Cartel Defense & Investigations

• Defended a Japanese auto parts manufacturer and its executives against investigations by the competition authorities in the European Union, the United States, Korea, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Canada, which presented various separate criminal law violations, with respect to alleged anti-competitive bidding activity in the sale and supply of motor vehicle components
• Obtained a “not-guilty” jury verdict on behalf of a Finnish pulp and paper manufacturer in a three-and-a-half-year investigation by the DOJ, one of the few such cases to go to trial
• Represented a global manufacturer of private-label pasta in its involvement in Italy’s current alleged pasta cartel investigation under Article 81 of the European Commission EC Treaty, launched by the Italian Competition Authority against the main Italian pasta manufacturers
• Represented a building materials company in grand jury investigation into potential antitrust violations in the industry, which resulted in no indictment
• Represented and negotiated a favorable plea bargain for Nutrite Corp. in a case that arose out of a DOJ criminal grand jury investigation of a conspiracy to fix the price of ammonium nitrate sold in the US
• Represented a chemical corporation in a EC cartel investigation relating to a hydrogen peroxide case, including litigation at the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg, resulting in the significant reduction of the total length of the alleged infringement and, accordingly, the fine
• At the end of the grand jury investigation into an industrial supplier, persuaded the DOJ to convert the investigation to a civil case and entered into a consent decree (without admitting any wrongdoing) that imposed virtually no restrictions on our client’s future conduct
• Represented a German graphite electrodes competitor in the graphite electrodes and carbon cathodes investigations by the DOJ and the Canadian Department of Justice
• Defended the company and key executives in several federal grand jury, Federal Trade Commission and DOJ investigations of alleged criminal and civil antitrust violations in the manufacture and sale of primary paper and paperboard products encompassing three different divisions of the client. All investigations terminated without indictment or any adverse action against the client or any of its employees. Also won a follow-on jury trial and appeal of nationwide federal suits seeking treble damages for alleged civil antitrust violations in the sale of “fine paper”
• Represented and obtained immunity from fines for two major corporations in a smart card chips cartel investigation regarding issues in relation to leniency and parental liability. The investigation started with dawn raids carried out by the EC and covered collusion involving microchips widely used in applications such as ID cards, telephone SIM cards, bank and payment cards or pay TV cards

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