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Morrison Foerster Recognized as a Leading Antitrust Practice by Who’s Who Legal

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Five Morrison Foerster lawyers from the global Antitrust Group have been recognized in the Who’s Who Legal – Competition 2023 guide. Who’s Who Legal – Competition research, conducted with its sister publication Global Competition Review, is based solely on feedback and recommendations from leading private practitioners in the antitrust arena as well as from the firm’s clients.

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Five Morrison Foerster lawyers from the global Antitrust Group have been recognized in the Who’s Who Legal – Competition 2023 guide. Who’s Who Legal – Competition research, conducted with its sister publication Global Competition Review, is based solely on feedback and recommendations from leading private practitioners in the antitrust arena as well as from the firm’s clients.The MoFo lawyers who have been named as Leading Antitrust Lawyers include:<ul><li>Jeff Jaeckel (Vice Chair, Washington, D.C.)</li><li>Tom McQuail (Partner, Brussels/London)</li><li>Michael B. Miller (Partner, New York)</li><li>Alexander Okuliar (Partner and Co-Chair, Global Antitrust Group, Washington, D.C.)</li><li>Penelope A. Preovolos (Senior Counsel, San Francisco)</li></ul>Morrison Foerster Antitrust lawyers are recognized leaders in the courtroom, the boardroom, and the halls of government. They are trial lawyers who have a knack for resolving complex antitrust cases through dispositive motions but are capable of taking any case to trial. They are strategic counselors who partner with our clients to develop business strategies to enhance their competitiveness. They are agency experts who draw on a deep well of experience, including service as high-level officials, to obtain successful results in criminal and civil investigations and merger reviews. With leading antitrust lawyers in major business centers in the United States, Europe, and Asia, MoFo’s Antitrust team provides these services seamlessly to clients doing business worldwide.For more details, please visit <a href="https://whoswholegal.com/thought-leaders/thought-leaders---competition-2023#:~:text=WWL%3A%20Thought%20Leaders%20brings%20together,the%20apogee%20of%20the%20profession." target="_blank">Who’s Who Legal’s website</a>.

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Jeff has notable experience representing public and private corporations in connection with their most significant and complicated antitrust litigation in federal and state courts. He regularly represents clients in all antitrust aspects of complicated transactional matters, including strategy and structuring of transactions to avoid antitrust risk and achieve strategic business objectives, and U.S. and multinational merger notification and review. Jeff also represents domestic and international companies in connection with government investigations of conduct, including civil investigations relating to monopolization or criminal investigations of alleged price-fixing. Jeff also assists clients in the protection of their intellectual property and counsels clients on the antitrust ramifications of commercial agreements to capitalize on the value of intellectual property.Jeff represents clients across a range of industries, including pharmaceuticals and medical devices, semiconductors, software, Internet services, transportation, consumer products, telecommunications, and media and entertainment.In addition to his active practice, Jeff is Morrison Foerster’s Vice Chair. Jeff formerly served as co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law Practice Group and as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors, and co-chair of the firm’s eDiscovery Task Force.Jeff serves as an associate editor of the Antitrust Magazine of the American Bar Association Antitrust Section. He graduated with honors and was a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the international honor society in Economics. He was a writing staff member for the Wisconsin Environmental Law Journal, and was elected to Order of the Coif.

