AG HOLDER'S REMARKS AT ABA MEETING REGARDING ANTITRUST LAW

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Attorney General Holder Delivers Remarks at 63rd Spring Meeting of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law

Washington, DCUnited States ~ Friday, April 17, 2015

Remarks as prepared for delivery

Thank you, Howard [Feller], for those kind words – and for your outstanding leadership of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law.  The Antitrust Section – and the Spring Meeting in particular – provides a vital channel for fostering dialogue between practitioners and scholars, for extending the collective expertise of Section members, and for enhancing overall compliance with antitrust laws in the United States and around the world.  I’m grateful to have this opportunity to be with you today and to be a part of this special gathering.

It’s an honor to stand with so many valued friends and colleagues; talented members of the antitrust bar; and distinguished public leaders representing enforcement authorities at all levels, domestic and international – including the panel members I know you are eager to hear from next.  And it’s a great privilege to join you at what is both an exciting moment for antitrust enforcement generally and a reflective moment for me personally.  Because my own professional path will soon lead me in a new direction, I have had the opportunity lately to take stock of all that the hardworking men and women of the Justice Department – and our remarkable Antitrust Division – have achieved over the last six years.

When I took office as Attorney General in 2009 – in the aftermath of a global financial crisis, and in the midst of deep and widespread economic uncertainty – one of my central priorities was to bring strength and fairness to the rules by which our commercial enterprises operate.  And a core focus was protecting our citizens and ensuring fair competition throughout the American marketplace.  As former Attorney General Robert Kennedy noted over half a century ago, the antitrust laws of this nation are designed to protect and to vindicate the principles of free enterprise – principles that, as he said, “underlie the whole structure of a free society.”  They are a vital safeguard for competition, fundamental to the structure of our economy, and they contribute directly to the prosperity of our nation and the economic freedom of our citizens.  Their enforcement is in the interest of all those who believe in free markets; their values bear no partisan stripe or political creed; and their promises of competition, innovation, and growth are woven into the fabric not only of this country, but of all those that have adopted antitrust regimes based on these shared values.

This Administration’s commitment to vigorous antitrust enforcement extends as far back as September 2007 when then-Senator Barack Obama vowed that, if he were elected President, he would step up enforcement activity in a comprehensive way “to ensure that the benefits of competition are fully realized by consumers.”  That’s exactly what we’ve done.  For the past six years, we have worked tirelessly to realize antitrust law’s promise of robust marketplaces and fair competition.  We have approached threats to that promise as level-headed law enforcers making considered judgments on the merits, always guided by economic common sense and fidelity to the law.  And where we have found violations, we have been prepared to litigate in full, no matter how complex the case, in defense of the American consumer and in pursuit of the cause of justice.

On the criminal side, the scale, the scope and the impact of our enforcement efforts are unprecedented.  In the most recent fiscal year, we obtained a record tally of fines and penalties – totaling nearly $1.3 billion.  We have undertaken the largest criminal investigation in antitrust history in order to root out price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry.  And we have increased the average number of corporate executives sentenced to serve time for antitrust crimes to 29 per year, while lengthening their average sentence to over two years.  Whether it involves price fixing of computer components or bid rigging in real estate foreclosure auctions, we have pursued all forms of criminal conduct – running the gamut from local wrongdoing to transnational crime.

All told, through the extraordinary leadership of dedicated Assistant Attorneys General like Bill Baer – and former leaders of the Antitrust Division like Christine Varney, Sharis Pozen, Joe Wayland and Renata Hesse, who I’m delighted to have with us today – the Antitrust Division’s criminal program has prosecuted 385 individuals and 129 corporations over the course of the Obama Administration.  We have obtained more than $5 billion in fines and penalties, which have been a major contributor to the Justice Department’s Crime Victim Fund, helping victims of all types of crime access the medical, legal, financial and other services they need to move forward with their lives.  And through our tireless efforts, we have sent a clear and consistent message to all those who would take advantage of American consumers, exploit our markets, or subvert our laws:  the Antitrust Division will not tolerate their dishonest and destructive behavior.  In that regard, I expect that there will be more significant news on the criminal side within the next few weeks.

