Antitrust and competition law has become a force of gravity that impacts virtually all major business plans, transactions, relationships, and market strategies at home and abroad. Antitrust laws establish competition and efficiency as the cornerstones for our domestic economy and, increasingly, markets of countries around the globe. But the pursuit of these fundamentals is often elusive. In today’s economy, market realities are often short-lived. Political, regulatory, technological and supply chain changes constantly disrupt the conventional wisdom about how markets operate.

Like the Constitution, our antitrust and competition laws are built to accommodate and even encourage change. Antitrust statutes speak in broad strokes about promoting competition and efficiencies by prohibiting agreements “in restraint of trade,” and conduct that threatens to “monopolize” any part of commerce. The lucid application of these precepts to a particular market context requires analysis of antitrust court decisions, agency regulations and enforcement actions – along with sound economic principles and intersecting intellectual property and regulatory regimes.

Good outcomes in the face of antitrust challenges require a legal team with genuine antitrust bona fides, industry depth, and a proper economic perspective about how the client’s posture in the marketplace and regulatory environment promote competition. Pierce Atwood brings that plus vigorous advocacy and sound judgment on a cost-effective platform. Our approach combines decades of substantive antitrust, consumer protection and competition experience with vital capabilities in intellectual property licensing and litigation, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, cross-border transactions, securities law, multijurisdictional and international government investigations, and regulatory regimes governing a variety of domestic and international industries. Many Pierce Atwood attorneys have prior government agency and industry experience in agribusiness, construction, financial services, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and emerging technology markets. 

Our competition trial attorneys are also recognized leaders in the profession, handling a variety of civil and criminal enforcement, private plaintiff and class action disputes in federal, state and agency venues across the nation and globally. Pre-merger due diligence, HSR and agency merger review, internal investigations, federal and state and international antitrust investigations, trade organization activities, and antitrust compliance audits and advice are also mainstays of Pierce Atwood’s competition practice.

Areas of Expertise

The Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, State Attorneys General, and a variety of other federal agencies and international bodies are actively engaged in enforcing domestic and international competition legal regimes. Responding to agency investigations and enforcement proceedings puts a premium on sound judgment, credibility, advocacy and knowing the ropes. Pierce Atwood attorneys are adept at navigating these sensitive matters and the collateral corporate governance, litigation, public relations, and customer issues that often accompany them. Many of our attorneys served in federal or state agencies with enforcement responsibilities in antitrust, competition or international compliance matters, so we understand that better outcomes result from being persuasive and persistent on vital client interests while picking the right battles, and understanding how to generate successful resolutions.

Pierce Atwood's antitrust group provides timely, reliable and cost-effective antitrust and competition counseling to clients in a wide variety of markets. Areas of recent counseling analysis include:

  • Antitrust compliance policies, training and audit
  • Responding to competition in product development, distribution, pricing, non-price vertical modalities
  • Pricing, including loyalty and market share discounts and Robinson-Patman Act issues
  • FERC market manipulation rules in natural gas, electricity and other energy fields
  • Standard setting, including trade association and government-sponsored enterprises
  • Tying and bundling, including full-line forcing and other dealer purchasing requirements
  • Distribution networks, including exclusive and dual distribution issues
  • Exclusive dealing, in healthcare and other sectors
  • Trade association activities, including data exchanges and compliance programs
  • Refusals to deal, including dealer terminations and intellectual property licensing
  • Pre-merger due diligence, including gun-jumping issues
  • Joint ventures among competitors, including joint bidding and customer allocation issues
  • Consent decree compliance, including agency audits and sunsetting
  • FTC Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care
  • Application of state action, Noerr-Penington, File Rate Doctrine and other implied exemptions
Representative Experience

Advise major Northeast provider of fuel oil and propane in connection with trade association activities, including data exchanges.

Advice on Trade Association Activities

Advise prominent consumer goods manufacturer regarding antitrust compliance in connection with its distribution relationships and retail strategies, including the implementation of a minimum advertised price policy.

Antitrust Compliance for Consumer Goods Manufacturer

Advise Maine-based agricultural company with respect to antitrust compliance issues in connection with supplier and distributor relationships, including antitrust compliance training to sales staff.

Antitrust Compliance Issues in Supplier and Distributor Relationships

Representation of non-profit public interest organization in connection with antitrust implications of national and state health care cost transparency efforts.

Antitrust Implications of Health Care Cost Transparency Efforts

Representation of leading manufacturer of sports equipment and apparel in connection with price maintenance and price discrimination matters and other antitrust implications of its retail strategy.

Antitrust Implications of Retail Strategy

Representation of frozen food producer in connection with various antitrust issues involving competitor collaborations and dealings in the distribution chain, including pricing policies.

Competition Advice to Frozen Food Producer

The firm’s trial attorneys have amassed decades of experience representing industry leaders and new market entrants alike in cutting edge antitrust and unfair competition litigation under the Sherman and Clayton Acts, the Lanham Act, and state antitrust and consumer protection statutes. In one example, one of our attorneys represented an animation studio in an antitrust class action brought by former employees alleging that no-poaching agreements and information sharing through industry salary surveys constituted horizontal conspiracy in violation of Sherman Act Section 1 and state antitrust laws.

Representative Experience

Representation of Verso Corporation in antitrust and employment litigation arising out of the closure and sale of Verso's paper mill in Bucksport, Maine.

