The Benefits of a Mentor


There is no substitute in professional development for working with a great antitrust lawyer. It is extremely valuable for junior lawyers to be exposed to how a senior lawyer analyzes a problem, delivers the analysis, and constructs creative solutions. That is the best way to learn.

Miles W. Kirkpatrick founded our antitrust practice group three decades ago. He returned to the firm after having been Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, and his presence was the reason for me coming to Morgan Lewis. A few years later we had a very difficult case regarding predatory pricing that another law firm had lost in district court . The client came to our firm and asked us if we would take the case on appeal .

I spent a lot of time researching and reviewing the trial record, and came up with what I thought were some really good theories for the appeal. The case had been decided against our client based on an inference from certain indirect evidence. Miles looked at everything I had done and at what had gone on below in the trial court, and simply said, It occurs to me that there is actual evidence here that there was no effect on pricing. Doesnt that trump all of the inferences and all the cases cited and record data, and isnt that the way to attack the judgment below? He was absolutely correct, and his analysis ended up being accepted by the United States Court of Appeal for the Third Circuit. Significantly, it is still the legal standard for predatory pricing analysis today, twenty years later.

That is an example of how, if you know the antitrust field and the industry, and you have well-honed practical judgment, you can simplify your analysis to the point where you can say, This is a way through all of this case analysis and facts and documents that have been produced below. And this is the way to present it." You learn that only by working with the best. It is something that you have to experience in process. You cannot simply be told what to do, because it doesnt mean anything until you see it generated by a great antitrust lawyer in a particular context.




Inside the Minds Stuff - Inside the Minds. Winning Antitrust Strategies
Inside the Minds Stuff - Inside the Minds. Winning Antitrust Strategies
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2004
Pages: 102

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