Of course, while the criminal program has proven itself as an intrepid and hard-charging component of our fight to maintain competition in the marketplace, there is no doubt that the civil side has kept pace at every juncture.  We have challenged numerous mergers that were likely to substantially reduce competition in critical sectors of the American economy, including mobile wireless, airlines and beer – a market in which Bill [Baer] demonstrated a deep interest and a curious expertise.  Two mergers foundered at trial, while many others were abandoned or entirely restructured as a result of our enforcement measures.

We also successfully challenged an array of non-merger business practices that distorted the competitive process and threatened to harm the marketplace.  Everyone in this room knows about some of the most prominent examples of our success, like our trial-court victory against Apple over the pricing of e-books and our more recent win against American Express, whose contractual restraints have long stifled competition between credit card companies.  But more important than the victories themselves is the message they send to businesses everywhere.  No matter how lengthy the investigation, no matter how challenging the environment and no matter how complex the practice or industry at hand, we will never shrink from litigation nor shirk our sacred responsibility to uphold the laws of our nation and protect the consumer.  For the United States Department of Justice, there is no unlawful conduct too complicated to pursue, and no company or individual too large or too powerful to be held accountable for actions that harm the American people.

I’m tremendously proud of the inspiring individual efforts and the collective accomplishments of the Antitrust Division these last six years, as well as those of our enforcement partners at the FTC, in state governments, and around the world.  We have been committed to smart, rigorous, and assertive antitrust enforcement across all sectors of our economy.  And as we move forward, executives worldwide surely know that this Antitrust Division and its partners stand ready to do what is necessary to protect consumer welfare.

Although my time at the Justice Department will soon draw to a close, the Department’s commitment to effective antitrust enforcement and to the critical values it advances will not waver.  As the Antitrust Division carries its work into the future – and resolves to continue building on the extraordinary record of achievement I’ve highlighted today – I urge you all to stay engaged, to adhere to the high standards of this important area of the law, and to never lose sight of this country’s founding commitments to liberty and to justice.

In the appropriate enforcement of the antitrust laws we make real the promise of our democracy and our founding documents.  Vigorous competition in all spheres is what makes this nation exceptional. It makes progress more likely and promotes the general welfare.  The desire to make the promise of competition real has been at the heart of our efforts these past six years.  I close by expressing again the pride I have in the women and men of our Antitrust this Division who have done truly historic things in service to the American people.  When the history of this era is written it will be said that this Division – at this time – made our nation more open, more just and more ready to confront the economic issues of the day.  That will be high praise – but because of my colleagues’ dedication, their vision – it will be well deserved.

AG HOLDER'S REMARKS ON ACTION AGAINST BANK THAT DID BUSINESS WITH SANCTIONED COUNTRIES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Attorney General Holder Delivers Remarks at Press Conference Announcing Significant Law Enforcement Action

Washington, D.C. ~ Monday, June 30, 2014

Good afternoon – and thank you all for being here.   I am joined today by Deputy Attorney General Jim Cole; FBI Director James Comey; Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Leslie Caldwell; U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, of the Southern District of New York; District Attorney Cyrus Vance, of New York County; and Richard Weber, Chief of Criminal Investigations for the IRS.   We are here to announce a significant step forward in our ongoing effort to hold financial institutions accountable for criminal misconduct.

Today, the Department of Justice submitted to the United States District Court a criminal information against BNP Paribas, one of the largest banks in the world, for conspiring with other entities to deliberately and repeatedly violate longstanding U.S. sanctions against Sudan, Cuba, and Iran.   Working with financial institutions based in these countries and others, between 2004 and 2012, BNP engaged in a complex and pervasive scheme to illegally move billions through the U.S. financial system on behalf of sanctioned entities.

