Crowell & Moring LLP

United States: New York

Big-ticket merger work, criminal cartel investigations and civil antitrust litigation are the three pillars of Crowell & Moring’s workload, say joint practice leaders Olivier Antoine and Dan Zelenko. AT&T gives the firm plenty to do on deals: as soon as Crowell successfully steered the telecoms firm through its $4 billion acquisition of Leap Wireless, it was tapped to be lead US antitrust counsel for a $67 billion purchase of DirecTV. The firm also represents Alcoa in its purchase of engine parts manufacturer Firth Rixson, and Siemens in its sale of health care-related units to Beckman Coulter and Cerner.

Crowell counsels multiple individuals in the DoJ’s criminal investigation into auto parts price-fixing, and several current and former Lloyds employees in the DoJ’s Libor investigation. Zelenko focuses his practice on litigation, and successfully defended Amazon over alleged monopolisation of the e-books market through its digital rights management agreements with publishers.

United States: Washington, DC

The antitrust group at Crowell & Moring says 2014 saw stunning success in all facets of the practice, including advising on in-depth merger investigations and prevailing in a dozen dispositive motions in litigations. The team, headed by Wm Randolph Smith, is lead antitrust counsel to AT&T in its $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV, which is currently under deep review by multiple federal and state agencies; Alcoa on its acquisition of industry supplier Firth Rixson for $2.85 billion; and Siemens in the sale of its health IT unit to Cerner, which is expected to close next year.

Crowell & Moring had another year of frenetic activity on both sides of the courtroom. Topping the list is the firm’s representation of Motorola Mobility in a lawsuit against makers of LCD screens, which could be worth up to $3.5 billion for the phone maker and is currently on appeal before the Seventh Circuit. On the defence side, Crowell’s lawyers represent CSX Transportation in the rail freight surcharge antitrust litigation and the leading US provider of dialysis services in a monopolisation case. In 2014 the firm welcomed former FTC attorney Katherine Funk from Baker & McKenzie.