Antitrust

Balch & Bingham LLP offers comprehensive antitrust counseling, education and compliance as well as litigation services to clients facing a wide range of complex antitrust issues. It is our goal to assist our clients both in the prevention and resolution of antitrust problems. Our lawyers have provided antitrust assistance to electric utilities, manufacturers, financial institutions, high technology companies, food and beverage suppliers, dairies, distributors, insurance companies and firms active in all facets of the health care industry.

Counseling

Our lawyers provide counseling to clients regarding a host of complex antitrust issues affecting all facets of their businesses. The firm's antitrust lawyers regularly advise regulated utilities and utility industry groups about antitrust issues raised in connection with bulk power and transmission transactions, the interplay between the antitrust laws and regulatory policy, marketing of both regulated and unregulated products and services, trade association participation and other situations that involve the interaction of competitors. Our lawyers routinely advise clients in the health care industry on a variety of issues involving the interplay of antitrust and healthcare regulation, including application of the FTC’s and DOJ’s Statements on Health Care Antitrust Enforcement.
Outside the utility and health care industries, our lawyers counsel clients regarding the antitrust aspects of product distribution and marketing, pricing decisions, business combinations, joint ventures, trade associations and industry group participation. Our lawyers have actively represented businesses involved in acquisitions and joint ventures before the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission as part of the pre-merger review process required by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. Our lawyers are likewise experienced in antitrust issues relating to Intellectual Property.

Education and Compliance

Businesses may benefit greatly from establishing and maintaining effective antitrust compliance programs and effective antitrust compliance programs require businesses to educate and train their employees. In order to further our clients' efforts, we have assisted them in the development and implementation of antitrust compliance and audit programs. As part of this service, we also conduct antitrust training sessions at our clients' locations. Our training sessions are designed with the individual needs of our clients in mind and encourage active participation by our clients’ employees.

Litigation

We have experience in a broad range of antitrust litigation, including trial and appellate work in both state and federal courts. Our appellate practice includes appearances before federal circuit courts of appeal as well as lead roles in petitions for writs of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court and appearances as amicus curiae. Issues addressed in antitrust litigation include antitrust standing, antitrust injury, state action and petitioning immunity, filed rate doctrine, market definition, restraints of trade, conspiracies to monopolize, monopolization and attempted monopolization.

RELATED PRACTICES

RELATED EXPERIENCE

- Corey Airport Services, Inc. v. The City of Atlanta, et al. The firm represents plaintiff in an action alleging restraint of trade, monopolization and attempted monopolization involving certain contracts for services to be supplied at international airport.
- Drafted antitrust policies and guidelines for consortia of electric utilities intended to enhance nationwide and regional electric transmission reliability.
- Drafted antitrust policy and guidelines for joint venture of life insurance providers.
- In re: PSF Antitrust Litigation: This firm successfully represented textile companies in multi-district litigation that alleged it was the target of price fixing.
- Marshall v. Planz. The firm successfully represented defendant physician and physician practice group in an action claiming violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
- Municipal Utilities Board of Albertville, Alabama v. Alabama Power Co. Successfully represented defendant electric utility against claims of violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act relating to the “territorial” legislation establishing exclusive territories for elective utilities.
- North Jackson Pharmacy, Inc., et al. v. Express Scripts, Inc. The firm represents defendant pharmacy benefit manager against claims of price fixing.
- Smith v. Network Solutions, Inc. The firm successfully represented the defendant internet domain registrar in a would-be nationwide class action claiming monopolization in the market of expired but not released domain names.
- Successfully represented computer hardware manufacturer in Federal Trade Commission investigation of merger with competitive computer hardware manufacturer.
- Successfully represented defense contractor through pre-merger Hart-Scott-Rodino process involving merger with competitive defense contractor.
- VAE Nortrak North America, Inc., et al. v. Progress Rail Services Corporation. The firm represents counter-defendant guardrail manufacturer against claims of misusing a patent to achieve monopolization, attempted monopolization and conspiracy to monopolize.