Eric Mahr

Tell us about your biggest win from January 2019 through June 2020 and how you achieved the result for your client.

Eric Mahr

FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER

I led our successful defense of client Evonik against the Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to block its acquisition of competitor PeroxyChem, culminating in a two-week trial in November 2019. Our victory marks a rare loss for the FTC (its first since 2015) and breaks the agency’s seven-case winning streak in litigated merger challenges. We prevailed by ensuring that our antitrust and economic arguments were well-grounded in the commercial realities of the hydrogen peroxide industry. Our focus on real-world facts over antitrust theory detached from fact allowed us to persuade the court that the FTC’s attempt to block the acquisition was misguided.

Share two trial tips that have been key to your success.

The key to our success at trial was credibility. Our No. 1 goal was to wrest from the FTC the credibility advantage with which the federal government inherently starts any trial. We did this by demonstrating to the court that Evonik had a far deeper and more reliable understanding of the hydrogen peroxide industry than the FTC.

Photo Credit: Pawel Kaminski

Mark MacDougall