Jeff Jaeckel

Vice Chair

Michael Miller has nearly three decades experience helping clients successfully navigate through the most complex litigation and regulatory challenges they face. He regularly represents clients in major antitrust and class action litigation, and in managing antitrust risks presented by complex transactional and other business matters, including strategy and structuring of transactions to overcome potential regulatory hurdles and achieve strategic business objectives.Mike’s practice includes all aspects of complex financial services, antitrust, privacy, and commercial litigation. He also has an active practice representing clients in merger control proceedings in the United States, Europe, and other jurisdictions as part of the multinational merger notification and review process.Mike has considerable experience representing financial services companies in investigations initiated by various antitrust regulators, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the New York Department of Financial Services, and others. Mike has a history of representing companies before the U.S. and EU competition law regulators in the telecommunications, semiconductors, software, network services, pharmaceutical, industrial, financial services, consumer products, chemical, and technology industries.Mike maintains an active pro bono practice, regularly representing New York City public school students seeking special education and other services from the City and State. <h4 dir="ltr">Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (Eastern District of Pennsylvania). Representing Glenmark in a federal antitrust multidistrict litigation alleging price fixing and market allocation of generic drugs by manufacturers of generic drugs.</li><li>In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation (Eastern District of New York). Representing a major financial institution in federal antitrust class and individual actions alleging that the payment card practices of the defendant card networks and financial institutions constitute an unreasonable restraint of trade and illegal monopolization. This is likely the largest private antitrust case ever brought.</li><li>Copperweld Wiring (Northern District of Alabama and other courts). Representing wire manufacturer in antitrust and false-advertising suit against three major copper wire competitors.</li><li>SoftBank/Sprint/T-Mobile. Represented Sprint and SoftBank before DOJ/FCC and at trial against multiple State Attorneys’ General seeking to block the T-Mobile-Sprint merger as anti-competitive. After a two-week trial, the Court dismissed the case and the merger closed successfully. </li><li>Arm Limited/Softbank. Represented SoftBank Group and Arm Limited on complex antitrust and national security issues arising from NVIDIA’s proposed acquisition of Arm from SoftBank for $65 billion.</li><li>Data Breach and Privacy Matters. Representing a variety of clients in connection with regulatory and litigation issues arising out of data breach events and general data security counseling and compliance.</li><li>FCRA Matters. Representing significant information-service provider in actions around the country alleging violations of the FCRA and related statues and in federal and state regulatory proceedings.</li><li>Southwest Gas Holdings. Obtained antitrust regulatory clearances in connection with Southwest Gas Holdings’ $2 billion acquisition of Questar Pipeline and subsequent sale of certain assets. </li><li>Programmatic Advertising. Represented digital programmatic healthcare advertising firm in lawsuit seeking to block acquisition.</li><li>Alcon Vision (Southern District of New York). Won dismissal of all antitrust claims against a contact lens manufacturer.</li><li>Dale v. T-Mobile, et al. (Northern District of Illinois). Won dismissal of antitrust lawsuit against SoftBank. </li><li>EMV Litigation (Northern District of California). Won dismissal of class action antitrust litigation arising out of the introduction of chip card standards to the US payments sector.</li><li>In re Late Fee and Over-Limit Fee Antitrust Litigation (Northern District of California). Won dismissal of class action challenging late and over-limit fees. Dismissal affirmed on appeal.</li><li>In re Dental Supply Antitrust Litigation (Eastern District of New York). Negotiated resolution of individual and class action antitrust litigation in the dental supplies industry. </li><li>Antitrust and Bank Holding Company Act Litigation (Middle District of Florida). Won dismissal of sprawling antitrust and BHCA litigation on behalf of major financial institution.</li><li>Amadeus IT Group (Southern District of New York). Won dismissal of class action litigation in the travel services industry.</li><li>Overdraft Litigation (Eastern District of Pennsylvania). Represented a major financial institution in successfully resolving class action litigation arising out of overdraft practices.</li><li>Other Merger Clearances. Has obtained merger clearances in the US and EU for clients in the financial services, telecommunications, network services, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, oil and gas, consumer products, chemical, packaging, and metals industries.</li><li>GSE FCRA Litigation (Ninth Circuit, District of Arizona). Won dismissal of FCRA litigation against a large government-sponsored enterprise in the District of Arizona.</li><li>Privacy Litigation (District of Colombia; District of Columbia Superior Court). Won motions to dismiss in two actions that alleged violations of various statutory rights to privacy stemming from customer service practices. Both dismissals affirmed on appeal.</li><li>Richbell Information Services, Inc., et al. v. Jupiter Partners LP, et al. Represented Lord Jacob Rothschild and several publicly traded English investment trusts in the New York Commercial Division in litigation arising out of disputes among shareholders. Resolved successfully for client.</li></ul>

