Professional notice
United States: New York
There’s plenty of litigation work going on at O’MELVENY & MYERS, as New York practice head Andrew Frackman and four other partners handle both the civil and criminal sides of antitrust matters. On the civil side, the firm continues to advise Capital One in the interchange fee litigation against Visa, MasterCard, and the banks; US Airways in litigation against Sabre; and American Airlines in litigation against the largest Latin American online travel agency, Despegar, in the Southern District of Florida. Partner Mark Racanelli is actively involved in the firm’s representation of Bumble Bee tuna in connection with class actions brought by food distributors.
On the criminal side, O’Melveny defends clients in the Libor, foreign exchange and auto parts criminal investigations. The firm also secured a reversal and dismissal by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit of a former General Electric executive’s criminal conviction and three-year sentence for his alleged role in a municipal bond bid-rigging scheme.
United States: Washington DC
O’Melveny & Myers may be the “go-to firm for people who have gotten in trouble with the government”, as practice co-chair Richard Parker boasts. Perhaps no other team in the district is drafted so often to get major companies, such as American Airlines, Sysco and Apple, out of tight antitrust scrapes. But some rivals, while unanimously praising Parker, question whether there is more to the team than its talismanic frontman. Their doubts are likely misplaced. Ted Hassi enjoyed a stellar litigation career at the FTC before re-joining the firm in August 2014; partner and co-chair Ian Simmons is ‘really strong in private litigation,’ one admirer says; and newly promoted partners Courtney Dyer and Katrina Robson both add extra depth to one of the city’s finest practices.
Parker, Simmons and Hassi were hard at work this past year defending Sysco against the FTC’s challenge to its US$8 billion merger with food distribution rival US Foods, with each partner handling a different part of a complex and hard-fought preliminary injunction hearing. The firm’s loss to the agency in June 2015 was an exception to a victory-filled 12 months. Representing Samsung, Simmons took the lead for optical disc drive defendants in defeating motions for class certification in 2014, and along with Robson killed off price-fixing complaints against hotel chain Marriott. O’Melveny lacks the corporate firepower of some of its rivals, but the reputation of its antitrust practice ensures it gets a slice of merger clearance work too. Dyer is counsel to Bumble Bee Foods in its US$1.5 billion takeover by tuna-canning rival Thai Union Frozen Products, while Honeywell and Quest Diagnostics both use the firm to satisfy counselling and merger-control needs.
United States: California
Ken O’Rourke continues to lead the West Coast antitrust group at O’Melveny & Myers. O’Rourke and the other California-based members benefit from the firm’s extensive presence in Washington, DC and elsewhere, and cross-office work and cases are the norm. The firm is in expansion mode, with the promotion of two new partners in DC and the return of former FTC chief trial litigator Ted Hassi. That rising tide has raised all boats, O’Rourke says, and the practice as a whole has benefited.
O’Rourke leads the firm’s Los Angeles litigation practice, so the courtroom is his focus, and he’s got a full docket on at the moment. He’s in court for Impax Laboratories in series of pay-for-delay cases involving an acne medication, as well as the Opana ER antitrust litigation. He and San Francisco antitrust counsel Christina Brown are acting for Rohm Semiconductor in the Capacitors antitrust litigation and corresponding government price-fixing investigation. Meanwhile, the firm continues to act for Samsung in the optical disk drive litigation and related cases; American Airlines’ litigation against Sabre; and FedEx in a collusion case brought by Max Blecher. Lawyers from the California offices work with a multi-office O’Melveny team on those matters.
O’Melveny offers seamless antitrust and competition representation on three continents, with offices in the US, Europe, and Asia. Consistently ranked among the top global antitrust practices by Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, Global Competition Review and others, we offer clients an experienced team poised to handle anything, from precedent-setting courtroom victories to deft handling of merger reviews by agencies around the world. Our litigation abilities range from extricating clients from agency investigations early and efficiently to achieving groundbreaking results in high-exposure cases. And when it comes to shepherding transactions through global clearance processes, O’Melveny is the industry leader. We routinely handle complex international mergers and obtain clearance in challenging situations.
O’Melveny has a reputation for sophisticated, practical antitrust strategy that couples cutting-edge economic and doctrinal analyses with an adept reading of the regulatory and political environment, even under the tightest timeframes. And we are one of the few firms whose partners have tried—and won—cases for and against the government.
With a competition team that includes veterans of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission, we offer clients an insider’s perspective, bolstered by our close partnerships with renowned economists and consultants.
Global Reach
Asia
We have a robust presence in Asia. In Japan, we submitted the first application under the Japanese Fair Trade Commission’s leniency system—within three months of its introduction in January 2006—and have a strong understanding of the recent revisions to Japan’s anti-monopoly laws. We have represented clients before the Korean Fair Trade Commission, and have guided clients in connection with competition policy matters in Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. We are active in China’s emerging competition law field, engaging in the dialogue about implementing China’s new Antimonopoly Law and advising clients, in conjunction with local counsel, on compliance with Chinese competition rules.
Europe
Operating at the EU’s political and legislative center since 2004, our Brussels office focuses on EU and national competition law, as well as trade and sector regulation. Our work there has included a series of high-profile cases covering all main areas of EU competition law (Article 102, mergers, and cartel cases), achieving headline-grabbing results for our clients. We also have represented clients in proceedings before the EC and the EU, and have obtained either significant reductions in or voiding of fines at the EC Court of First Instance. Our lawyers are qualified in many EU member countries, are knowledgeable regarding different national laws and procedures, are fluent in various languages, and work closely with local authorities.
United States
Our US team offers the highest quality and breadth of knowledge in litigating antitrust cases in federal and state courts, representing companies before federal and state antitrust agencies, and counseling clients on the nuances of both federal and state antitrust laws. Our lawyers have extensive experience representing both companies and individuals facing criminal antitrust charges, litigating complex civil class actions, and obtaining regulatory approval of high-profile mergers. We provide ongoing counsel to clients facing complex and evolving business issues, including the design of antitrust-compliant licensing and distribution agreements and the development of legal strategies in precedent-setting price-fixing and monopolization cases.
About O’Melveny & Myers LLP
With approximately 700 lawyers in 15 offices worldwide, O’Melveny & Myers LLP helps industry leaders across a broad array of sectors manage the complex challenges of succeeding in the global economy. We are a values-driven law firm, guided by the principles of excellence, leadership, and citizenship. For more information, please visit www.omm.com.