Lisa Phelan > Morrison Foerster > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

With a client roster that includes major corporations and individuals from the healthcare, tech, and financial services sectors, Morrison Foerster offers strong in-house experience from governmental agencies, with team co-chair Lisa Phelan‘s lengthy tenure as a senior DOJ enforcer standing out as a notable example. Phelan, a leading authority in criminal antitrust matters, takes the lead on major criminal investigations and litigation, representing multinational clients in high-profile international cartel actions. David Cross is another key litigator with a focus on monopolization and price-fixing matters. Co-chair Alexander Okuliar and David Shaw also have significant in-house experience from the Antitrust Division, specializing in civil enforcement and government-facing antitrust matters, respectively, while Megan Gerking leverages her experience as a DOJ trial lawyer to successfully represent healthcare and energy companies in criminal antitrust investigations. Eliot Adelson, based in San Francisco, focuses on cross-border cartel work, while Bonnie Lau, also in San Francisco, is an active litigator with an emphasis on multidistrict litigations. Unless otherwise stated, all lawyers are based in Washington DC.

Morrison Foerster stands out for its expertise in the tech, telecoms, and life sciences sectors, advising major international names in these industries and others on merger clearances, including FTC Second Request investigations and investigations in Europe and Asia, with notable ongoing involvements in the semiconductor space. Major clients for the firm include Target, UPS, and newly-acquired clients Salesforce and Showingtime, who co-head Alexander Okuliar and Megan Gerking represented in its $500m acquisition by Zillow Group. Co-chair Lisa Phelan remains highly active in contentious investigations, as does Jeff Jaeckel, also a key name for cross-border merger approval processes. Former DOJ Antitrust Division official David Shaw is noted for his Big Tech expertise, and regularly handles litigation arising from contested and proposed mergers. All lawyers mentioned are in Washington DC.

The team at Morrison Foerster is principally known for its experience in defending clients in litigation concerning Sherman Act price-fixing and monopolisation claims particularly in the tech and life sciences space, and is increasingly advising digital platforms on antitrust matters such as algorithmic pricing systems. The team is jointly headed up by Washington DC-based Alexander Okuliar who represents clients in competition advocacy and litigation and Lisa Phelan, a criminal investigations, litigation and enforcement specialist. Also in DC is trial lawyer David Cross and Mary Kaiser, who represents domestic and multinational companies in a range of antitrust and competition matters including IP-related claims, class actions and other complex litigation. Situated in the firm’s San Francisco hub are Eliot Adelson and expert in antitrust litigation Bonnie Lau, who has extensive experience defending class actions, multidistrict litigation in a range of industries including tech, financial services and manufacturing.