These actions represent a serious breach of U.S. law.   Sanctions are a key tool in protecting U.S. national security interests, but they only work if they are strictly enforced.   If sanctions are to have teeth, violations must be punished.   Banks thinking about conducting business in violation of U.S. sanctions should think twice because the Justice Department will not look the other way.

In this case, BNP went to elaborate lengths to conceal prohibited transactions, cover its tracks, and deceive U.S. authorities.   They used “cover payments” to hide the involvement of sanctioned entities in transactions that were processed through New York and elsewhere in the United States.   They worked with partners and subsidiaries around the world to structure transactions in needlessly complicated ways – using sophisticated techniques that served no legitimate business purpose, but that allowed them to obscure the truth: that these transactions violated the law and should not have been occurring in the first place.

Through these widespread illegal practices, BNP knowingly processed more than $500 million in illicit U.S. dollar transactions involving a company controlled by an Iranian energy group – headquartered in Tehran and owned in full by an Iranian citizen.   The bank also processed thousands of transactions – totaling more than $1.7 billion – with sanctioned entities in Cuba.   And BNP enabled the Government of Sudan and related institutions to avail themselves of the U.S. financial system, engaging in billions of dollars in illegal transactions. They did this despite knowing that the Sudanese government supported terrorism, engaged in human rights abuses, and even – in the words of one senior compliance manager – “has hosted Osama bin Laden and refuses the United Nations intervention in Darfur.”

All of these activities significantly undermined longstanding U.S. economic sanctions, in many cases to the detriment of America’s national security interests.   They continued for years, despite repeated indications and warnings that the bank’s conduct violated U.S. embargoes.   And today – following exhaustive, years-long investigations by the Department of Justice and the New York County District Attorney’s Office – I can announce that we are holding the bank accountable.

BNP Paribas will plead guilty to conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions.   The bank will forfeit more than $8.83 billion to the United States.   They will admit to a Statement of Facts detailing the extensive illegal conduct I have just outlined.   And they are taking a variety of steps to provide substantial cooperation to the government – and to ensure that, moving forward, they will operate in full compliance with U.S. law.

This landmark resolution demonstrates the Justice Department’s firm commitment to enforcing embargoes and other measures designed to protect America’s security and our vital national interests.   This outcome should send a strong message to any institution – anywhere in the world – that does business in the United States: illegal conduct will not be tolerated.   And wherever it is uncovered, it will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

I want to thank everyone who made this announcement possible – particularly U.S. Attorney Bharara and his dedicated colleagues in the Southern District of New York; Assistant Attorney General Caldwell and the talented men and women of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section; each of the FBI agents and investigators who contributed to this important matter; District Attorney Vance and his colleagues; and the criminal investigators at the IRS.   Thank you all for your tireless work.

I also wish to thank the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the New York State Department of Financial Services.   We have coordinated with these agencies in the course of our investigation.   These regulators will be announcing additional consequences for the bank today as a result of this plea agreement.   This is fair and appropriate.   In many cases, to properly deter companies from engaging in misconduct in the future, it requires a mix of both law enforcement and regulatory actions.

At this time, it is my privilege to introduce Deputy Attorney General Jim Cole, who will provide additional details on today’s resolution.

ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER'S REMARKS ON JOHNSON & JOHNSON'S RESOLUTION OF CRIMINAL/CIVIL CLAIMS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at the Johnson & Johnson Press Conference

~ Monday, November 4, 2013

Good morning – and thank you all for being here.  I am joined by Associate Attorney General [Tony] West; Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division [Stuart] Delery; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania [Zane] Memeger; U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts [Carmen] Ortiz; First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California [Brian] Stretch; and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at the Department of Health and Human Services [Gary] Cantrell.

We are here to announce that Johnson & Johnson and three of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay more than $2.2 billion to resolve criminal and civil claims that they marketed prescription drugs for uses that were never approved as safe and effective – and that they paid kickbacks to both physicians and pharmacies for prescribing and promoting these drugs.  Through these alleged actions, these companies lined their pockets at the expense of American taxpayers, patients, and the private insurance industry.  They drove up costs for everyone in the health care system and negatively impacted the long-term solvency of essential health care programs like Medicare.