Verso Litigation Concerning Bucksport Mill

Pierce Atwood attorneys assist clients in federal and state antitrust merger and acquisition-related reviews.

Representative Experience

Represented provider of aviation support services in HSR filing related to its acquisition of aircraft de-icing service provider.

HSR Filing in Acquisition by Aviation Support Services Provider

Represented large supplier of energy products and materials handling services in HSR filing related to acquisition of fuel oil and natural gas distributor in the metropolitan New York area.

HSR Filing in Acquisition of Fuel Oil and Natural Gas Distributor

Represented technology support provider in HSR filing related to its acquisition by multi-national computer and technology corporation.

HSR Filing in Acquisition of Technology Support Provider

Pierce Atwood represented Mercy Health System of Maine in its consolidation with Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (EMHS). In addition to the issues involved in any large M&A transaction, including transaction structuring, drafting and negotiation of definitive documents, comprehensive due diligence, and coordination of corporate governance and organizational integration, our team has also dealt with all of the issues inherent in hospital and health system mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, and similar transactions, such as antitrust concerns, HIPAA compliance, medical and executive staff retention and consolidation, benefit plan transition, and the navigation of other relevant federal and state regulatory and licensure issues applicable to the healthcare industry.

Mercy Health System Consolidation with Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems

Advised national bank regarding contemplated acquisitions and merger review by the Department of Justice and the applicable federal banking agencies.

National Bank in Contemplated Acquisitions and Merger Review

The firm's antitrust and competition law clients include established market leaders and new entrants participating in regional, national and global markets. Our competition and antitrust attorneys have first-hand knowledge about how businesses operate in several key markets of the United States and global economy – insights gained from their practices at Pierce Atwood, prior industry experience, and at state and federal regulatory and enforcement agencies. The result: reliable antitrust guidance that’s cost-effective and ready for application in the real world. Representative industries include:

  • Automotive and marine manufacturing, including supply chain sectors and dealer distribution
  • Aquaculture, including commercial fisheries
  • Banking and financial services, including payment and credit processing systems
  • Construction and land use
  • Education, including private secondary school systems and universities
  • Energy and utilities, including gas, electric. petroleum, solar, wind and other emerging markets
  • Food and beverage
  • Healthcare, including integrated hospital systems, physician practice groups and third-party payors
  • Human resources and employment practices
  • Hospitality and tourism, including fast-serve restaurant franchise sectors
  • Manufacturing and related supply chain and distribution systems
  • Music and entertainment
  • Online retail merchant sectors, including advertising, e-commerce and franchising
  • Paper, pulp, containerboard, timber and other forest products
  • Pharmaceuticals and medical devices
  • Shipping and transportation, including fleet management, rail and marine sectors
  • Software and information technology
  • Waste transportation and storage

Representative Experience

Advise major Northeast provider of fuel oil and propane in connection with trade association activities, including data exchanges.

Advice on Trade Association Activities

Advise prominent consumer goods manufacturer regarding antitrust compliance in connection with its distribution relationships and retail strategies, including the implementation of a minimum advertised price policy.

Antitrust Compliance for Consumer Goods Manufacturer

Advise Maine-based agricultural company with respect to antitrust compliance issues in connection with supplier and distributor relationships, including antitrust compliance training to sales staff.

Antitrust Compliance Issues in Supplier and Distributor Relationships

Representation of non-profit public interest organization in connection with antitrust implications of national and state health care cost transparency efforts.

Antitrust Implications of Health Care Cost Transparency Efforts

Representation of leading manufacturer of sports equipment and apparel in connection with price maintenance and price discrimination matters and other antitrust implications of its retail strategy.

Antitrust Implications of Retail Strategy

Representation of frozen food producer in connection with various antitrust issues involving competitor collaborations and dealings in the distribution chain, including pricing policies.

Competition Advice to Frozen Food Producer

Represented provider of aviation support services in HSR filing related to its acquisition of aircraft de-icing service provider.

HSR Filing in Acquisition by Aviation Support Services Provider

Represented large supplier of energy products and materials handling services in HSR filing related to acquisition of fuel oil and natural gas distributor in the metropolitan New York area.

HSR Filing in Acquisition of Fuel Oil and Natural Gas Distributor

Represented technology support provider in HSR filing related to its acquisition by multi-national computer and technology corporation.

HSR Filing in Acquisition of Technology Support Provider

Pierce Atwood represented Mercy Health System of Maine in its consolidation with Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (EMHS). In addition to the issues involved in any large M&A transaction, including transaction structuring, drafting and negotiation of definitive documents, comprehensive due diligence, and coordination of corporate governance and organizational integration, our team has also dealt with all of the issues inherent in hospital and health system mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, and similar transactions, such as antitrust concerns, HIPAA compliance, medical and executive staff retention and consolidation, benefit plan transition, and the navigation of other relevant federal and state regulatory and licensure issues applicable to the healthcare industry.

Mercy Health System Consolidation with Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems

Advised national bank regarding contemplated acquisitions and merger review by the Department of Justice and the applicable federal banking agencies.

National Bank in Contemplated Acquisitions and Merger Review

Representation of Verso Corporation in antitrust and employment litigation arising out of the closure and sale of Verso's paper mill in Bucksport, Maine.

Verso Litigation Concerning Bucksport Mill