Concentration

Litigation and Antitrust

Summary

John M. Taladay is Co-Chair of the Antitrust Practice of Baker Botts.   He is well known for his work in gaining merger approvals, defending criminal cartel investigations, litigating civil antitrust cases and managing complex international competition matters.

In working closely with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, the European Commission and other international agencies, Mr. Taladay has extensive experience in gaining merger clearances particularly in the technology, media, telecommunications, consumer products, software and pharmaceutical sectors and traditional industries including the automotive, primary metals, agriculture, food, chemicals and electronics sectors.

Mr. Taladay has also counseled U.S. and foreign clients and individuals in dozens of major cartel matters including antitrust grand jury investigations into allegations of price fixing, bid-rigging, market allocation and related offenses. He has navigated corporate clients through a range of cartel representation strategies from steadfast defense to leniency application to  formal non-prosecution treatment. His litigation work includes acting as lead counsel in numerous civil antitrust class action and other litigation matters involving nearly all aspects of the antitrust laws.

Previously, Mr. Taladay served in the antitrust leadership of Howrey, LLP, and as International Legal Counsel at the Paris headquarters of Vivendi Universal.

Mr. Taladay has been extremely active in the development of international competition policy. He serves as the Vice Chair of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD Competition Committee and has been appointed as a Non-Governmental Advisor to the International Competition Network. In the latter capacity, he has been invited by the U.S. FTC and DOJ to serve as a faculty member at several international merger workshops aimed at training more than 50 ICN member agencies in the analysis of mergers. He also acts as Vice-Chair of the International Committee of the ABA Section of Antitrust and as a member of the ICC Competition Committee.

Representative Engagements

• GKN’s acquisition of Getrag GMBH, automotive drive train parts.
• In re Air Cargo Antitrust Litigation - lead counsel to South African Airways in civil class actions and DOJ investigation.
• Yellow Pages Group - Acquisition of Community Phone Book. Print media and internet advertising. 
• In re Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust Litigation - Lead counsel to Philips Electronics in all aspects of DOJ investigation and related civil class actions.
• Custom Direct, Inc. Sale of assets to Deluxe Corp - Consumer check printing and marketing.
• Bell Canada Enterprises - Sale of satellite subsidiary Telesat Canada to Intelsat.
• Royal Philips Electronics - Disposition of subsidiary to Nuance Technologies. Speech recognition software.
• Akamai Technologies, Inc. - Acquisition of Speedera Networks, Inc. Internet content delivery networks.
• In re Optical Disk Drive (ODD) Antitrust Litigation - Lead counsel representing PLDS in all aspects of DOJ investigation and related civil class actions.
• Inco Ltd. - including Inco’s Successful DOJ Approval for the Acquisition of Falconbridge, Ltd. and subsequent sale to CVRD. Nickel and cobalt mining & refining.
• Food Industry Antitrust Investigation - Lead counsel to subject in DOJ Grand Jury investigation in the food ingredients industry.
• Plumbing Cartel Investigation - Successful defense as lead counsel in DOJ and EC cartel investigation into plumbing products.

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

Publications

• “Interview with Carl Shapiro,” The Threshold (ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Mergers Committee) Vol. IX, No. 3, Summer 2009
• “Recent US and EU Antitrust Development in M&A: Market Definition, Coordinated Effects, Unilateral Effects, Entry, Efficiencies,” UCLA Law Second Annual Institute on Antitrust Aspects of M&A, October 2006
• “Prosecuting Cartels Without Direct Evidence of Agreement,” Global Forum on Competition, OECD Competition Committee, February 2006
• “The DOJ’s Application of the New Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act: Raising Stakes for Antitrust Offenders and Sweetening the Pot for Leniency Candidates,” 1-04 Antitrust Reports 2, 2005, (Co-authored with James F. Rill)
• “Antitrust and Intellectual Property: Compulsory Licensing in the United States and European Union,” George Mason Review, Spring 2002
• “Harmonization of International Merger Review: Should Fixed Period Merger Review Be a Global Ambition,” International Merger Control: Prescriptions for Convergence, International Bar Association, 2002, (Co-authored with James F. Rill, Mark Clifford Schechter)

Speeches

• “Initial Notification and Planning,” 2010 ICN Merger Workshop on Merger Policy and Practice, Rome, Italy, November 3 - 4, 2010
• “Public Procurement - Leniency and Bidder Disqualification,” OECD Competition Committee Working Party No. 3, Paris, June 15, 2010
• “Around the World in 90 Minutes: New Developments in Merger Review,” ABA Section of Antitrust Law, International Committee Teleseminar, February 25, 2010
• “Collusion and Corruption in Public Procurement,” OECD Global Forum on Competition, Paris, February 19, 2010
• “Competition, State Aids and Subsidies,” OECD Global Forum on Competition, Paris, February 18, 2010
• “An Afternoon with Canadian Competition Commissioner Melanie Aitken and FTC Commissioner William E. Kovacic: Recent Developments in Canadian Competition Law,” Presented by the ABA Section of Antitrust Law and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC, February 1, 2010
• “Generic Pharmaceuticals,” OECD Competition Committee, Paris, October 22, 2009
• “Application of Antitrust Law to State-Owned Enterprises,” OECD Competition Committee Working Party No. 3, Paris, October 20, 2009
• “Competition, Patents and Innovation,” OECD Competition Committee, Paris, June 11, 2009
• “8th Annual ICN Conference, Merger Working Group Breakout Session,” International Competition Network, Zurich, Switzerland, June 3, 2009
• “Merger Working Group Workshop, Session I: Merger Notification and Initial Review,” International Competition Network, Taipei, Taiwan, March 10, 2009
• “Challenges Faced by Young Competition Authorities,” OECD Global Forum on Competition, Paris, February 20, 2009
• “Competition Policy, Industrial Policy and National Champions,”OECD Global Forum on Competition, Paris, February 19, 2009
• “Bundles and Loyalty Discounts and Rebates,” OECD Competition Committee Working Party No. 3, Paris, June 10, 2008