In today's competitive economy, businesses can ill afford the financial and human resources cost associated with defending antitrust and trade regulation claims. Therefore, the goal of our Antitrust and Trade Regulation Group is to help clients handle these matters in the most cost-efficient, practical manner available.
Our Services
Robinson+Cole's long history of servicing manufacturing clients has advanced significantly our experience in counseling clients on the legal issues associated with the distribution of products and services. Our lawyers are well versed in the direct and indirect restrictions on marketing and distribution of products and services, including:
• Customer and territory restrictions
• Competitor contacts and collaboration
• Advertising and promotional programs
• Boycotts
• Tying arrangements
• Price discrimination
• Contests and sweepstakes
• The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
• Promotional programs and resale price issues
• Unfair competition
• Trade association activities
Although we have extensive litigation experience, we believe the best defense to antitrust and illegal trade claims is careful business counseling and avoidance. This approach enables us to work with clients to develop effective, proactive, and preventive law approaches and meaningful compliance programs. Our lawyers are experienced in business counseling on complex antitrust issues, as well as in litigating significant antitrust cases. We serve as compliance counsel to a range of business interests, including manufacturers, service industry clients, trade associations, insurance companies, and health care organizations.
Our antitrust lawyers have defended numerous corporate clients facing grand jury investigation and criminal prosecution for alleged antitrust violations. We also have extensive experience litigating and trying a wide variety of civil antitrust claims.
Our antitrust lawyers have worked with some of the nation's leading antitrust economists in developing merger and acquisition strategies, including "fix-it-first" solutions, competition and pre-merger filings and notifications, second request responses, and the like. We also have developed complex market studies with leading experts in both business counseling and litigation scenarios.
We have advised and represented clients responding to state and federal civil investigative demands in the petroleum, sportswear, paper products, and housing industries.
Our Team
The strength of our group arises from the breadth of experience of our members. The group includes lawyers with extensive knowledge of antitrust, competition law, trade regulation, and franchise law counseling as it applies to mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and other business arrangements. Our team can provide you with antitrust compliance counseling and pre-litigation advice to help prevent protracted and costly litigation, whether at the state, regional, or national level. Our lawyers have a record of securing positive outcomes for clients. Our assistance recently allowed a client to avoid indictment in a Federal Trade Commission price-fixing conspiracy investigation. A partner on our team, Brian Moran, is the principal author of a 2013 book, The Executive’s Antitrust Guide to Pricing.
Represented a company involved in the national distribution of petroleum products. Company acquired a subsidiary engaged in the manufacture and distribution of industrial gases. Advised the company on integrating the newly acquired company into the client’s existing antitrust compliance program. Made substantive modifications to compliance manuals, conducted interviews of key sales and supervisory personnel, presented in-house seminars, and reviewed business files of the subsidiary company to identify any existing antitrust concerns, resulting in a successful integration of the antitrust compliance programs of the two companies was achieved.
Acted as environmental permitting counsel to a public ferry operation in securing state and federal permits for the expansion of a coastal ferry terminal.
Obtained an acquittal for a waste hauling corporation after an eight-week federal antitrust trial. The government had alleged a customer and geographic market allocation scheme.
Defended helicopter manufacturer from tort, equitable, and trade practice claims asserted by former Venezuelan sales representative relating to its termination. Based defense on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Four-week trial to a jury in state court resulted in verdict favorable to client.
Defended helicopter manufacturer and its parent against contract, tort, and trade practice claims asserted by Argentine sales representative arising from contract termination. Asserted FCPA as defense. A five-week trial to a federal jury resulted in a highly favorable verdict for the manufacturer.
