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Late last week, the Department of Justice filed a landmark suit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of creating a monopoly within the smartphone market. Word now comes that the top tech company has hired a top firm to defend itself against these antitrust claims — and it’s not just a top firm, but it’s the No. 1 firm in the Am Law 100 and the No. 1 firm the world: Kirkland & Ellis.
Corporate Counsel has additional details on the partners who will be staffing the case:
Representing Apple in the case will be litigation partners Craig Primis, Devora Allon and Winn Allen, along with antitrust partner Matt Reilly.
Primis was among the recipients of The American Lawyer’s 2023 Litigator of the Year Award, in recognition of a range of achievements, including successfully defending UnitedHealth Group against a DOJ antitrust challenge to its $13 billion acquisition of Change Healthcare.
Among Allon’s recent successes was securing a favorable verdict for Gilead Sciences in a high-stakes antitrust trial over allegations it colluded with Teva Pharmaceuticals to unfairly inflate the price for two key HIV drugs.
Reilly brings deep regulatory experience. He spent 13 years at the Federal Trade Commission and is the former head of its Mergers IV division, where he led challenges and investigations in such industries as health care, retail and consumer products.
Apple claims that the government’s suit is both “wrong on the facts and the law.” Best of luck to the illustrious team at Kirkland as they attempt to get Apple out of this muddied antitrust morass.
Kirkland & Ellis to Represent Apple in Landmark Antitrust Lawsuit [Corporate Counsel]
Earlier: DOJ Hits Apple With Antitrust Lawsuit
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
