Practice Areas

Jeffrey M. White

Of Counsel

Jeff is trial lawyer and trade regulation expert who has extensive trial experience in federal and state courts in many jurisdictions, and in arbitration forums. He provides wise and insightful counsel in business, commercial and complex litigation; antitrust and unfair competition matters; and intellectual property disputes. He was formerly the leader of the firm's litigation practice group (2006-2010), heads its antitrust group, and is a member of the intellectual property and technology group.

Jeff's trial and arbitration experience includes casing involving class actions, antitrust and unfair competition, deceptive trade practices, non-competition agreements, business torts, commercial fraud, corporate and business disputes, dealer terminations, contract and UCC, and computer software and systems development. His intellectual property litigation work includes cases involving trademark, trade dress, and copyright infringement, unfair advertising and disputes over proprietary information and trade secrets.

In the antitrust field Jeff has extensive experience in the analysis of mergers, Hart-Scott-Rodino filings and related Department of Justice, FTC and State attorneys general investigations. He regularly represents clients in connection with governmental non-merger, antitrust, unfair competition and unfair or deceptive trade practice investigations. He provides antitrust planning and compliance advice to a wide range of clients in many industries concerning pricing, horizontal and vertical restraints, price discrimination, monopolization, distribution networks, dealer termination, and trade association activities.

Recent Experience

Counsel for Bushmaster Firearms, Inc. in defense of trademark and trade dress infringement action brought by Colt Industries, Ltd. in U.S. District Court, Maine involving the M4 carbine used extensively by U.S. military and law enforcement. Obtained summary judgment that the mark "M4" is generic and invalid and that no trade dress relating to the M4 carbine was infringed
Co-counsel to BBC Worldwide in proceedings in Maine Superior Court, U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and the High Court of Justice in London, arising out of claims by Bee Load, Ltd., one of whose principals is Mick Fleetwood of the band Fleetwood Mac, for damages in excess of $100 million for breach of agreements providing for exploitation of material from the BBC's Pop and Rock Archive. Prevailed on all claims at trial in U.S. Bankruptcy Court adversary proceeding
Counsel to Central Maine Power Company in successful litigation in U.S. District Court, S.D. New York, in which judgment after trial was obtained, securing consummation of the company's $846 million asset sale to FPL Energy
Counsel to LBO Enterprises in formation of American Skiing Company, which became one of the largest operators of ski resorts in the U.S. Handled merger analysis, HSR filings, and litigation and negotiation of consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice enabling consummation of the transaction
Counsel for Sears, Roebuck and Company in successful defense of unfair trade practice act claims brought by State of Maine Attorney challenging Sears' service contracts, involving sales of several hundred million dollars annually, as duplicative of implied warranties at law, and alleging bait and switch practices. Judgment entered for Sears on the claims after trial
Counsel for major cable company in successful defense of federal court copyright infringement claims concerning alleged unauthorized transmission of 137 television shows and seeking maximum statutory damages and attorneys fees. Obtained summary judgment dismissing complaint on grounds that transmissions were not to the public under applicable copyright and FCC retransmission consent rules
Counsel to major computer manufacturer in successful defense of class action involving collection of state sales tax. Obtained Maine Supreme Court decision affirming lower court dismissal on ruling that arbitration clause was enforceable and barred case from proceeding as a class action
Counsel to major credit card company in defense of consumer antitrust class action alleging illegal tying arrangements between credit and debit cards. Obtained dismissal of complaint at trial court level for lack of standing under Associated General Contractors analysis

Honors & Distinctions

Jeff was formerly a semiconductor product engineer at Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation. He is listed in Chambers USA for Commercial Litigation, The Best Lawyers in America for Bet-the-Company Litigation, Antitrust Law (2012 Portland-ME Antitrust Law Lawyer of the Year), Commercial Litigation and Litgation – Intellectual Property, Benchmark Litigation as local litigation star in Antitrust, Civil and Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property, Super Lawyers for Business Litigation, and Who's Who in America and Who’s Who in the World.