Michael B. Miller

Partner

Alex Okuliar is Co-Chair of Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law Practice Group. He is the former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Antitrust Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Justice and a former advisor at the Federal Trade Commission. His practice includes litigation, merger reviews, and government investigations.“The ‘excellent’ Alex Okuliar has a broad practice taking in merger clearance, conduct investigations and antitrust litigation. He is particularly noted for his work on behalf of media and technology companies.” – Chambers USA, DC AntitrustAlex represents clients in lawsuits in federal and state courts around the United States. He has helped clients succeed in a wide range of cases, including class actions and private party disputes alleging price fixing, monopolization, group boycotts, market allocation, and tying.He also regularly represents clients in merger and conduct investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, state Attorneys General, and foreign agencies, including the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority. He has guided clients through the complex global merger clearance process and litigated agency merger challenges through trial.Alex has a history of notable agency leadership experience. He was appointed the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Enforcement in the DOJ Antitrust Division in 2020 and in that role oversaw more than 150 career staff, dozens of complex merger investigations, and an industry-wide review of online platforms. He was also one of the principal architects and leaders of the agency’s landmark search monopolization case against Google (U.S. v. Google). Earlier in his career, Alex served as an attorney advisor to former FTC Commissioner Ohlhausen and a trial attorney in the DOJ Antitrust Division. Prior to his service as Deputy AAG, Alex was a partner at another international law firm.Alex is a thought leader and a frequent writer and speaker. He currently serves as the co-chair of the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Joint Conduct Committee, and is the former chair of the Section’s Intellectual Property Committee and co-chair of the 2023 Antitrust Fall Forum on Artificial Intelligence. He is also a member of the Corporations, Securities & Antitrust Executive Committee of The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. Alex serves on Morrison Foerster’s AI Steering Committee and Life Sciences Steering Committee.Alex has also edited or contributed to leading antitrust treatises and handbooks, including Antitrust Law Developments (7th edition), the Premerger Notification Practice Manual (3rd and 4th editions), and the Intellectual Property and Antitrust Handbook (2nd edition).Before law school, Alex co-founded and sold an online technology company.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><h5>Merger Review and Litigation</h5>Alex has worked on nearly a thousand deals across many industry sectors over his roughly 25-year career. He has handled dozens of second requests and litigated merger cases through trial. Clients appreciate the range and depth of experience he can offer them. As one client noted in The Legal 500 U.S. Antitrust: Merger Control guide, “Alex Okuliar brings a deep knowledge of the law and economics of antitrust, and the ability to frame that knowledge within the unique circumstances of the digital economy.”His notable public representations include:<ul><li>Microsoft in many deals, including its $7.5 billion acquisition of GitHub, an AI-powered developer platform.</li><li>Unity Software Inc. in multiple transactions, including its all-stock $4.4 billion acquisition of ironSource and the concurrent $1 billion PIPE investment in the company by Silver Lake and Sequoia, and in response to the related $13.6 billion unsolicited acquisition proposal from AppLovin Corporation.</li><li>Hispanic Broadcasting Company in its $3 billion sale to Univision, which closed with a settlement after a year-long DOJ Second Request investigation.</li><li>AVG Technologies in its $1.3 billion sale to Avast Software, maker of antivirus and security software.</li><li>ShowingTime, a leading proptech company, in its $500 million sale to Zillow, which cleared successfully without conditions after a Second Request investigation by the FTC.</li><li>Propel Media in federal court to defend against the FTC’s challenge to its proposed acquisition by IQVIA.</li><li>Enterprise Products Partners in multiple deals, including its $13 billion acquisition of GulfTerra, which closed with limited divestitures after an FTC Second Request investigation.</li><li>Nova Chemicals in its joint venture to build a $1.7 billion ethylene cracker and a polyethylene plant in Texas with Borealis and Total.</li><li>Meade Pipeline Co. in the $1.37 billion sale of its natural gas pipeline system to NextEra Energy Partners.</li><li>Sugar Foods Corporation in its sale to Pritzker Private Capital.</li><li>Infineon Technologies AG in the sale of its HiRel DC-DC converter business to Micross Components, Inc.</li><li>Cisco in multiple matters, including its $600 million acquisition of SD-WAN provider, Viptela.</li><li>Kindred Biosciences in its approximately $450 million sale to Elanco Animal Health.</li><li>Otsuka Pharmaceuticals in its roughly $250 million acquisition of ADHD-drug developer, Neurovance.</li></ul>While serving at the DOJ and FTC, Alex investigated or oversaw the review of hundreds of transactions, including the $180 billion merger of United Technologies and Raytheon, NASDAQ’s proposed $11 billion acquisition of NYSE Euronext, Deutsche Boerse’s proposed $10 billion acquisition of NYSE Euronext, Waste Management’s $4.6 billion acquisition of Advanced Disposal Services, Liberty Latin America’s $1.95 billion purchase of AT&T Puerto Rico, Google’s $2 billion acquisition of Fitbit, Google’s $700 million acquisition of ITA Software, Reading Health System’s proposed acquisition of Surgical Institute of Reading, and Universal Health Service’s acquisition of Ascend Health Corporation, among many others.