Antitrust and Competition

O’Melveny offers seamless antitrust and competition representation on three continents, with offices in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Brussels, Tokyo, and Beijing. At any given moment, we are shepherding mergers through global clearance processes, designing antitrust-compliant licensing or distribution agreements, and vindicating our clients’ interests in the courtroom.

Members of our practice group routinely represent clients before antitrust and competition agencies around the world. Our more than 70 antitrust and competition lawyers include former high-ranking regulatory officials who maintain close contact with the enforcement agencies, providing clients with invaluable insights into governmental decision-making processes.

The Firm has extensive experience coordinating the global premerger review of complex international mergers and obtaining clearance in challenging situations. If litigation of a high-stakes acquisition becomes necessary, we are among the few law firms that have the courtroom experience necessary to litigate these complex cases successfully. For example, in 2004, in one of the few litigated merger cases in recent years, O’Melveny lawyers successfully defended Triton Coal’s acquisition by another major coal producer when the FTC sued to block the transaction.

O'Melveny's antitrust lawyers possess unsurpassed trial and litigation skills as denoted by the precedent setting results achieved by the firm in antitrust treble damages litigation. For instance, the firm prevailed in New York's highest court in what the Global Competition Review termed "a landmark ruling" when the unanimous court held that treble damages class actions are not cognizable under New York's antitrust statute, the Donnelly act (see Sperry v. Crompton Corp., 863 n.e.2d 1012 (2007)). The firm also recently achieved the dismissal of foreign claims under the rapidly evolving case law of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act (see In re Rubber Chemicals Antitrust Litigation, 504 F. Supp.2d 777 (N.D. Cal. 2007)). Finally, by way of example, the firm successfully defended a Japanese company in precedent setting criminal antitrust case which marked the first time criminal charges had been brought against wholly foreign conduct (see United States v. Nippon Paper Indus. Co. Ltd., 62 F. Supp.2d 173 (D. Mass. 1999) (granting judgment of acquittal)).

Many of the Firm’s current antitrust litigation partners began their careers trying monopolization cases for IBM in the 1970s and defending antitrust treble-damages cases for the banking, insurance, and airline industries in the 1980s. In the 1990s, our attorneys handled the airline price-signaling litigation, often cited as a template for antitrust analysis for B2B e-commerce exchanges. The firm’s involvement in high-profile antitrust litigation continues today in our representation of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. against Intel Corporation in the United States, Europe, and Asia in one of the largest antitrust and competition cases ever commenced.

What Others Say About Us

• Chambers Global (2009) recommends our global Antitrust and Competition practice, stating that O’Melveny “is the global quarterback – it is prominent around the world, from Beijing to Brussels.” Our work with international cartels is also highlighted.
• Chambers USA (2009) says, “O’Melveny houses an antitrust practice with a premier reputation that extends to both regulatory and litigation”, and ranks us among the top 10 antitrust practices in the nation. In addition, Chambers reports sources as saying that our antitrust group “brings the right expertise to bear and is always cost-conscious on behalf of its clients.”
• Chambers Europe (2009) states that our Brussels office “has the strength and resources to advise clients on big-ticket international mergers and other multi-jurisdictional competition proceedings.” Sources are cited as saying, “The service is brilliant – it’s rigorous but practical.”
• Chambers Asia (2009) ranks O’Melveny in the top tier of international law firms in Chinese competition and antitrust. “The firm can rightly claim to be at the forefront of competition law in China, and had an experienced competition and trade specialist on the ground before many of its rivals.
• Global Competition Review (GCR) listed O’Melveny as one of Washington, DC’s elite antitrust firms in the article “Capital Gains: DC’s Leading Firms for Government Antitrust” (December 2008), and listed O’Melveny among Brussels’ "recommended" antitrust firms in its annual, "Brussels Competition Bar Survey" in the August/September 2009 issue.  In GCR’s 2009 edition of “Global 100”―its guide to the world’s leading competition practices―O’Melveny was listed in the “Global Elite” section―GCR’s list of the top 20 antitrust firms worldwide.  In addition, GCR’s “Who’s Who Legal 70” (2008) notes that our competition practice is “among the largest and most respected anywhere.” 
• Legal 500 USA (2009) says that we have “a very strong reputation in the market, across the full suite of antitrust activity, from complex litigation spanning multiple jurisdictions to coordinating global pre-merger reviews and obtaining regulatory approval of high-profile mergers.”
• IFLR 1000 (2010) recommends our European Antitrust and Competition Practice, quoting one client who makes reference to the "very bright people" at O'Melveny and commenting, "Their service is excellent and they are very knowledgeable. Nothing but praise for their competition practice." Partner Riccardo Celli is recognized by IFLR as a "leading lawyer" and partner Christian Riis-Madsen is commended by peers as "a rising star in the antitrust community."
• Benchmark Litigation: The Definitive Guide to America's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys (2010) ranks our national antitrust practice as one of the leading practices in the US.
• At the Legal Business Awards 2008, we received “Competition Team of the Year” honors for our representation of TUI AG in its acquisition of First Choice Holidays PLC, forming the leading travel group worldwide.
• ACQ Finance Magazine awarded the Brussels team the title of “Competition Law Firm of the Year” 2008.

Key Facts

Industry Reach

• Aviation

• Banking/financial services

• Consumer products

• Defense

• Energy

• Healthcare

• Information technology development and manufacturing, including hardware and software

• Manufacturing, including chemicals

• Media, entertainment, and publishing

• Pharmaceuticals

• Retailing

• Semiconductors and other computer components

• Shipping

• Telecommunications

Practice Strengths

View Practice Description