Mark Schechter, one of America's foremost antitrust attorneys, is Of Counsel in Dewey & LeBoeuf's Antitrust Practice Group specializing in antitrust counseling and the defense of corporations in merger, civil and criminal antitrust matters before the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and foreign competition enforcement authorities. He also specializes in follow-on antitrust private class action litigation.
Mr. Schechter has played a significant role in shaping the modern antitrust enforcement landscape. Among the seminal merger and civil government cases handled by Mr. Schechter are Boeing's merger with McDonnell Douglas, GTE's challenge to the merger of WorldCom and MCI, American Airline's challenge to the immunized combination of the Skyteam and Wings International Alliances and Whirlpool's merger with Maytag. He was also among the first defense lawyers in America to secure amnesty from criminal prosecution under the Antitrust Division Corporate Leniency Policy and has since represented numerous corporations in major DOJ cartel investigations, including the defense of Samsung in the DRAM cases and Land O'Lakes in the Milk cases, and in follow-on civil class action cases including the Air Cargo and Digital Music litigation.
During 18 years at the Antitrust Division, where Mr. Schechter last served as Deputy Director of Operations, he supervised major enforcement initiatives including the cases against Microsoft and the major airlines. He also was responsible for coordinating competition advocacy efforts with other federal agencies and the White House, and he was one of the engineers of the Antitrust Division's current policy governing the treatment of intellectual property under antitrust laws. For his work at the Justice Department, he was presented by the Attorney General with the John Marshall Award for Outstanding Legal Achievement.
Mr. Schechter continues to help shape the antitrust landscape as a nongovernmental advisor to US antitrust agencies on the International Competition Network and by providing assistance to emerging antitrust authorities as a consultant to the Competition Division of the OECD.
Mr. Schechter has been recognized for his work by Global Counsel 3000, Chambers Global "The World's Leading Lawyers," Chambers USA "America's Leading Business Lawyers," Global Competition Review's "International Who's Who of Business Lawyers," Global Competition Review's "International Who's Who of Competition Lawyers," Washington DC Super Lawyers "The Best Lawyers in America," and Who's Who Legal's "The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers."
Representative Matters
· Whirlpool/Maytag Merger. Successfully defended, before the Department of Justice, the combination of two major household appliance producers to create the largest appliance company in the world.
· Bertelsmann/Sony Joint Venture. Successfully represented, before the Federal Trade Commission, a combination of BMG and the recorded music business of Sony to create the world's second-largest music company.
· Boeing/McDonnell Douglas Merger. Successfully defended, before the FTC and the European Commission, the combination of two of the three then-existing commercial airplane manufacturers.
· United States v. Chicago Board Options Exchange et al. Successful defense before the Department of Justice and Securities & Exchange Commission, ending in a consent decree of alleged agreements among options exchanges not to multiple list certain option classes.
· United States v. Microsoft Corp. Investigation and settlement by the Justice Department of its Sherman Act § 2 case alleging unlawful monopolization of the personal computer operating system market by Microsoft Corp. while at DOJ.
· United States v. Airline Tariff Publishing Co. & The Eight Major Airlines. Investigation and settlement by the Justice Department of its Sherman Act § 1 case against the eight major domestic airlines alleging use of a computerized fare information system to coordinate price increases and eliminate discounts while at DOJ.
Speeches
· "Double Trouble: Challenges Presented by Dual Jurisdiction Over Regulated Industries in the Transportation Section." ABA 55th Annual Antitrust Law Spring Meeting, Presented by the Transportation Industry Committee, Washington, DC (April 20, 2007).
· "State Action Protection for Boards of Professional Licensure: Are Industry-Dominated Boards the Point Where State Policy and Private Interest Diverge?" ABA 54th Annual Antitrust Law Spring Meeting, Washington, DC (March 31, 2006).
· "Antitrust Economics - Catalyst for Convergence?" George Mason Law Review Symposium - Hot Topics in EU Antitrust Law: What Every Multinational Needs to Know, Washington, DC (September 20, 2005).
· "Antitrust Economics - Catalyst for Convergence?" George Mason Law Review Symposium - Hot Topics in EU Antitrust Law: What Every Multinational Should Know, Washington, DC (September 20, 2005).
Moderator
· "EU Modernization: Challenges and Opportunities." George Mason Law Review Symposium - The New European Antitrust Regime: Implications for Multinationals, Washington, DC (October 6, 2004).
· "2004 EU Competition Law and Policy Workshop: The Relationship between Competition Law and (Liberal) Professions." European University Institute, Florence, Italy (June 11 - 12, 2004).
· "Making Your Antitrust Business Case: Self-Assessment Analysis and the Importance of Economics in the New Regime." British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium - Conference on Modernisation: How EC Antitrust Enforcement will Change in 2004, Brussels, Belgium (March 11, 2004). Presented with Howard T. Rosenblatt.
· "The International Competition Network and Cartel Enforcement." British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium: Understanding Global Cartel Enforcement, Brussels, Belgium (February 11, 2003). Presented with James F. Rill .
· "Business Perspective on Loyalty Contracts." BIAC presentation before the OECD Competition Committee Roundtable on Loyalty Contracts, Paris (June 5, 2002).
· "Beyond Predatory Pricing Under Section 2: American Airlines, Loyalty Discounts, and More." ABA 50th Annual Antitrust Law Spring Meeting, Washington, DC (April 24, 2002).
