2017 Craft Brewers Conference

Jon Dubrow is the US head of McDermott’s Antitrust Group. For over three decades, Jon has served as a strategic advisor to clients across a host of interrelated antitrust issues, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), counseling, and litigation. He leads the defense of mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures before the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and other international competition authorities. Jon also regularly assists customers, suppliers, and competitors whose interests are adversely affected by proposed transactions. Jon also is experienced in antitrust litigation. He provides counseling on distribution issues, contracting arrangements and a wide variety of other competition-related matters.

Jon obtains clearance in the initial review period even for transactions raising significant substantive issues, avoiding the time and cost of a second request. He takes a very proactive approach in managing the regulatory review process designed to minimize the potential need for an in depth government investigation. He has filed and managed the preparation of hundreds of Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification forms and regularly provides HSR counseling. He has also managed multinational merger filings in numerous transactions. Jon frequently teams with regional corporate law firms (in Rochester, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Louisville, New Orleans, and others), allowing them to offer sophisticated and seamless antitrust M&A services to their clients when they do not have internal capability, or they need to supplement their teams for more complex matters.

Jon counsels clients on a broad range of antitrust issues, including information exchanges, teaming agreements, joint venture ancillary restraints and distribution practices such as pricing restraints, bundled discounting, price discrimination, exclusive distribution, dealer termination and exclusive dealing.

Jon has defended a wide variety of antitrust claims in litigation, including Sherman Act monopolization and conspiracy claims involving alleged price fixing, market allocation, tying, "bundled discounts," "aftermarket" parts and services, theft of trade secrets, defamation, other business torts and other alleged anticompetitive conduct. He also defends governmental challenges to acquisitions under Section 7 of the Clayton Act.

Jon has handled antitrust issues in scores of different industries. He has a particularly strong background in several industry-based representations covering multiple matters, including aerospace and defense, pharmaceuticals / biologic products, medical devices, construction products, and consumer products such as beer, wine, beverage alcohol and cannabis.

Jon is known for his meticulous attention to detail and his ability to navigate complex regulatory landscapes effectively. As one client quoted in Chambers and Partners, "Jon is proactive and pays careful attention to every detail. He learns the business of his clients as if it were his own business and uses that information to provide clear strategy and advice." Another client highlighted his understanding of their industries, stating, "Jon understands the client's businesses and the industry in which the client engages. He has a deep understanding of the positions being taken by all of the relevant government agencies."