This global settlement resolves multiple investigations involving the antipsychotic drugs Risperdal and Invega – as well as the heart drug Natrecor and other Johnson & Johnson products.  The settlement also addresses allegations of conduct that recklessly put at risk the health of some of the most vulnerable members of our society – including young children, the elderly, and the disabled.

In the criminal information filed today, we allege that Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Incorporated violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by introducing Risperdal into the market for unapproved uses.  In its plea agreement, Janssen admits that it promoted this drug to health care providers for the treatment of psychotic symptoms and associated behaviors exhibited by elderly, non-schizophrenic patients who suffered from dementia – even though the drug was approved only to treat schizophrenia.

In separately filed civil complaints, we further allege that both Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals promoted Risperdal and Invega to doctors – and to nursing homes – as a way to control behavioral disturbances in elderly dementia patients, children, and the mentally disabled.  The companies allegedly downplayed the serious health risks associated with Risperdal – including the risk of stroke in elderly patients – and even paid doctors to induce them to prescribe the drugs.  As part of this scheme, the companies allegedly paid kickbacks to the nation’s largest long-term care pharmacy, whose pharmacists were supposed to be the gatekeepers to provide an independent review of patient medications.  Instead, at the companies’ behest, the pharmacists allegedly recommended Risperdal for nursing home patients who exhibited behavioral symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia.  This alleged conduct resulted in government health care programs paying millions of dollars in false claims for these drugs.

To resolve allegations stemming from the improper promotion of Risperdal, Janssen Pharmaceuticals will plead guilty to misbranding Risperdal – and has agreed to pay $400 million in criminal fines and forfeitures.  Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals have further agreed to pay over $1.2 billion to resolve their civil liability under the False Claims Act.  And Johnson & Johnson will pay an additional $149 million to resolve claims relating to alleged kickbacks to a long-term care pharmacy.
In addition to these claims, we allege that Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Scios Incorporated, promoted the heart failure drug Natrecor for off-label uses that caused patients to submit to costly infusions of the drug – without credible scientific evidence that it would have any health benefit for those patients.  In a separate matter that was resolved in 2009, Scios pleaded guilty to misbranding Natrecor and paid a criminal fine of $85 million.  To resolve current allegations associated with the settlement we announce today, the companies have agreed to pay an additional $184 million.

This significant settlement was made possible by the relentless investigative and enforcement efforts of dedicated men and women serving as part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team – or, HEAT – which Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and I launched more than four years ago to recover taxpayer dollars, to keep the American people safe, and to aggressively pursue fraud and misconduct whenever and wherever it is found.

Put simply, this alleged conduct is shameful and it is unacceptable.  It displayed a reckless indifference to the safety of the American people.  And it constituted a clear abuse of the public trust, showing a blatant disregard for systems and laws designed to protect public health.

As our filings make clear, these are not victimless crimes.  Americans trust that the medications prescribed for their parents and grandparents, for their children, and for themselves are selected because they are in the patient’s best interest.  Laws enacted by Congress – and the enforcement efforts of the Food and Drug Administration – provide important safeguards to ensure that drugs are approved for uses that have been demonstrated as safe and effective.  Efforts by drug companies to introduce their drugs into interstate commerce for unapproved uses subvert those laws.  Likewise, the payment of kickbacks undermines the independent medical judgment of health care providers.  It creates financial incentives to increase the use of certain drugs, potentially putting the health of some patients at risk.  Every time pharmaceutical companies engage in this type of conduct, they corrupt medical decisions by health care providers, jeopardize the public health, and take money out of taxpayers’ pockets.

This settlement demonstrates that the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services – working alongside a variety of federal, state, and local partners – will not tolerate such activities.  No company is above the law.  And my colleagues and I are determined to keep moving forward – guided by the facts and the law, and using every tool, resource, and authority at our disposal – to hold these corporations accountable, to safeguard the American people, and to prevent this conduct from happening in the future.
This announcement marks another step forward in our strategic, comprehensive, and effective approach to fraud prevention.  We can all be encouraged by the actions that have been taken – and the results we’ve obtained – in recent years.  But we cannot yet be satisfied.  And that’s why, here in Washington and across the country, this critical work will continue.

