Industry-Specific Expertise
Sports and Entertainment
Bona Law is uniquely situated to handle antitrust and competition matters in the media and entertainment industries. Our partner Steven Madoff spent most of his career representing media and entertainment clients, both at large law firms and as in-house counsel for major studios and television networks, including as former Executive Vice President of Worldwide Business & Legal Affairs for Paramount Pictures’ Pay Television, Home Entertainment and Digital Media divisions. In his twenty years at Paramount, Steve handled their antitrust and competition matters, supervised their litigations, and led their transactional matters (joint ventures, cable channel launches and operations, and domestic and international long-term television and digital media output deals). In addition to his work at Paramount—and before that as international counsel to the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.—Steve represented other major entertainment companies on various matters, including profit-participation disputes, digital media issues, and copyright law. Steve also offers expert services for matters in the media and entertainment industry.
In addition to antitrust, Bona Law attorneys also handle trial court and appellate litigation matters involving First Amendment law, copyright, anti-piracy, internet, idea origination, defamation, right of publicity and privacy, talent contracts and profit participation disputes. We also represent clients in all aspects of transactional contract matters (i.e., development, drafting, negotiating, clearance and administration) for domestic and international motion picture, television and digital media production, acquisition, financing, distribution, licensing, hosting and joint venture agreements.
With respect to sports, Molly Donovan has represented national players’ unions and individual pro athletes in antitrust, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract litigations. Her experience includes pro basketball, pro football and equestrian sports.
Automotive
Steve Cernak, served as in-house antitrust attorney at General Motors for more than 20 years, ultimately responsible for global antitrust compliance, merger reviews and litigation. As a result, Steve has experience tackling the toughest antitrust issues concerning the automotive field, and explaining them to everyone in an organization from the CEO to workers in the factories. He now works with several manufacturers, suppliers, and joint ventures in the industry.
Our partners James Lerner and Molly Donovan have international experience representing automotive-parts companies in Japan and Europe in cartel and information-sharing investigations and follow-on U.S. class actions and related private litigations brought by U.S. automobile manufacturers.
Telecommunications
For more than a decade, Pat Pascarella served as chief in-house antitrust counsel to SBC and AT&T. Since then, Pat has represented numerous clients in the telecommunications and related industries including Ericsson, America Movil, TracFone, and AT&T. Before entering private practice, Pat was a member of the Department of Justice Telecommunications Task Force.
Dylan Carson has litigated a tying case involving telephone service and high-voltage protection service and an information-sharing case involving video distribution companies and a regional sports network. While at the DOJ, Dylan investigated internet-search providers in a search advertising matter and challenged some of the world’s largest telecom mergers.
Consumer Products
A number of our partners have represented manufacturers and resellers of consumer products and component parts – advising in global antitrust investigations and litigations and providing antitrust compliance and counseling on issues like distribution as well. The products range from rubber to insulation to health supplements to electronic components manufactured abroad and imported to the U.S. in complex distribution chains.
Oil, Gas and Commodities Trading
Bona Law represents the People of California in a price-fixing case against global trading firms alleged to have affected consumer-prices paid for regular and premium gasoline throughout Southern California. The matter involves futures trading on the gasoline spot market, public reporting agencies and other complex details of the U.S. oil and gas market.
Food and Agriculture
Aaron Gott served as general counsel to a regional ice cream company and has represented and advised food manufacturers and farm cooperatives in antitrust and competition matters involving class actions, the Lanham Act, antitrust compliance, and farm cooperative exemptions under the Capper-Volstead Act and state laws.
Dylan Carson represented Heinz in opposing an FTC challenge to a proposed merger in the baby food industry.
Our attorneys have also provided antitrust counseling and compliance advice in the snack-foods space and represented clients manufacturing vitamins, soft drinks, and food and feed additives.