Regulated Industries

We work closely with Morgan Lewis’s energy practice lawyers in both litigation and counseling. We have developed a deep understanding of the competitive practicalities of the changing energy industry, enabling us to assist promptly and effectively in energy/antitrust litigation. We have, for example, successfully defended two of the three antitrust challenges ever brought by independent power producers to utilities related to industry restructuring. We also have assisted in many of the largest recent energy mergers, and have handled numerous government investigations involving the energy industry. We have a particular appreciation for the importance of coordinating filings with FERC and other regulatory agencies at the federal and state levels.

Morgan Lewis has deep capability and experience in advising life sciences and healthcare industry clients because of the close integration of our antitrust lawyers with our large group of Food and Drug Administration and healthcare regulatory lawyers, and our transactional lawyers who concentrate in this industry. Our knowledge of the industry’s regulated context enables us to apply an antitrust analysis effectively. One of our antitrust partners is intimately familiar with and advises on the FDA’s regulatory framework, and another was responsible for antitrust policy in this area as Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.

We advise clients regarding a wide range of issues, including mergers, acquisitions and licensing; pricing and distribution; and federal and state competition and consumer-protection investigations. Our life sciences and healthcare clients include pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, insurance providers, and hospitals and other healthcare institutions.

We have substantial experience with the range of antitrust issues faced by companies involved with the media and communications industries. One of our partners served as Assistant Chief of the Communications and Finance Section of DOJ’s Antitrust Division (as it was known at the time), so we have a first-hand understanding of the approach relied upon by the DOJ in evaluating these complex industries. We handle litigation, as well as mergers and government enforcement actions. For example, we served as a lead counsel in the resolution of a DOJ and 50-state investigation concerning a cable television industry joint venture and other activities.

Our lawyers have substantial experience with the antitrust issues that arise in the financial markets, including the securities and commodities markets. We handle government and private litigation, including class actions, as well as investigations initiated by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement. We provide advice regarding joint ventures as well as mergers, and we have assisted national securities exchanges, broker-dealers and other firms on SEC regulatory issues involving competition issues.

We pride ourselves, however, in helping our clients avoid problems by working with in-house counsel to develop compliance programs that are carefully tailored to the particular issues faced by companies participating in the financial markets.