Steven A. Reed
Steve Reed represents clients in high-stakes litigation at trial and on appeal. He has advocated before judges and juries in federal and state courts across the United States, securing precedent-setting victories that have helped shape the law governing class actions and limit the ability of the Federal Trade Commission to sue in federal court. Clients value Steve’s pragmatic approach, calm and steady demeanor, and ability to distill highly complex legal and factual issues into clear, compelling arguments.
Steve is recognized by multiple publications as a leading lawyer in antitrust litigation, commercial litigation, bet-the-company litigation, and class action defense, among other areas. He is a member of the firm’s management committee, serving as managing partner of global performance. Before assuming his current role, Steve led the firm’s antitrust practice for more than a decade and served on the firm’s Advisory Board, including as lead board member.
A trusted adviser to his clients, Steve is regularly called upon to tackle companies’ most critical legal challenges, which often include multiple dimensions. Beyond litigation, Steve has represented clients in response to government investigations by federal agencies and by state attorneys general and in congressional inquiries in both the House and the Senate. He also counsels clients on risk mitigation strategies and during due diligence before corporate acquisitions. Steve’s clients include leading companies in pharmaceuticals and life sciences, healthcare, insurance, oil and gas, technology, finance, retail, transportation, chemical, entertainment, banking, and paper and office products, among other industries.
Chambers USA describes Steve as “exceptionally talented,” “smart, analytical, and strategic,” and “top notch in every respect," “a pleasure to work with” according to clients. Commentators describe Steve’s team as “extremely responsive with astonishingly prescient advice,” and Steve in particular as possessing “a superlative legal mind, unparalleled oral advocacy skills and an unmatched ability to make the complex seem straightforward.” Steve has twice been named a Competition MVP by Law360 and was one of 10 lawyers in the world to be shortlisted for Lawyer of the Year by Global Competition Review in 2020. His commitment to client service has resulted in his twice being recognized as a Client Service All-Star by BTI Consulting Inc. and as an Acritas Star by Acritas.
Steve has been involved in some of the largest and most complex litigations in the United States. His noteworthy matters include four MDLs (In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation; In re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation; In re: North Sea Brent Crude Oil Futures Litigation; and In re: Zetia Antitrust Litigation); the defense of a lawsuit brought by the FTC challenging constitutionally protected petitioning activity that presented a matter of first impression relating to the FTC’s authority to sue in federal court; the defense against a challenge by dozens of taxicab companies to the competitive entry of a transportation network company in Philadelphia; the defense of a pharmaceutical company accused of entering into a “pay for delay” settlement with respect to a blockbuster drug; and the defense of a company accused of participating in an alleged industrywide price-fixing conspiracy.
