Lawrence I. Fox

Lawrence I. Fox was a partner for over twenty-two years at McDermott Will & Emery and retired on December 31, 2012. When he was at the Firm he was a member of the Distribution Law & Strategies Group and was also the head of the Antitrust and Competition practice of the Firm’s New York office. He has represented clients in handling investigations, litigations and trials commenced by private plaintiffs as well as federal and state antitrust authorities. Larry’s litigation and counseling practice focused primarily in the areas of antitrust, trade regulation, franchising, distribution, e-commerce, payment processing dispute resolution and intellectual property. His distribution practice involved advising clients regarding their domestic and international activities. Now, Larry continues to provide counseling and strategic business advice regarding all of these areas.

If you would like to speak with Larry he can be reached at 917-620-2778 or you can email him at liffox@gmail.com

Antitrust Litigation Experience

§ Secured a nationwide settlement of twenty-three consolidated antitrust class action lawsuits brought on behalf of all purchasers of magazine subscriptions in the country against a trade association, the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA), and fourteen magazine publisher defendants, alleging a Sherman Act price fixing conspiracy. As counsel for the MPA, and lead/coordinating counsel for all defendants, Larry negotiated a settlement wherein no monetary payments were made to the class members and the Court awarded no fees to plaintiffs' counsel

§ Represented one of the nation's largest music retailers in the defense of a consolidated class action lawsuit brought by 45 state Attorneys General and private plaintiffs alleging that CDs sold throughout the United States were the subject of an illegal price fixing agreement

§ Successfully represented one of the nation's largest distributors of magazines, a joint venture of two of the country's largest magazine publishing companies, in a $300 million Robinson-Patman price discrimination action. In this case Larry obtained Summary Judgment dismissing Plaintiffs' claims which was subsequently affirmed by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals

§ Co-chaired trial team that obtained a complete defense verdict for one of New York City's largest movie theater chains in an action wherein the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants (all of the major motion picture production companies and other large theater chains in New York) conspired in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act to keep first run movies from being shown in the Greenwich Village area

§ Co-chaired trial team that obtained a directed verdict for one of the largest syndicators of television shows in a case alleging illegal tying or "block-booking" where the plaintiff alleged that the defendant violated the Sherman Act by refusing to license certain games shows unless defendant also purchased other games distributed by the same company

§ Obtained a complete defense verdict in Federal Court on behalf of the oldest trade association of antiquarian book dealers in the country that had been charged with an alleged boycott in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act by an expelled member

§ Obtained on behalf of one of the world's largest vodka distillers and its U.S. distributor a dismissal of a wholesaler's Federal Court complaint alleging antitrust violations under the Sherman Act and Robinson-Patman Act

Antitrust Counseling Experience

§ Prepares Domestic and International Distribution Agreements

§ Acts as general counsel to trade organizations

§ Routinely develops antitrust compliance programs for companies and trade associations

§ Counsels numerous companies regarding the creation and implementation of advertising and promotional programs in compliance with the Robinson-Patman Act and other Federal and State antitrust and consumer protection statutes

§ Develops Minimum Advertised Price Policies (MAP) and, post Leegin unilateral Manufacturer’s Suggested Resale Price Policies (MSRP)

Distribution Litigation Experience

§ Successfully represented a terminated North American distributor of solid surface laminate products in an action against a $70 billion foreign manufacturer which resulted in a favorable settlement

§ Successfully obtained a defense verdict after a two week trial on behalf of a beverage supplier in a $90 million dealer termination lawsuit

§ Successfully represented one of the world’s leading binocular manufacturers to terminate its forty year relationship with its exclusive U.S. distributor and thereafter to enter the market directly through a newly acquired subsidiary

§ Handled a substantial number of diverse distribution matters in the alcohol and non-alcohol beverage, book and magazine, home security, clothing, sports apparel, motorcycle, automobile, computer, optical equipment, chemicals, pharmaceutical, medical products, food, camera, music and other consumer products industries

Distribution Counseling Experience

§ Counseled a joint venture of two of the nation’s largest magazine publishing companies in the total redesign and implementation of a unique method for distributing magazines to wholesalers throughout the United States

§ Assisted one of the world's leading manufacturers of cameras and photographic equipment in the development of a new co-op advertising and a Minimum Advertised Price Program (MAP) and a unilateral Manufacturer Suggested Resale Price Policy (MSRP) for distributors and retailers

§ Assisted a leading manufacturer of high security lock systems to modify its distribution system which involved orchestrating the termination of approximately 100 wholesalers throughout the United States, thereby allowing the client to adopt a direct manufacturer-to-dealer distribution system

§ Assisted a global supplier of pharmaceutical excipients to terminate its North American and Puerto Rico distributors to implement a direct to customer supply arrangement