· "DOT's Recent Decision on the Proposed American Airlines-British Airways Alliance." ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Transportation Industry Committee, (March 22, 2002). Panel Member
· "Convergence and Harmonization at the Multinational Level." The Conference Board, 2002 Antitrust Conference: Antitrust Issues in Today's Economy, New York, NY (March 7, 2002).
· "Challenges Presented by Globalization to Competition Policy." Canadian Competition Policy, Preparing for the Future, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (June 19 - 20, 2001).
· "E-Commerce and Antitrust." Fulcrum Information Services, Antitrust 2001 Seminar, Washington, DC (September 28 - 29, 2000).
· "Mergers in Electric and Gas Industries." Howrey & Simon Seminar: Dealing with Antitrust Issues in Today's Electric & Gas Markets, Washington, DC (September 23, 1999).
· "Antitrust Issues Affecting the Natural Gas and Electric Industries." 22nd Annual Legal Forum, American Gas Association, La Jolla, CA (July 12, 1999).
· "Justice Department, Joint Ventures and Marketplace Competition." 13th Annual Credit Card Institute, Washington, D.C. (May 13, 1999).
· "Antitrust, Innovation, and Intellectual Property." The Conference Board, 1999 Antitrust Conference: Antitrust Issues in Today's Economy, New York City, NY (March 4, 1999).
· "Microsoft." Howrey & Simon Seminar: Government Antitrust Enforcement in Technology Industries: 1999 & Beyond, Menlo Park, CA (February 1999).
· "Antitrust Division Enforcement and Policy in the Agricultural Sector." American Sugar Beet Growers' Association, Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (1999).
· "Microsoft, the Internet and Competition." Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Committee on Telecommunications Law Symposium, New York, NY (1998).
· "Doing the Deal - The Anti-Competitive Aspect." American Bar Association, Section of Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law, Washington, DC (1998).
· "Market Power - The Big Picture." Annual Government Relations Policy Forum, American Gas Association, Orlando, FL (1998).
· "New Directions in Antitrust and Competition Policy." The Conference Board, 1996 Antitrust Conference: Antitrust Issues in Today's Economy, New York, NY (1996).
· "Supplier/Customer Arrangements: The Antitrust Division Perspective." Conference of Business Development Associates, Antitrust 1995, Washington, DC (1995).
· "The Future of International Regulation of Air Transport: International Application of Antitrust Rules." The Institute of Economic Affairs, London, England (1993).
· "Competition Advocacy by Antitrust Authorities." National Association of State Attorneys General, Annual Convention, Salt Lake City, UT (1992).
· "Civil Enforcement of the Antitrust Laws." Practicing Law Institute, New York City, NY (1991).
· "The Prosecutors' Perspective on Contacts with Present and Former Employees Represented by Corporate Counsel." National Association of State Attorneys General, Annual Convention, Salt Lake City, UT (1991).
· "Antitrust Lessons from the Airline Experience." 38th Annual Antitrust Spring Meeting, American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law, Transportation Subcommittee, Washington, DC (1990).
In the News
· "XM, Sirius plan seen testing US antitrust limits." Reuters (February 20, 2007).
· "Low-Fare Rivals Key to US Airways." Reuters (November 2006).
· "US Airways, Delta Deal Would Cut Options." USA Today (November 2006).
· "Merger Move Hit USA." Airline Business (November 2006).
· "US Airways-Delta Deal Would Cut Flights at 25 Airports." Airport Business (November 2006).
· "Why US Air Shunned Northwest for Delta." TheStreet. com (November 2006).
· "Whirlpool Attys Guessed Right on Antitrust Review Focus." Dow Jones Newswires (March 30, 2006).
· "Whirlpool, Maytag deal OK'd." Daily Deal/The Deal (March 29, 2006).
· "Whirlpool Pitches Barnett." Daily Deal/The Deal (February 14, 2006).
· "Samsung's Fuller Disclosure." BusinessWeek (November 30, 2005).
· "2nd look likely for Maytag-Whirlpool." The Deal (October 6, 2005).
· "Northwest, Delta persist in SkyTeam push." The Deal LLC (August 25, 2005).
· "DOT urged to reject bid." The Deal LLC (August 22, 2005).
· "Deal or not, Whirlpool wins." Daily Deal (August 12, 2005).
· "China's Haier is Said to Drop Offer for Maytag." The Wall Street Journal (July 20, 2005).
· "Whirlpool Wants Maytag." TheDeal. com (July 19, 2005).
· "Maytag to Review Informal Offer From Whirlpool." The Wall Street Journal (July 19, 2005).
· "Whirlpool Not Agitated By Market Share Antitrust Concerns." Dow Jones Chinese Financial Wire (July 19, 2005).
· "Antitrust Sanctions Upheld Against American Software Giant." Commercialappeal. com; Seattle Times (December 24, 2004).
· "Insurance First Family Under Fire." USA Today (October 19, 2004).
· "Oracle's Win Could Mean More Tech Mergers in Future Industry is Ripe for Consolidation." USA Today (September 10, 2004).
· "Oracle's Win Could Mean More Tech Mergers in Future Industry is Ripe for Consolidation." Forbes (September 10, 2004).
· "Music to Their Ears." Daily Deal/The Deal (August 23, 2004).
· "South Africa to Offer Leniency." Global Competition Review (April 30, 2004).
· "Microsoft Legal Maneuvers Could Offset EU Sanctions." The Seattle Times (March 25, 2004).
· "EU Sanctions Would Raise Issues for US, Microsoft." Reuters (August 6, 2003).
· "Tech Rivals Ask Europeans to Rein in Microsoft." USA Today (February 12, 2003).