John Taladay > Baker Botts L.L.P. > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

The team at Baker Botts L.L.P. ‘provides outstanding tactical advice and defends in significant and material litigation’ such as class action lawsuits and competitor litigation in federal and state courts nationwide. Recently defending against price fixing claims and group boycotts in the life sciences and manufacturing sectors, the firm’s client portfolio features the likes of FedEx, Ericsson and Sun Pharmaceuticals. The highly regarded John Taladay co-chairs the practice offering his extensive experience in merger clearance work as well as defending national and international corporations in cartel matters and class actions. Maureen Ohlhausen also heads the team, advises across the retail, telecoms and tech space and is well known for her significant experience nationally and globally on antitrust and FTC-related matters. Senior associate Chris Wilson represents litigants from complaint filing to trial in industries such as industrial manufacturing, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals. All the mentioned attorneys are based in the Washington DC office. Joseph Ostoyich and William Lavery left the practice in April 2023.

Baker Botts L.L.P. is a destination practice for high-stakes cartel investigations and defense, representing major corporate clients from the Big Tech, pharma, and food processing industries in civil and criminal litigation, investigations both internal and governmental, as well as advising them on overall policy issues and compliance. The team is co-headed by John Taladay and Maureen Ohlhausen. Taladay, an extensively experienced cartel lawyer with a strong record in securing successful outcomes for his clients, leads the firm’s criminal cartel practice, while Ohlhausen takes point on civil antitrust investigations with a focus on price-fixing and filing investigations. Former DOJ attorney Taylor Owings has particular experience in antitrust issues relating to the digital economy and intellectual property matters, while Erik Koons‘ practice focuses on bet-the-company antitrust litigation. Another key litigator is monopolization specialist Joseph Ostoyich, while Chris Wilson and Stacy Turner handle civil and criminal cartel investigations. All mentioned lawyers are based in Washington DC.

Baker Botts L.L.P. focuses on complex, high-stakes merger clearance processes, advising major global businesses across industries such as energy, tech, and pharma on transactions facing scrutiny from the DOJ, FTC, and international antitrust agencies, from initial filing through to investigations and litigation. The firm offers strong contentious antitrust expertise, as well as broad multijurisdictional capabilities, regularly working with its teams in Europe on cross-border merger control mandates, and can call upon key senior agency experience in its senior team, with practice co-chair Maureen Ohlhausen a former chair of the FTC,  Taylor Owings having served as Chief of Staff at the DOJ Antitrust Division, and Mark Botti a former Section Chief at the DOJ. The team accordingly specializes in securing clearance for contested deals, including co-chair John Taladay ‘s successful closing of Mandiant’s acquisition by Alphabet, which faced a DOJ Second Request. In a key demonstration of the firm’s international expertise, Paul Cuomo  represented Liberty Latin America in its agreement with América Móvil to combine VTR and Claro Chile, a deal requiring approvals in multiple jurisdictions. Matthew Adler was promoted to partner in March 2022, and is noted for his work before the DOJ and FTC on regulated industry merger clearances. All lawyers mentioned are in Washington DC.