Carrington Coleman - Practice Areas

Since the firm's inception, Carrington Coleman lawyers have been active in all aspects of antitrust practice and often have had leadership positions in the antitrust bar at the local, state, and federal levels. Our experience includes both counseling and litigation in civil and criminal cases brought under the federal and state antitrust acts, as well as other statutory and common law regimes for regulating trade and competition.

Counseling
We believe the best service we can provide to our clients is counseling that allows them to avoid a potential antitrust problem. We conduct complete or partial antitrust audits to help clients find and deal with potential issues before they become serious problems. Our counseling practice covers the whole range of antitrust issues to minimize exposure under federal or state law, including distribution arrangements, dealer terminations, pricing policies and sales support, acquisitions and joint ventures under the Merger Guidelines, and the application of federal antitrust statutes to extraterritorial conduct. We have extensive experience with the reporting requirements for acquisitions and joint ventures under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. We also counsel participants and organizers of trade association meetings and similar programs that inherently entail antitrust risk.

Civil Antitrust Cases
While we represent defendants more often than plaintiffs in civil antitrust cases, we have extensive experience representing plaintiffs and will in appropriate circumstances take cases on a contingent fee basis. We think the experience of representing both plaintiffs and defendants makes us more effective in representing all our clients.

Our civil antitrust practice covers claims of vertical and horizontal conspiracies, price fixing and discrimination, market division, boycotts, tying, mergers, monopolization and attempted monopolization, non-price restraints of trade, and all of the permutations of those issues. We are well-versed in the Noerr-Pennington doctrine and other defenses, exemptions, and immunities that may be available to parties charged with anticompetitive activity.

Government Antitrust Cases
The Texas and United States antitrust laws are enforced by the Texas Attorney General, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission. We have extensive experience dealing with these organizations in negotiation and in litigation.

The potential for criminal liability under the antitrust laws is of particular concern to businesses and business executives. The Department of Justice treats price fixing and market division activity as crimes and has become increasingly more aggressive in seeking prison time for individuals and large fines for individuals and corporations. Furthermore, potential criminal convictions have serious consequences for related civil cases, and the relationship between the corporation and its employees in a criminal case is fraught with potential conflicts of interest and other perils. We have the experience to assist clients in developing a strategy for dealing with these challenging issues.

Other Trade Regulation and Unfair Competition Matters
Carrington Coleman also has extensive experience and expertise in other aspects of trade regulation, including claims arising under other federal and state statutes, as well as related common law claims for unfair competition, tortious interference with contract or prospective advantage, "raiding" of employees, misappropriation of trade secrets, trademark infringement, and similar matters. Members of the antitrust group work closely with lawyers in those related practice areas.

Industry-Specific Experience
Our representation of clients in antitrust and trade regulation matters includes many internationally known public companies, banks, major insurance companies, insurance brokers, and health care providers, among others. We have dealt with significant antitrust issues in a number of different contexts, including the following industries: automotive, computer software, drilling equipment, electrical generation and distribution, explosives, healthcare (hospitals, physician groups, and other areas), high alloy steel, insurance, medical equipment, oil and gas production and distribution, publishing, retailing and wholesaling, soft drinks, and telecommunications.

Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Certification except as noted.

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