Joel Mitnick

T.+1 212 504 6555
joel.mitnick@cwt.com
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281 V-CARD

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Joel Mitnick is a partner in the Antitrust and Global Litigation groups. Joel’s practice focuses on antitrust matters on behalf of a wide array of financial market, life science, media, service industry and industrial clients. Joel represents clients in Federal and State antitrust investigations, antitrust class actions and merger clearance proceedings. He has tried merger cases to verdict and briefed antitrust class actions up to the United States Supreme Court. Joel also counsels some of the nation’s most prominent activist and passive hedge funds and private equity firms in terms of share accumulation and HSR filing strategies, board representation and antitrust/HSR compliance training.

Joel began his career as a trial lawyer at the Federal Trade Commission. He was an Antitrust Group associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and, prior to joining Cadwalader, was the longtime Global Co-Head of Antitrust at Sidley Austin.

He has been selected consistently as a leading lawyer in antitrust matters by Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation (Litigation Star Award), The Best Lawyers in America, The Legal 500 US, Super Lawyers, Who’s Who Legal: Competition and Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Litigation Lawyers of America (inaugural listing 2022). In the Chambers USA 2023 edition, clients say that “Joel’s advice is practical and sound” and he is a “thoughtful lawyer.”

Joel appears regularly before federal and state antitrust enforcement agencies. A frequent speaker and author, Joel has lectured at enforcement programs sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission and the National Association of Attorneys General, and has served as an ABA Antitrust Trial Skills faculty member. Most recently, Joel spoke on a panel about proposed Hart-Scott-Rodino rules hosted by the NYU Law Institute for Corporate Governance & Finance, and was a speaker as part of a Jeffries presentation on the latest antitrust developments in the technology industry.

He was vice chair of the ABA Antitrust Section’s Joint Conduct (Section 1) Committee (2017-2020), Executive Editor of Cartel and Joint Conduct Review: The Newsletter of the Joint Conduct Committee (2017-2020), and since 2007 has served on the Executive Committee of the Antitrust Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. Joel also served as an Advisory Board member for MLex and Law360 Competition, and is a member of the National Committee of U.S.-China Relations.

Joel’s published works include:

"EU Issues Competition Safe Harbor Guidelines for Sustainability Agreements," Cadwalader Climate Newsletter (June 13, 2023)
"Is ESG Conduct Exempt from Antitrust Scrutiny," Law360 (March 27, 2023)
"UK Proposes Guidance to Shield Competitor Agreements on Climate Change," Cadwalader Climate Newsletter (March 7, 2023)
"Antitrust Risks of ESG Initiatives: Rhetoric vs. Reality," Practising Law Institute (February 15, 2023)
"UK’s CMA Expands Investigation of Greenwashing," Cadwalader Climate Newsletter (February 3, 2023)
"United Kingdom Competition Authority Announces Support for Climate Change Agreements Among Competitors," Cadwalader Climate Newsletter (January 31, 2023)
"Hell or High Water Provisions in Merger Agreements: A Practical Approach," Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (May 25, 2022)
"Epic Games v. Apple Ruling: Antitrust Litigation Takeaways," Bloomberg Law (October 6, 2021)
"Cadwalader Discusses FTC’s About Face on Debt for Hart-Scott-Rodino Purposes," Columbia Law School’s Blue Sky Blog (September 17, 2021)
"The President’s Competition Order Signals the Return to Stricter Antitrust Enforcement," Practising Law Institute (August 6, 2021)
"A Slam Dunk from the Supreme Court for College Athletes: No Antitrust Immunity for the NCAA," Westlaw Today (June 23, 2021)
"How Speedway Deal Might Have Avoided Antitrust Gridlock," Law360 (June 4, 2021)
"Proposed Amendments Would Fundamentally Change HSR Compliance for Private Fund Managers," Hedge Fund Law Report (November 12, 2020)
"Justice Department Revises Merger Remedies Guidelines," New York University School of Law Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement (September 11, 2020)
"Interview with DAAG Richard Powers (by Joel Mitnick)," Cartel & Joint Conduct Review, Spring Edition (May 6, 2020)
"INSIGHT: Proposed Vertical Merger Guidelines - Increased Transparency or Opaque Glass?" Bloomberg Law (February 4, 2020)
"The Competition-Privacy Collision," Global Competition Review (December 13, 2019)
"INSIGHT: Big Tech Facing State Attorneys General Antitrust Freight Train," Bloomberg Law (September 20, 2019)
“Proving Antitrust Damages: Legal and Economic Issues, Third Edition," (Contributing Editor), American Bar Association (2017)
"Getting the Deal Through-Vertical Agreements, Annual Editions 2007 – 2017," U.S. Law Chapter, Global Competition Review
"Second Circuit Holds ‘Product Hopping’ May Violate Antitrust Laws," New York Law Journal (July 13, 2015)
"Courts’ Denials of Shareholder Suits Against Chinese Companies May Signal Broader Trend Toward Scrutiny Of Class Certification," BNA’s Securities Regulation & Law Report (February 24, 2014)
"The Dragon Rises: China’s Merger Control Regime One Year On," Antitrust (Summer 2009)
"On Life Support from Leeginaire’s Disease: Can the States Resuscitate Dr. Miles?" Antitrust (Summer 2008)
"Growing Pains: A Roadmap For Chinese Companies Learning To Live With Complex US Litigation," China Law And Practice (December 2007/January 2008)

Joel earned his J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law, and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Washington University (honors in economics). He is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and New York State, and is admitted to practice before the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Antitrust/Competition

Significant recent assignments:

In re Vitamin C Litigation: Lead counsel to the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) in “historic” argument as amicus curiae in the U.S. Supreme Court and prior proceedings in the Second Circuit and district court in first ever U.S. antitrust litigation against PRC exporters to the United States. The Supreme Court in September 2022 denied certiorari letting stand the decision of the Second Circuit, which for the second time overturned a jury verdict and dismissed the case, effectively ending this 17-year long litigation. The case involved novel arguments about comity, the foreign sovereign compulsion doctrine and Act of State doctrine. China Business Law Journal recognized MOFCOM’s first victory at the Second Circuit in its 2016 Deal of the Year Awards.
eBooks Antitrust Cases: (1) In Re Amazon.com, Inc. eBook Antitrust Litigation and Bookends & Beginnings v. Amazon.com: Lead counsel for Macmillan Publishers in obtaining dismissal on the pleadings of two related cases, one alleging price-fixing among the “Big 5” eBook publishers and Amazon.com and another alleging a price-fixing conspiracy to collectively violate the Robinson-Patman Act among the same defendants but with respect to physical books. The cases were dismissed by Judge Gregory Woods in September 2002; (2) United States v. Apple: Lead counsel for Macmillan in defense of alleged price fixing allegations brought before Judge Denise Cote in parallel actions by the United States Department of Justice, 35 State Attorneys General as parens patriae, and a private class action by consumers in the remaining 15 states. Settled on the eve of trial for a briefer injunctive relief period than any other settling defendant and minimal damages while Apple was ultimately subject to more than $100 million in damages and substantial injunctive relief. Recipient of the Global Competition Review (GCR) ‘‘Behavioral Matter of the Year, American’’ award for client representation in the DOJ eBooks investigation. (3) Book House: Lead counsel for Macmillan in post-Apple follow-on case brought by independent bookstores against publishers for damages arising from the same alleged conspiracy. Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed the complaint. (4) Diesel v. Apple; Books on Board v. Apple and DNAML v. Apple: Finally, Judge Cote granted summary judgment in another series of follow-on cases against the publishers and Apple by several defunct online book sellers. The cases were dismissed on the basis that the plaintiffs failed to prove antitrust injury. The dismissal was affirmed by the Second Circuit.
Credit Suisse v. Billing (In re IPO Antitrust Litigation): Lead counsel for Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. before the United States Supreme Court (and below in the Southern District of New York and the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit) in landmark ‘‘implied immunity’’ doctrine ruling dismissing a class action price fixing challenge for certain investment banking industry practices in connection with the issuance of initial public offerings of stock.
In the matter of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., represented Macquarie Capital (USA) in its acquisition, with partner FSNA, of Advantage Rent A Car from Hertz.
In the matter of AngioDynamics, Inc., represented AngioDynamics in the $167.5 million sale of its NAMIC® fluid management portfolio to Medline Industries, Inc.
In the matter of Inteva Products, represented Inteva Products in the sale of its roof systems design and assembly business to CIE Automotive.
In the matter of Corindus Vascular Robotics, represented Corindus Vascular Robotics in its $1.1 billion acquisition by Siemens Healthineers AG.

China Litigation

Joel’s litigation practice includes a significant number of clients based in the People’s Republic of China. Representative assignments (in addition to the above MOFCOM case):

Organizer and lecturer at MOFCOM-sponsored US/EU Antitrust/Competition Compliance Program for major China export manufacturers.
Won motion to compel arbitration on behalf of China’s largest energy company.
Won motion to dismiss with prejudice on behalf of China’s largest state-owned offshore oil company against allegations that it violated federal securities laws with respect to disclosure of alleged environmental and operational issues at an offshore oilfield.
Successful defense of China Life Insurance Company against a class action alleging securities fraud stemming from the Company’s IPO, which was the world’s largest IPO in 2003.
Lead counsel winning a motion to dismiss the complaint against China Valves for securities fraud alleging inconsistent reports filed by the Company in U.S. SEC and China SAIC filing.
Lead counsel for group of independent directors, and Audit Committee, of Fuqi International in connection with securities class and derivative actions.

*Certain representations occurred prior to Joel's association with Cadwalader.