G. Patrick Watson concentrates in antitrust and other complex litigation. In addition to litigation, he has assisted companies with internal investigations and responses to government subpoenas, has provided antitrust counseling and compliance guidance to corporations, joint ventures and trade associations in the antitrust area and has represented clients in obtaining regulatory approval for mergers.

In the antitrust and trade regulation litigation area, Mr. Watson has defended a Fortune 500 company in federal and state class action antitrust litigation involving alleged price fixing in the carpet industry.  He also represents large corporate plaintiffs who choose to opt out of class action litigation involving price fixing to pursue direct claims and has obtained large recoveries for such companies. Mr. Watson also has handled litigation involving franchising and distribution issues, including defense of a small business in a franchise/business opportunity action brought by the Federal Trade Commission and representation of a plaintiff in pursuit of state unfair trade practice act claims arising out of a distribution arrangement, and defense of a foreign brewery in distribution termination disputes.  Mr. Watson also has defended both individuals and corporations accused of violating sections one and two of the Sherman Act and the Robinson-Patman Act. 

Apart from antitrust and trade regulation matters, Mr. Watson has defended an employer in an ERISA class action for allegedly underfunding a plan and breaching fiduciary duties, and he currently represents a Fortune 500 company in a variety of litigation and disputes arising out of the administration of its health and welfare plans. He also has handled commercial litigation for both defendant and plaintiff involving software development contracts, warranty clauses in asset purchase agreements and other complex business disputes.

Mr. Watson also has counseled various companies and trade associations on a variety of antitrust related issues, including pricing, advertisting, joint ventures, benchmarking and strategic transactions.  As part of his compliance work, he has assisted clients with antitrust related audits and in the development of training programs.