The Co-Chair of the Firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice, Ian Simmons has been lead counsel in more than 32 multi-district litigation (MDL) antitrust proceedings and has achieved precedent-setting results. With 28 years of experience in antitrust litigation, Ian is one of a few lawyers listed in both the Litigation and Competition Who’s Who Legal directories. In addition to his extensive experience with cartel cases, Ian litigates matters involving intellectual property issues, including the competitive implications of standard essential patents and FRAND obligations. He has taken more than 30 expert economist depositions.
An alumnus of the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Ian uses his prosecutorial skills to maximize his clients’ interests. He has argued before the US Court of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, Seventh and Ninth Circuits and the highest courts in New York and South Dakota. Ian has tried seven cases to verdict. His efforts were recognized by Law360, which named Ian an MVP of the Year in Competition in 2011.
Chambers USA regularly ranks Ian for his work in antitrust litigation, and notes his “fine reputation for his multijurisdictional cartel defense work” and reports that clients describe him as “outstanding and incredibly skilled,” commend his “detail-oriented work,” and praise his “encyclopedic knowledge.” Ian is consistently recognized for his work in antitrust by Legal 500, which labels him a “star of the antitrust bar” along with O’Melveny’s team as “top-drawer,” and by Global Competition Review who recently lauded him for his Samsung victory against Qualcomm in 2017, and shortlisted him for “Litigator of the Year” at the 2015 Global Competition Review awards. Who’s Who Legal highlights Ian’s “superb attention to detail, excellence in written and oral advocacy and subtle judgement on strategy,” noting that peers and clients consider him “a super smart litigator with great instincts.” Ian has also been named a 2017 Antitrust Trailblazer by the National Law Journal, a leading lawyer by Who’s Who Legal: Litigation in 2017, and a competition expert by Who's Who Legal: Competition in 2018.
An expert in the doctrine at the intersection of intellectual property and antitrust law, including FRAND and the law of Standard Setting Organizations, Ian represented Samsung as an amicus in FTC v. Qualcomm, a filing whose content made its way into the District Court opinion denying Qualcomm’s motion to dismiss. He defeated class certification on a multi-billion-dollar price fixing claim involving Optical Disk Drives in the Northern District of California against Samsung and other major technology companies and obtained a highly significant victory for Asiana Airlines Inc. in long-running antitrust litigation, which extinguished hundreds of millions of dollars of potential exposure. Ian also represented Marriott International in an antitrust MDL involving online travel company booking; the complaint was dismissed with prejudice.
A six time moderator or panelist at the American Bar Association Antitrust Spring meeting, and author of over 20 peer review articles, Ian is a Member of the Editorial Board of the American Bar Association Antitrust Magazine.
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