Joshua Lipton is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.  He maintains a broad-based antitrust and consumer protection practice, including litigation in state and federal courts, merger and acquisition investigations, civil and criminal antitrust and consumer protection investigations by government authorities, and antitrust counseling.

Mr. Lipton has been listed as a leading antitrust specialist in a number of publications, including Chambers USA’s America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Practical Law Company’s Competition: The Law and Leading Lawyers Worldwide, and Super Lawyers in its Antitrust Litigation and Mergers & Acquisitions categories.  He has been ranked as a “Client Service All-Star” by BTI Consulting.

Mr. Lipton’s representative matters include:

• AT&T / Time Warner (D.D.C. 2018). Member of the trial team that defeated the DOJ’s challenge to AT&T’s $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner.
• Leegin Creative Leather Prods., Inc. v. PSKS, Inc., 551 U.S. 877 (2007).  Authored the briefs to the Supreme Court on behalf of Leegin in this landmark case in which the Supreme Court overturned the century-old per se rule against resale price maintenance.
• Maderazo v. Baptist Health Systems et al. (W.D. Tex. 2019). Defended Tenet Healthcare in class action alleging that three hospital systems in San Antonio conspired to suppress nurses’ wages.  The court excluded the opinions of the plaintiffs’ class certification expert relating to antitrust impact and denied the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification.
• Tronox / Cristal (FTC 2019). Represented Tronox in securing FTC clearance for Tronox’s acquisition of Cristal, a rival manufacturer or Titanium Dioxide.  Negotiated a merger remedy that resolved competition concerns in the U.S., prompting the FTC to lift an injunction and clear the transaction to close on a global basis.
• FTC v. AdvoCare (FTC 2019). Defended the CEO of a direct-selling company against an FTC consumer protection investigation involving allegations of misrepresentations and operating a pyramid scheme.  Resolved the matter through a favorable settlement.
• In re: Aetna UCR Litigation (D.N.J. 2018).  Defended Aetna in a multidistrict class action asserting claims under antitrust, RICO, ERISA, and state consumer protection laws based on allegations that Aetna systematically underpaid benefits for visits to out-of-network providers by using a supposedly rigged database of provider charges.  In 2018, the court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. Shortly afterward, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their claims with prejudice.
• Marriott / Starwood. Lead global antitrust counsel for Marriott International in its $13.8 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which is the largest transaction in the history of the hotel industry.  Secured unconditional clearance from authorities representing 44 countries on five continents.
• Aetna Inc. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (E.D. Mich. 2015).  Represented Aetna in an antitrust lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan based on allegations that Blue Cross entered into unlawful most-favored-nations contracts with hospitals in Michigan that unlawfully elevated competitors’ hospital rates and thwarted competition. Aetna’s claims were resolved in a confidential settlement on the eve of trial.

Mr. Lipton received his law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan School of Law in 1998, where he graduated first in his class and was a member of the Michigan Law Review.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Amherst College in 1994.  Mr. Lipton is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.