Kent A. Gardiner and Wm. Randolph Smith.
· "Patching Antitrust Flaws With IP Rights," Legal Times (October 1995). Author: Kent A. Gardiner.
Alerts & Newsletters
· "The Fourth Circuit Derails Class Action by Sending Conspiracy Claims to Individual Arbitrations," Antitrust Law Alert (October 17, 2007). Contacts: Kent A. Gardiner, Clifton S. Elgarten, Shari Ross Lahlou.
· "Supreme Court Decision Raises Standard for Pleading Conspiracy Cases Under Section 1 of the Sherman Act," Antitrust Law Alert (May 22, 2007). Contacts: Jeffrey H. Howard, Kent A. Gardiner.
Speaking Engagements
· "Trends and Developments in Global Competition Law," The Interdisciplinary Centre for Competition Law and Policy (LCC) and Crowell & Moring LLP Annual Conference 2008 (May 2008). Panel Chaired by: Kent A. Gardiner.
· "Antitrust Update," ABA Corporate Counseling Committee (October 11, 2007). Presenters: Wm. Randolph Smith, Kent A. Gardiner, Jeane A. Thomas, Robert Lipstein, Christopher E. Ondeck, Bridget E. Calhoun, Daniel A. Sasse, Werner Berg and Thomas De Meese.
· "Trends and Developments in Global Competition Law," The Interdisciplinary Centre for Competition Law and Policy (LCC) and Crowell & Moring LLP, Brussels, Belgium (May 2007). Presenter: Kent A. Gardiner.
· "The Legal Implications of Business Conduct in Europe and Beyond: Risks and Rights," Paris, France (October 18-19, 2006). Panel Discussion: Kent A. Gardiner.
· "Damages as a Means to Incentives Claimants to Start an Action," Private Enforcement in EC Competition Law: The Green Paper on Damages Action - Brussels, Belgium (March 9, 2005). Panel Discussion: Kent A. Gardiner.