Representing the Client


Most of my practice involves antitrust litigation. Nevertheless, the role of an antitrust lawyer is not simply to be a trial lawyer. It is to be an advisor. Antitrust lawyers advise their clients on matters having to do with legal versus illegal pricing, distribution of products, trade association activities, cooperation with competitors, and merger and acquisition issues, among others. Basically, the antitrust lawyer's role is to advise the client on what it (and its competitors ) can and cannot do safely and legally in the marketplace . Despite there being well over 100 years of settled federal antitrust law, there are still many areas where the law has not yet been well defined. As a result, the most important thing an antitrust lawyer can do for his clients is to determine the relevant legal issues, consider the body of law and then provide an opinion and recommendation based on the possible outcomes. It is simply not enough for an antitrust lawyer to advise his client of the murkiness of the law and that there could be several outcomes , and leave it to the client to choose one of the options. The client deserves an opinion your best opinion.

Your general goals in representing your client in a litigation situation will vary based on whether your client is the plaintiff or the defendant. If you are a plaintiffs lawyer, your goal should be getting to trial (or a settlement ) as quickly as possible. That means getting enough documentary or testamentary evidence to be able to get the case to a jury, without prolonged discovery and pretrial skirmishes. Otherwise, it is too easy to get mired down in trying to create the perfect case, while ultimately not making your client any money on the case, even if you win. If you are a defense lawyer, however, you need to do everything possible to dispose of the case before it reaches trial. When a case goes to trial, the skill of the lawyer or the nature of the documents may make little difference in the outcome. If you get a jury that is in the wrong mood on the wrong day, having all the right facts might not make a difference. In any trial, there is the potential for the defendant to lose a great deal of money in actual damages, treble damages, and attorneys fees, all of which can add up to many millions of dollars. The consequences can be enough to destroy your clients business.

The most interesting situations in antitrust practice come from innovative clients who show an incredible breadth of imagination in what they can do to walk as close to the edge of the cliff of permissible activities without falling over. It is both fun and challenging to deal with a client who has devised a totally new way to sell or distribute a product or make a contract that will allow it some greater advantage over its competitors.




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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