Details
Many of the largest U.S. litigations in terms of damages sought are antitrust class actions—spanning industries from auto parts, consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals, finance, etc. to relatively new spaces in tech. Contributing to the massive scope of these cases is the fact there are often multiple putative class actions brought in the same multi-district litigation on behalf of different groups—for example, direct purchasers, resellers, and end-user customers. And class certification is the pivotal inflection point: it determines whether a case will go forward in whole, in part, or not at all (and what the monetary exposure will be for the defendants).
Our panellists include two antitrust litigators from Wilson Sonsini, and in-house counsel at Qualcomm. They will be discussing recent developments in the case law and practical considerations for antitrust class certification efforts such as working with expert economists and industry experts, as well as the importance of third-party discovery.
Speakers
Justina Sessions
Partner
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Justina (Tina) Sessions is a partner in the San Francisco office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she is a member of the antitrust practice. Tina is an accomplished Antitrust and IP litigator. She has successfully tried cases and handled evidentiary hearings, appeals, and administrative trials in antitrust and IP matters before courts and agencies nationwide. Tina has significant landmark litigation experience. Among them are the trial and appeal of FTC v. Qualcomm and the follow-on consumer class action, presenting trial witnesses, taking high-profile depositions, and leading the drafting of key briefs. Throughout her career, she has worked with clients ranging from small start-ups to Fortune 500 companies to help them navigate, negotiate, and win business-critical disputes with competitors and enforcement authorities. Tina maintains an active pro bono practice and has represented environmental advocacy and women’s health organizations in individual and impact litigation.
Mikaela Evans-Aziz
Associate
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Mikaela Evans-Aziz is an associate in the San Francisco office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she is a member of the firm's antitrust practice.
With extensive experience in antitrust litigation and counseling, Mikaela has represented both defendants and plaintiffs in the technology, financial, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, chemical, and sports industries. She has experience in all stages of litigation—from pre-litigation counseling through trial and appeal—as well as representing clients in arbitrations. Mikaela has taken and defended depositions of fact and expert witnesses and cross-examined a witness at an antitrust trial. She draws on her background in economics to serve her antitrust clients including working closely with expert economists.
Mikaela was previously a litigation associate at a leading international law firm in New York where she focused on antitrust and sports.
Thu Hoang
Qualcomm
Thu joined Qualcomm’s antitrust team in September 2021. Before that Thu was an associate in the Antitrust Department of Wilson Sonsini in Washington, D.C.