Katie Balthrop

Katie L. Balthrop assists clients in navigating state and federal court systems, governmental investigations, and internal investigations. She advises corporations and individuals on antitrust and competition issues in the context of contracting, selling and doing deals, as well as on the unique competition issues that can arise in patent litigation.

Katie helps individual and corporate clients facing serious threats to their bottom line: significant litigation, government investigations, internal fraud or antitrust risk.

Responsive and agile, she is equally as comfortable advising clients on internal policy as on litigation strategy. Katie advises and advocates for clients on issues arising under the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR) and the Robinson-Patman Act.

Katie’s experience working in strategy and operations for healthcare providers provides her with particular insight into that industry. She has served as an advocate for clients across all industries, from energy companies to chemical manufacturers and from privately held investment companies to major media conglomerates.

Additionally, Katie has experience litigating claims related to fiduciary duties, business torts, breach of contract and fraud. She practices in both state and federal courts and before arbitration panels, and also advises and represents clients in government investigations and strategic decision-making outside the courtroom.

Katie maintains an active pro bono practice, providing estate planning and other services to veterans, defending tenants facing wrongful evictions, and handling adoptions for relative caregivers.

She sits on the Junior Board of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, an organization dedicated to ensuring safe and stable homes for all Atlantans through the provision of pro bono legal services. Katie also serves on the faculty of Emory Law’s Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques, teaching trial skills to second-year law students.

Representative Matters :

• Defended a corporate client in parallel government investigations of a criminal price-fixing conspiracy in the chemical industry, successfully avoiding any further civil or criminal legal action by investigating entities against the client.
• Advised a technology company on possible anticompetitive conduct by a licensor of digital connection technology in its use of a patent pool to seek retrospective royalties of up to five times the rate of competing technology.
• Developed minimum advertised pricing policies for clients working with third-party distributors and internet distribution channels.
• Defended financial services companies against conspiracy-based antitrust claims in the real estate finance industry.
• Defended an eyewear company against patent infringement claims, leading to a successful settlement based on a patent misuse defense.

Professional Experience : Business Analyst/Consultant, Deloitte Consulting, 2005-2007

EDUCATION :

• Emory University School of Law, J.D., with honors, Order of the Coif, 2010
• Boston College, B.A., 2005

BAR ADMISSIONS : Georgia

COURT ADMISSIONS :

• Georgia State Courts
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia