DC FIGHT CLUB
AT&T to face bruising opponent
Randall Stephenson appears to be walking into a helluva legal brawl. The AT&T chief executive, barring a last-minute settlement, will likely be sued soon by President Trump’s Justice Department, which is bent on stopping the telecom giant’s $85 billion megamerger with Time Warner. And in defending such an antitrust lawsuit, Stephenson’s legal eagles will run into a buzz-saw prosecution team. Over the last four years, the Justice Department has won nine of the 10 lawsuits it has filed to stop mergers, records show. And the one loss was a debatable split decision. Four of the victories were decided by a judge after a trial. Leading the stellar US team is senior trial lawyer Craig Conrath, according to two people close to the situation. Conrath is undefeated in two previous antitrust lawsuits, sources said. “He is very professorial,” one person said, noting the 60-something lawyer’s good rapport with judges. Conrath’s victories include the department’s win this year in stopping Aetna from buying Humana for $34 billion. He also fought American Express in 2015 for restrictions the credit card company placed on merchants — and won after a trial. A federal appeals court overturned the trial court decision, and the case awaits a Supreme Court hearing. “The winning streak the DOJ is on [in merger suits] shows them that wins are possible,” a source familiar with the department staff ’s thinking said. “They think they know what it takes to win cases.”
Of course, Stephenson is not going to war alone.
Sources said that AT&T will likely turn to the lawyers at the O’Melveny firm, which has enjoyed some success against the government.
In fact, O’Melveny is responsible for the Justice Department’s only recent loss.
O’Melveny partner Richard Parker, who may be AT&T’s top legal eagle, led a team that in 2013 defended US Airways in its purchase of American Airlines against a surprising US suit.
Before the case went to trial, the feds settled, giving US Airways most of what it wanted, sources said.
O’Melveny, however, in 2015 was unsuccessful defending Sysco in its $3.5 billion merger with US Foods against a Federal Trade Commission suit.
Also, O’Melveny defended TMobile in its proposed 2011 sale to AT&T, which was abandoned after the US sued.
O’Melveny may also call on Ted Hassi, a former chief trial lawyer for the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.
Usually, the Justice Department staff pushes to bring a case and tries to persuade the assistant attorney general to file a suit, and that likely is true in the AT&T case, the source said.
AT&T declined to comment, and Conrath did not return calls.