<h5>Antitrust Conduct Litigation</h5>Alex has represented clients in some of the most significant antitrust cases of the last twenty years, including government enforcement, class actions and private party disputes, and has represented both plaintiffs and defendants. As The Legal 500 U.S. Antitrust: Civil Litigation/Class Actions Defense guide noted, “Alex Okuliar litigates cutting-edge antitrust topics such as platform competition and data collection as well as media cases.” His thought leadership on class action issues has also been cited by courts (See In re GPU Antitrust Litigation, 253 F.R.D. 478, 492–3 (2008)).His current representations include:<ul class="li-text-orange"><li class="li-text-orange">Avadel, a leading biopharmaceutical company, in Jazz Pharmaceuticals v. Avadel CNS Pharmaceuticals (D. Del.), an antitrust counterclaim alleging monopolization and other unlawful conduct by Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Avadel alleges that Jazz improperly listed a distribution system patent in the FDA’s Orange Book to extend its monopoly power over certain narcolepsy drugs. The New York Times coverage of the case can be found on the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/28/business/jazz-narcolepsy-avadel-patents.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> website. The FTC also filed an <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/11/ftc-amicus-brief-challenges-abuse-fda-orange-book-listing-procedures-block-drug-competition" target="_blank">amicus brief</a> explaining to the Court the harm to competition from such listings.</li><li class="li-text-orange">Icon, a real estate development company, in Icon v. Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, et al. (C.D. Cal.), a federal antitrust lawsuit against two unions and other co-conspirators. Icon alleges the unions are attempting to monopolize certain labor markets, among other unlawful conduct, by submitting sham environmental petitions to slow or block new real estate developments and then offering to abandon those petitions in exchange for hiring of union labor. See the press coverage in <a href="https://www.bloomberglaw.com/bloomberglawnews/antitrust/XEJFH0U8000000?bna_news_filter=antitrust#jcite" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>.</li><li class="li-text-orange">Provi, an e-commerce platform, in Tiz (d/b/a Provi) v. Southern Glazer’s and Republic National Distribution Co. (N.D. Ill.), an antitrust claim alleging monopolization, tying, and group boycott, among other conduct, by the nation’s largest alcohol distributors to eliminate new and innovative online marketplace competition from Provi. See coverage of the case by <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/29/alcohol-ordering-antitrust-suit-00021383" target="_self">Politico</a>.</li><li>A large national consumer products company (E.D. Pa) in its defense against a monopolization case alleging deceptive conduct before a standard-setting organization and patent holdup related to an alleged standard essential technology patent.</li><li>A national financial institution in its defense against state law claims of unfair competition in connection with a business transaction.</li></ul>Some of his other clients include:<ul><li>Asiana Airlines in In re Korean Air Lines Co. Antitrust Litigation (C.D. Cal.) against an MDL class action alleging price-fixing of passenger air fares. He prevailed on motion to dismiss claims of indirect purchasers of passenger air fares, which was upheld in relevant part on appeal, and the remainder of the case settled. See In re Korean Air Lines Co. Antitrust Litigation, 567 F. Supp. 2d 1213 (C.D. Cal. 2008), aff’d in part, vacated in part, 642 F.3d 685 (9th Cir. 2011).</li><li>Asiana Airlines in In re Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation (E.D.N.Y), an MDL class action alleging price-fixing of cargo shipping fees. The case was ultimately settled.</li><li>Capital One in In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Litigation (E.D.N.Y.), where he defended the client against alleged price-fixing claims related to credit card interchange fees. This matter ultimately settled.</li><li>Capital One in American Express v. Visa, et al. (S.D.N.Y.), where he defended the client against group boycott claims alleging that certain exclusive bylaws for the Visa and Mastercard credit card networks represented an agreement to boycott American Express. The case settled after years of litigation.</li><li>Honeywell in Wright v. Honeywell (Vt.), McKinnon v. Honeywell (Me.), Fagan v. Honeywell (Mass.), and Roos v. Honeywell (Cal.), where he defended the client against class actions in several state courts alleging monopolization of certain home thermostats. Certain cases were dismissed after briefing and oral argument and others were ultimately settled.</li><li>The United States in United States v. Google (search) (D.D.C.), in its landmark monopolization case against a leading online search engine. He served as the senior Antitrust Division official overseeing the DOJ staff team to develop and prosecute the lawsuit.</li><li>A leading online professional networking site in its defense against unfair competition claims based on allegations that the site had blocked a competing site from scraping its data to develop another service.</li><li>A leading medical imaging technology company in an antitrust counterclaim related to a patent infringement action.</li><li>An online media streaming company in an antitrust counterclaim against the major national television broadcasters related to a copyright infringement lawsuit.</li></ul><h5>Government Investigations & Policy Advocacy</h5>Alex also handles investigations, compliance counseling, and policy advocacy for governmental entities. As one client noted in The Legal 500 U.S. Antitrust: Cartels guide, “Alex Okuliar brings a calm and thoughtful approach to the matters he advises on. He has good judgment and delivers advice in a user-friendly format. He stays current on emerging issues in antitrust law and provides a helpful perspective on areas of risk and how to best address those areas.” Some of his matters include representing:<ul><li>An AI company in an FTC investigation of a technology platform.</li><li>A technology company in its defense against an FTC investigation into an alleged order violation.</li><li>A major chemical company as a leniency applicant in a DOJ criminal price-fixing investigation.</li><li>An airline in various DOJ criminal cargo and passenger airfare antitrust investigations.</li><li>A technology company in a DOJ investigation of an alleged no-poach agreement relating to employee hiring.</li><li>A major energy company as a third-party complainant and witness in an FTC investigation leading to litigation against the merging companies.</li><li>An energy company in an internal investigation of trading activity related to allegations of price fixing.</li><li>A major hospital system in a state AG price-fixing and market allocation investigation.</li><li>A ticket reseller in a state AG consumer protection investigation.</li><li>Clients advocating to government agencies on issues relating to technology platforms, mergers, and issues involving antitrust and intellectual property.</li></ul>

