"Calfee provides excellent service and high-quality advice."
Client quote, Chambers USA
Overview
Calfee’s Antitrust and Trade Regulation team provides proactive and trusted guidance so that our clients can address potential competition issues before they become legal problems. We regularly represent public and private companies on antitrust matters in every procedural context – before the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and in state and federal courts in complex civil and criminal litigation.
Our antitrust litigation attorneys give clients practical competition advice that allows them to achieve their business goals while limiting their legal exposure in areas such as distribution, price, and acquisitions.
The industries in which we provide antitrust counsel are as diverse as the firm’s client base and have included consumer goods, automotive components, food and beverage, health care, real estate brokerage, software development, supermarkets, electric utilities, industrial coatings, mining, and dairies.
We provide counseling and litigation services in the areas of competitor and customer relations, pricing policies, dealer relations, Hart-Scott-Rodino compliance, joint venture/acquisition analysis, advertising, and franchising. We also regularly assist clients in developing and implementing antitrust compliance programs.
In the context of antitrust law, the question often is not whether conduct is plainly legal or illegal but the degree of risk of liability it may carry. Assessing that risk involves more than just knowledge of the law. It also requires an experienced assessment of how a judge or jury will perceive the conduct, how state and federal antitrust enforcement authorities will view it, and a sensitivity to the particular client’s business objectives.
The stakes in antitrust litigation are often enormous. Substantial resources usually must be brought to bear in the prosecution or defense of such claims. At Calfee, our antitrust litigation attorneys have the resources and experience necessary to employ these resources efficiently and effectively.
Effective antitrust representation also requires a thorough understanding of the specific marketplace in which a business operates. Our knowledge spans a vast range of industries, and we work with clients to ensure we understand their businesses in order to effectively guide them through the antitrust maze to achieve their business goals.
Noteworthy
Chambers USA Leading Law Firm Rankings
Since 2021, Calfee has been recognized by Chambers USA as a Leading Law Firm in Antitrust, most recently in Band 2 in Ohio (2024).
Clients interviewed by Chambers USA researchers stated, "The strength of Calfee is that they have really good subject matter expertise. The firm provides excellent service and high-quality advice. Their lawyers are very good."
Litigation practice Co-Chair and leader of the firm's Antitrust and Antitrust and Trade Regulation Counseling and Litigation practice groups, Maura L. Hughes, has been recognized as a Leading Lawyer in Antitrust Law by Chambers USA, most recently in Band 1 in Ohio (2024). Clients interviewed by Chambers USA researchers described Maura Hughes as "well respected in the Antitrust Bar; she provides practical advice and is extremely smart. She is a trusted adviser."
Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” Rankings
Calfee was selected for inclusion in the 2025 "Best Law Firms" rankings in Antitrust Law (Regional Tier 2 Cleveland) and Litigation – Antitrust (National Tier 3, Regional Tier 1 Cleveland).
Benchmark Litigation Rankings
Calfee was selected for inclusion by Benchmark Litigation 2025 as a Highly Recommended Law Firm in Dispute Resolution in Ohio. Additionally, 16 of Calfee's Litigation partners have been ranked by Benchmark Litigation as "Litigation Stars" in the U.S. (National), Midwest, and Ohio and as “40 & Under" and "Future Stars" Honorees.
Professionals
Professionals
Experience
Experience
Calfee’s Antitrust and Trade Regulation attorneys have extensive litigation and regulatory experience in a range of industries, including the following:
- Represented a first-tier automotive supplier in multi-district antitrust class action litigation alleging horizontal cartel activity.
- Through an 11-week trial, successfully defended a local brokerage in an action brought by the world’s largest real estate organization alleging violations of Sherman Act Sections 1 and 2.
- Defending an incumbent local telephone exchange carrier against a competitor’s claims of monopolization and violation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
- Counseled a nationally recognized manufacturer of luxury consumer goods in restructuring its marketing and distribution systems and cooperative advertising programs and successfully defended the manufacturer in a Justice Department investigation of its programs.
- Represented a nationally recognized manufacturer and retailer in connection with an industry-wide investigation of competitive effects on retail pricing of certain labeling practices.
- Successfully defended a leading steel container manufacturer in multi-district, treble-damage, price-fixing class actions and in a parallel federal grand jury investigation based in Chicago.
- Advised intellectual property clients with respect to possible antitrust implications of field of use restrictions in licensing agreements, as well as the antitrust implications of computer standard setting.
- Routinely counsel clients on Hart-Scott-Rodino pre-merger notification requirements, prepare and administer filings, and present issues to the FTC and Justice Department enforcement staff in support of the transaction.
- Represented a regional health care institution in connection with the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation of and efforts to enjoin its acquisition by a competing hospital system.
Services
Services
Corporate Counseling
- Merger and acquisition analysis
- Hart-Scott-Rodino pre-merger notification
- Joint venture evaluation and structuring
- Development and enforcement of pricing policies
- Antitrust compliance programming
- Consumer protection
- Intellectual property restrictions
- Robinson-Patman Act
- Dealer terminations
Government Enforcement
- Department of Justice civil investigations
- Federal merger investigations
- Grand Jury investigations and criminal litigation
- FTC enforcement proceedings
- State enforcement proceedings
- Unfair trade matters
- Deceptive advertising claims
Private Litigation
- Price fixing
- Monopolization
- Discriminatory prices and promotions
- Tying arrangements
- Exclusive dealings
- Refusals to deal and boycotts
- Dealer terminations
- Market allocations
News & Events
News
Events
Blog Posts
