Attorneys in our Antitrust practice provide both litigation and counseling services. Our attorneys have handled scores of private and government civil actions, criminal grand jury investigations and prosecutions, and civil investigations by the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general. Our attorneys advise on mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and any necessary pre-merger notification filings, as well as pricing, distribution, purchasing, competitor relations and other antitrust issues. We have prepared and implemented antitrust compliance policies and instructional programs for numerous clients.
Taft’s Antitrust practice has a depth of experience representing clients in the varied ways federal and state antitrust laws impact their businesses. Our attorneys provide counsel on avoiding conduct that can lead to large criminal and civil penalties. When clients are accused of violating antitrust laws, we bring to the courtroom years of experience in litigating antitrust cases.
Our antitrust practice attorneys' experiences cover all areas of antitrust and trade practice law, including:
Counseling
We routinely counsel clients in varied industries on a wide range of antitrust issues, such as:
- Pricing – Exchanges of price information, bidding for public and private contracts, price discrimination, resale price maintenance and predatory pricing.
- Distribution – Structuring distribution systems, dealer relations, dealer termination, franchise relations, exclusive contracts and related matters.
- Advertising – Cooperative advertising programs, minimum advertised price policies and related issues.
- Purchasing – Forming purchasing cooperatives, exclusive purchasing arrangements, and buyer liability under the price discrimination laws.
- Mergers and acquisitions – Advising as to proposed mergers and acquisitions, compliance with pre-merger notification requirements in the U.S. and other countries, and responding to investigations initiated by the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission or a state attorney general.
- Competitor cooperation – Joint ventures in the U.S. and in foreign nations, trade association activities, licensing, and related areas.
Litigation
Taft has a long history of defending criminal antitrust investigations and prosecutions and in litigating civil antitrust claims. Taft's antitrust attorneys have handled antitrust cases throughout the U. S., including:
- Criminal defense and grand jury investigations in the health care, soft drink, road paving, dairy products, chemical, concrete pipe, plastic components, electrical products, book binding and packaged ice industries.
- State Attorney General investigations and/or resulting civil proceedings in the dairy products, oil, greeting card, chemical distribution, space heater and banking industries.
- Department of Justice/FTC investigations, reviews, and/or enforcement proceedings in the health care, greeting card, insurance, retail, broadcasting, metal products, automotive, real estate, restaurant, steel, aluminum castings, chemicals, furniture, entertainment, actuarial, scrap and banking industries.
- Private antitrust suits for damages or injunctive relief in the sports, banking, automotive, oil, scrap, soft drink, dairy products, entertainment, broadcasting, furniture, computer, health care, real estate, grocery, carpet and other industries.
Antitrust Compliance
Because the penalties for antitrust violations are severe, our antitrust attorneys stress preventive antitrust. We have developed antitrust compliance programs for numerous clients. Each compliance program is specifically designed for the client and industry and may include written compliance guides, periodic training sessions for management, marketing and key personnel, as well as use of videos or the Internet, and periodic reviews of client operations to address antitrust issues.
Health Care
Taft’s antitrust attorneys regularly advise health care businesses, including hospitals, health care networks, physician groups, health care organizations, manufacturers of health care equipment or products and providers for ancillary health care services. Our attorneys counsel clients on negotiations with payor organizations, mergers and acquisitions, staff privileges, exclusive contracts, most-favored nation clauses and the Health Care Quality Improvement Act.
Criminal Defense
Taft has a long history of defending criminal antitrust investigations and prosecutions. One partner in the Antitrust practice is the former Deputy Criminal Chief of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