I’d like to thank everyone who made this settlement possible.  In particular, I want to recognize the leaders, prosecutors, trial attorneys, investigators, and staff of the Civil Division here in Washington – as well as our United States Attorney’s Offices in Philadelphia, Boston, and San Francisco.  I am grateful for the committed efforts of our partners at the Department of Health and Human Services – particularly in the Office of the Inspector General – as well as the Food and Drug Administration and many other federal agencies that contributed to this outcome.  And I want to thank each of the state Attorneys General and Medicaid Fraud Control units across this country who contributed to this investigation.
I would be happy to take a few questions at this time.

HALIBURTON PLEADS GUILTY TO DESTRUCTION OF EVIDENCE IN DEEPWATER HORIZON DISASTER CASE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Halliburton Pleads Guilty to Destruction of Evidence in Connection with Deepwater Horizon Disaster and Is Sentenced to Statutory Maximum Fine
Former Halliburton Manager Is Charged

Halliburton Energy Services Inc. (Halliburton) pleaded guilty today to destroying evidence pertaining to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and was sentenced to the statutory maximum fine, the Justice Department announced.

In addition, a criminal information was filed today charging a former Halliburton manager, Anthony Badalamenti, 61, of Katy, Texas, with one count of destruction of evidence.

“These announcements mark the latest steps forward in the Justice Department’s efforts to achieve justice on behalf of all those affected by the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil spill, and environmental disaster,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.  “Halliburton and one of its managers have now been held criminally accountable for their misconduct, underscoring our continued commitment to ensuring that the victims of this tragedy obtain justice, and to safeguarding the integrity of relevant evidence.  I am grateful to all of the Justice Department leaders, federal investigative agency partners, and state and local allies whose tireless work made this outcome possible – and whose daily efforts will help to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.”

“Halliburton destroyed evidence during the investigation of the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history, and now both the company and the Halliburton manager who ordered the destruction are being held to account,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Criminal Division.  “I am grateful for the tenacious work of the Deepwater Horizon Task Force prosecutors and investigators who have worked tirelessly on this and other Deepwater Horizon matters to ensure that justice is brought to the people of the Gulf Coast and to the families of the eleven men who perished on April 20, 2010.”

Halliburton’s guilty plea was accepted, and its sentence was imposed, by U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo of the Eastern District of Louisiana.  During the guilty plea and sentencing proceeding today, Judge Milazzo found, among other things, that the sentence appropriately reflects Halliburton’s offense conduct.  Judge Milazzo also noted that the statutory maximum fine and three year probationary period provide just punishment and appropriate deterrence, and noted Halliburton's self-reporting of the misconduct, substantial and valuable cooperation in the government's investigation, and substantial efforts to recover the deleted data.

According to court documents, on April 20, 2010, while stationed at the Macondo well site in the Gulf of Mexico, the Deepwater Horizon rig experienced an uncontrolled blowout and related explosions and fire, which resulted in the deaths of 11 rig workers and the largest oil spill in U.S. history.  Following the blowout, Halliburton conducted its own review of various technical aspects of the well’s design and construction.  On or about May 3, 2010, Halliburton established an internal working group to examine the Macondo well blowout, including whether the number of centralizers used on the final production casing could have contributed to the blowout.  A production casing is a long, heavy metal pipe set across the area of the oil and natural gas reservoir.  Centralizers are metal devices that protrude from various intervals of the casing strings of a well, which can help keep the casing centered in the wellbore away from the surrounding walls as it is lowered and placed in the well.  Centralization can be significant to the quality of subsequent cementing around the bottom of the casing.  Prior to the blowout, Halliburton had recommended to BP the use of 21 centralizers in the Macondo well.  BP opted to use six centralizers instead.