Alexander Okuliar

Co-chair Global Antitrust Law Practice Group

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" class="sticky-video" allowfullscreen="1" title="Meet Penny Preovolos, Litigation Partner" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/hv7hYn-Bl7c?rel=0&showinfo=0;vq=hd1080" title="iframe"></iframe></div>Penelope has served as lead counsel in major consumer class actions and antitrust cases for more than 35 years, successfully representing high-profile defendants in antitrust, consumer fraud, and product defect matters. Her clients span a range of industries, including consumer electronics, technology, retail, publishing, food and beverage, cosmetics, and household products. According to Chambers USA, Penelope has a “great reputation for antitrust and product liability work” and is a “superb all-around antitrust lawyer.”Penelope was named the 2019 Antitrust Lawyer of the Year by the Antitrust, UCL, and Privacy Section of the California Lawyers Association. She was co-chair of MoFo’s antitrust practice for 14 years. She has served as chair of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Section of the State Bar of California and as a member of the Ninth Circuit Advisory Committee on Local Rules and Operations. She is an editor of and frequent contributor to Morrison & Foerster’s <a href="https://classdismissed.mofo.com/">Class Dismissed blog</a>, as well as a frequent speaker about class action and antitrust issues.More About PenelopePenelope clerked for the Honorable Charles M. Merrill, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was executive editor of the Harvard Civil Rights – Civil Liberties Law Review. Penelope was a member of Phi Beta Kappa at the University of California, Berkeley. She was awarded the University Medal, the highest undergraduate honor at the university, as well as the English Departmental Citation (awarded to the outstanding graduate in that department).

Penelope A. Preovolos

Senior Counsel

Antitrust Law