Paul Friedman

Paul H. Friedman was the managing partner of the firm’s Washington, D.C. office for 14 years and is a past co-chair of the antitrust/competition practice. Mr. Friedman has been ranked as a top antitrust lawyer by Chambers USA, a referral guide to leading lawyers in the United States that has noted his “excellent cross-examination of experts in antitrust cases” and that “his litigation prowess gains him further acclaim.”

He has also been considered a “true star” in antitrust litigation by Benchmark Litigation. Mr. Friedman Co-Created the Annual Antitrust Law & Economics Institute for Judges that is co-sponsored by the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law and the Law and Economics Center at the George Mason University School of Law.

Mr. Friedman served as Co-Chair of the Institute from 2010-2014, and currently is a member of the Institute’s Curriculum Committee. Mr. Friedman represents parties in merger and non-merger investigations and in antitrust litigation.

Mr. Friedman regularly serves as lead counsel in multi-defendant class and non-class action matters in federal and state courts as well as in domestic and foreign arbitral tribunals.

EDUCATION :

• The University of Chicago, B.A., 1975
• Boston University School of Law, J.D., 1978

ADMISSIONS :

• District of Columbia
• Supreme Court of the United States
• United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• United States District Court for the District of Columbia

MEMBERSHIPS :

• American Bar Association Antitrust Section
  • Co-Chair of the Section’s Annual Spring Meeting
  • Former Chair of the Civil Practice and Procedure Committee
  • Former member of the Section’s Council (August 2012 – July 2015)
  • Former Vice-Chair of the Section’s Programs Committee and the Advocacy Committee

EXPERIENCE :

• Litigation
  • Lead counsel for Dean Foods Company and liaison counsel for all defendants in consolidated class action MDL antitrust suits brought by dairy farmers alleging conspiracy to monopolize, conspiracy to monopsonize, monopolization and attempted monopsonization of raw milk markets in certain southeastern states in the United States. Successfully negotiated settlement for Dean Foods.
  • Lead counsel for Dean Foods Company in putative class action antitrust suit brought by retailers alleging conspiracy to monopolize, monopolization and attempted monopolization of processed milk markets in the southeastern United States. Litigation ongoing.
  • Represented Louisiana Pacific and served as defense liaison counsel in In re OSB Antitrust Litigation, and successfully arguing, on behalf of all Defendants, that a proposed class of all homebuyers since 2002 should not be certified in In re OSB Antitrust Litigation.
  • Lead counsel for Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in federal MDL class and opt-out litigation and in state court indirect purchaser cases. Achieving closure of FTC informal inquiry in record time, which permitted Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to close on sale of assets that were vital to its financial survival.
• Merger Control
  • Mr. Friedman also guides clients through Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice investigations. He has been successful in persuading the enforcement agencies to forego expensive and time-consuming second requests and has gained expedited clearance following the issuance of a second request.