Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton maintains a market-leading offering that spans the full range of antitrust litigation, with notable strength in merger litigation and contentious cross-border mandates. Leah Brannon and Jeremy Calsyn jointly oversee the department; Brannon focuses on global merger clearance matters, monopolization cases, and conspiracy litigation, while Calsyn represents clients in class actions and cartel and price-fixing litigation, particularly in the automotive parts industry. Dave Gelfand is a name to note on the merger litigation front, having successfully represented major healthcare and aviation clients in high-profile litigated merger challenges. Heather Nyong’o is another key name for civil antitrust litigation work, regularly representing major multinationals and executives in such cases, while seasoned antitrust litigator George Cary handles IP-related antitrust work in the high-tech sector from the San Francisco office. Ryan Shores joined from Shearman & Sterling LLP in July 2023, further strengthening the firm’s merger challenge offering. Unless otherwise stated, all mentioned lawyers are based in Washington DC.
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Key clients
- ASSA ABLOY AB
- Cushman & Wakefield/Pinnacle
- JetBlue Airways
- Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.
- Medtronic
- Netafim Irrigation
- Varsity Brands
- Swedish Match
- Walgreens Boots Alliance
- GMO-Z.com Trust Company Inc.
Work highlights
- Representing Cushman & Wakefield and its wholly owned subsidiary Pinnacle in roughly 30 lawsuits by proposed plaintiffs class of multifamily housing renters alleging multifamily housing owners, managers, and the tech company RealPage violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by artificially increasing the price of multifamily rental units.
- Representing JetBlue Airways in the federal lawsuit and trial brought by the U.S. DOJ and several state Attorneys General challenging its $3.8 billion merger with Spirit Airlines.
- Represented ASSA ABLOY in litigation brought by the DOJ seeking to block its $4.3 billion acquisition of Spectrum Brands’ Hardware and Home Improvement division.
Lawyers
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Practice head
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Leah Brannon, Jeremy Calsyn