Daniel Lautzenheiser is a litigation associate in O’Melveny’s Washington, DC, office where he works on complex commercial matters across a wide range of practice areas, including antitrust, consumer class actions, and higher education.
He has drafted briefs and dispositive motions, responded to government inquiries, and litigated cases for clients that include leading universities, global technology platforms, consumer products companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and major airlines. Daniel has also coauthored multiple merits and amicus briefs before the US Supreme Court and federal and state courts of appeals, including the Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Circuits and the California Supreme Court. Daniel maintains an active pro bono practice, focusing on appeals and issues affecting Washington, DC. The International Municipal Lawyers Association and the DC Appleseed Center recently recognized the impact of his pro bono advocacy with service awards.
Before joining O’Melveny, Daniel clerked for the Honorable James A. Wynn, Jr., of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the Honorable Thomas D. Schroeder of the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. He graduated with honors from Duke Law School, where he served as the senior articles editor for the Duke Law Journal.
- Defending a leading pet food company in multiple cases challenging its requirement that consumers receive veterinary authorization to purchase certain pet food products
- Representing multiple major colleges and universities in lawsuits arising from student protests and related disciplinary matters
- Defending a major international oil and gas company in litigation stemming from plastic waste pollution
- Advising an upstart performing rights organization on multiple matters, including in licensing disputes and third-party discovery
- Advising a major pharmaceutical manufacturer on legal strategy regarding its groundbreaking weight-loss medications
- Co-counsel in a pro bono appeal raising claims of ineffective assistance of counsel currently before the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- Represented a US airline in securing antitrust approval for its proposed acquisition of a complementary airline
- Represented a new, rapidly growing real estate brokerage firm in an antitrust class action challenging industry-wide rules in the residential real estate market
- Participated in a major international tech company’s defense of four antitrust cases brought by a game developer, putative classes of consumers and app developers, and state attorneys general challenging the company’s app store policies
- Assisted team that defended US pharmaceutical company in multiple state suits stemming from challenges to the company’s opioids products
- Advised leading technology platform on multiple issues involving the company’s legal risks
- Coauthored an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court on behalf of a non-profit that advocates for local government lawyers on the proper test for government speech (Murthy v. Missouri and National Rifle Association v. Vullo)
- Coauthored an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court on behalf of a leading business advocacy group on the proper mens rea for criminal liability (Ruan v. United States and Kahn v. United States)
- Coauthored an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court on behalf of leading constitutional law scholars on the question of when Congress has the power to abrogate state sovereign immunity (Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety)
- Coauthored an amicus brief in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on behalf of a non-profit advocacy group addressing the application of antitrust law to firms seeking licenses to standard-essential patents on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms (Continental Automotive Systems v. Avanci)
- Coauthored a report on election reform opportunities to increase voter representation in DC elections for a DC-based public interest non-profit
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Education
- Duke University, J.D.
- University of Virginia, B.A., History/Economics