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J. Brent Justus Partner

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Richmond T +1 804 775 1018 F fax +1 804 698 2026
Washington, D.C. T +1 202 857 2478
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Brent operates a broad antitrust practice, with a particular focus on cartel defense, litigation, and merger clearances. He is co-leader of the firm’s Antitrust Practice Group, served as the co-chair of the Cartel and Criminal Practice Committee of the ABA’s Antitrust Section, and currently serves as the co-chair of the Section’s Trial Practice Committee. He is also an editor of the three-volume State Antitrust Practice and Statutes (Fifth) published by the ABA Antitrust Section and is a past chair of the Antitrust Section of the Virginia State Bar.

  • Litigation: Brent has litigated matters in federal courts throughout the United States and has handled cases under virtually every aspect of the antitrust laws including monopolization, price fixing, horizontal and vertical conspiracies including no-poach, boycotts, and price discrimination, as well as a number of state antitrust and unfair competition statutes.
  • Cartel Investigations: Brent has successfully represented both corporate clients and individuals located throughout the world in connection with global criminal antitrust cartel investigations. His practice has included representation of clients before the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, the Canadian Competition Bureau, and the European Commission Directorate General for Competition.
  • Merger Control: Brent has worked extensively on merger investigations involving both domestic and European companies and coordinates the preparation of both Hart-Scott-Rodino and international premerger clearance filings.

Brent is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and for multiple years has been selected by Global Competition Review for inclusion in International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers. Brent was also recognized six times as a Rising Star in Virginia for antitrust litigation by Super Lawyers.

Experience

  • Served as lead counsel in defense of major transportation and logistics provider in nationwide class action alleging a no-poach conspiracy for truck drivers.
  • Represented leading petroleum exploration and production company in defense of class action alleging global conspiracy to reduce oil output and inflate gasoline prices.
  • Served as lead counsel for specialty home products manufacturer in consolidated multi-state class action in which plaintiffs alleged nearly $1 billion in total damages from purported horizontal and vertical antitrust conspiracies.
  • Represented leading rail transportation company as plaintiff in monopolization lawsuit challenging denial of access to key terminal facilities.
  • Representation of industry-leading manufacturer in global cartel investigation involving simultaneous government investigations in Europe, Canada and the United States.
  • Coordinated the successful merger clearance of two global manufacturers, handling simultaneous investigations by authorities in the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
  • Representation of large multinational corporation in the establishment and maintenance of antitrust compliance and audit programs across multiple business units.
  • Representation of major food company in antitrust litigation brought by competitor asserting both conspiracy and monopolization claims.
  • Regular representation of both buyers and sellers regarding the antitrust implications of major corporate transactions, including Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification and investigations in the United States and the coordination of pre-merger notification filings in other jurisdictions around the world.
  • Frequent advisor to merger arbitrage funds regarding the timing and likelihood of government antitrust challenges to announced merger transactions.

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