Karen Hoffman Lent

Karen Hoffman Lent is head of the Antitrust/Competition Group in Skadden’s New York office, representing a wide variety of clients in antitrust, sports and other complex litigation matters at both the trial and appellate court levels. She also provides general antitrust counseling.

Ms. Lent was named by SportsBusiness Journal as a 2016 Power Player in sports law and was named to their 2013 Forty Under Forty list, in addition to being named in Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America and The Best Lawyers in America. She also was selected for inclusion in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2018.

In the antitrust litigation area, Ms. Lent has handled litigations involving price-fixing, group boycotts, monopolization, other restraints of trade and class actions. She represented Pfizer Inc. in a class action alleging monopolization with respect to the drug Neurontin.

Other representations include, among others, Actavis plc in class actions alleging anticompetitive reverse payment settlements regarding branded drugs Lidoderm and Actos; The Vitol Group in class actions alleging price-fixing and market manipulation of North Brent Sea Crude Oil; Ainsworth Lumber Company in an antitrust class action alleging price-fixing in the Oriented Strand Board industry; NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in a putative antitrust class action brought by resident physicians; International Paper Company in an antitrust class action alleging price-fixing; and IASIS Healthcare in an antitrust action challenging a series of exclusive contracts.

She also advised the NBA and its member teams in connection with its most recent labor dispute and lockout and has successfully arbitrated several disputes involving disability insurance coverage for NBA players.

Ms. Lent represented the NHL in connection with the Phoenix Coyotes’ attempt to relocate the team, out of bankruptcy, over the league’s objection. She has litigated other disputes on behalf of the NBA, NFL, NHL and the Arena Football League, as well as their member teams, involving relocation, intellectual property rights, player discipline and salary protection.

She also has provided advice on various issues to Madison Square Garden, the PGA Tour and Collegiate Licensing Corporation. In the area of general antitrust counseling, Ms. Lent advises clients on compliance with basic antitrust statutes, including issues relating to competitor collaborations, unilateral conduct and distribution. She also presents antitrust compliance programs.

Ms. Lent actively works on pro bono matters, and received the Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Publico Award in 2009 and 2011 for her successful representation of a disabled senior citizen whose landlord illegally overcharged her monthly rent for several years.

Education:

• J.D., Fordham University School of Law, 1999 (Notes and Articles Editor, Fordham Law Review; Order of the Coif; cum laude)
• B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 1995

Admissions:

• New York
• U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fourth and Ninth Circuits
• U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York

Associations : Associate Director, Fordham Competition Law Institute