As detailed variously in the charging instruments filed against Halliburton and against Badalamenti, during the relevant time period Badalamenti was Halliburton’s cementing technology director.  In May 2010, in connection with Halliburton’s internal post-incident examination of the Macondo well, Badalamenti directed a senior program manager for Halliburton’s Cement Product Line (Program Manager) to run two computer simulations of the Macondo well final cementing job using Halliburton’s Displace 3D simulation program.  Displace 3D was a next-generation simulation program that was being developed to model fluid interfaces and their movement through the wellbore and annulus of a well.  The modeling sought to compare the 21 centralizers Halliburton had recommended to BP versus the six centralizers BP ultimately used.  As detailed in the charging documents, the simulations indicated to those present that there was little difference between using six and 21 centralizers on the Macondo well.  Badalamenti directed Program Manager to destroy these results, and Program Manager did so.

In or about June 2010, similar evidence was also destroyed in a later incident.  Badalamenti asked another, more experienced, employee (“Employee 1”) to run simulations again comparing six versus 21 centralizers.  Employee 1 reached the same conclusion.  Badalamenti then directed Employee 1 to “get rid of” the simulations, and, after a period of delay, Employee 1 deleted them from his computer.

Efforts to forensically recover the original destroyed Displace 3D computer simulations during ensuing civil litigation and federal criminal investigation by the Deepwater Horizon Task Force were unsuccessful.

Halliburton’s guilty plea and sentence, and the criminal charge announced today against Badalamenti, are part of the ongoing criminal investigation by the Deepwater Horizon Task Force into matters related to the April 2010 Gulf oil spill.  The Deepwater Horizon Task Force, based in New Orleans, is supervised by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman and led by John D. Buretta, who serves as the director of the task force.  The task force includes prosecutors from the Criminal Division and the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana and other U.S. Attorney’s Offices; and investigating agents from:  the FBI; Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General; Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division; Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Inspector General; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Law Enforcement; U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

The case is being prosecuted by Deepwater Horizon Task Force Director Buretta, Deputy Director William Pericak, and Task Force prosecutors Richard R. Pickens II, Scott M. Cullen, Colin Black and Rohan Virginkar.

An information is merely a charge and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER WELCOMES NEW ASSISTANT AG FOR ANTTRUST DIVISION

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Sunday, December 30, 2012

Attorney General Eric Holder Welcomes Bill Baer as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division
Attorney General Eric Holder today welcomed the confirmation of Bill Baer as the Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division.

"Bill is a highly-skilled and well-respected antitrust lawyer who understands the importance of promoting competition in order for consumers to reap the benefits of lower prices and better quality products and services," said Attorney General Holder. "I have no doubt that he will lead the Antitrust Division effectively in its vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws."

Since January 2000, Baer was a partner and head of Arnold & Porter LLP’s Antitrust Practice Group in Washington, D.C. Baer’s practice included providing counsel on a broad range of antitrust and consumer protection issues, including international cartel investigations and merger and acquisition reviews in the United States and the European Commission. He has extensive antitrust experience in various industries, including high tech, intellectual property, communications and health care. Baer also served as a partner at the firm from 1983 to 1995 and as an associate from 1980 to 1983. During that time, Baer specialized in complex civil and criminal antitrust litigation.

From April 1995 to October 1999, Baer was the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Director of the Bureau of Competition. During that time, the FTC achieved significant enforcement successes, including blocking anticompetitive mergers involving two major office supply stores and of the four leading drug wholesalers. Under his leadership, the commission also successfully challenged exclusionary practices in a variety of industries, including toys, high tech and the leading brand name and generic drug manufacturers. From 1975 to 1980, Baer also served in other positions at the FTC, including Assistant General Counsel for Legislation & Congressional Relations, Assistant to Chairman Michael Pertschuk, and as a trial attorney and Assistant to the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Baer is a member of the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Section. He has lectured in the United States and around the world on various antitrust and consumer protection issues.

Baer received his J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1975, and served as editor of Stanford’s Law Review. He received his B.A. from Lawrence University in 1972 where he graduated Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.