Michael L. Sibarium, Partner

Michael Sibarium is a partner whose practice focuses on litigation, government investigations, and counseling matters generally involving significant antitrust, trade regulation, and other legal issues relating to competition.

Mr. Sibarium represents clients in investigations conducted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, state attorneys general, and in litigation before state and federal courts. His broad experience includes antitrust and other complex commercial litigation, civil antitrust conduct investigations, antitrust merger investigations, criminal grand jury investigations, and a variety of unfair and deceptive trade practices investigations.

In his litigation practice, Mr. Sibarium has represented clients in cases involving claims such as price fixing, tying, boycotts, monopolization, unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, fraud, trade libel, deceptive trade practices, and other business torts. He has tried cases against both the Antitrust Division and the FTC. He was the architect of the defense that persuaded the FTC to reverse an administrative law judge’s divestiture order in the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare case, and a key member of the trial team that obtained dismissal of the DOJ’s effort to enjoin a merger in the Long Island Jewish Medical Center case. He was lead counsel for medical device manufacturer Nucletron Corp. in its successful defense against monopolization claims, and for Luxottica Group in its suit for injunctive relief, ending a national boycott following the company’s acquisition of LensCrafters.

Mr. Sibarium has analyzed the competitive effects of hundreds of proposed mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures over the past 25 years in both private practice and government service. He recently obtained unconditional clearance for Luxottica Group S.p.A. in its $2.3 billion merger with sunglasses icon Oakley, Inc. Mr. Sibarium was a key member of the antitrust teams that successfully represented Bell Atlantic Corp. in its acquisition of NYNEX and Interstate Brands Corp. in its acquisition of Continental Baking Co. He has obtained clearances for transactions in other industries as diverse as aerospace, healthcare, airport security, wholesale foods, credit cards, chemicals, computers, agricultural products, telecommunications, and retail. By combining this substantive and litigation experience with his knowledge of the reporting requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, Mr. Sibarium is able to more efficiently serve clients throughout the merger-review process. Where necessary, he coordinates the activities of competition counsel across the globe.

His trade regulation practice includes representing clients in FTC and state attorney general investigations in matters arising from advertising claims, warranties, deceptive pricing, product labeling, and other FTC trade regulation rules.

He has advised clients on a wide range of antitrust and trade regulation issues relating to pricing, distribution, strategic alliances, boycotts, tying agreements, exclusive dealing, promotional allowances, licensing restrictions, advertising, and covenants not-to-compete.

Prior to joining Winston & Strawn, Mr. Sibarium served as an adviser on antitrust and trade regulation matters to a Federal Trade Commissioner.

Activities

Mr. Sibarium is an active member of the Section on Litigation and Section on Antitrust Law of both the American Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association. He previously served on the Steering Committee of the Antitrust, Trade Regulation and Consumer Affairs Section of the District of Columbia Bar Association.

Mr. Sibarium has handled a number of pro bono matters, including serving as guardian ad litem in a child-custody matter, representing a prisoner in an Eighth Amendment claim, and representing a terminated employee in a discrimination claim. He also has taught courses in legal writing and appellate advocacy at The National Law Center of The George Washington University Law School.

Education

Speeches and Publications

Mr. Sibarium is a regular author and frequently requested speaker about various antitrust topics including:

• “Practical and Strategic Considerations in Litigating Under the FTC’s New Part 3 Rules,” ABA’s Antitrust Magazine (Fall 2009) (Co-author).
• “Joint Ventures: Practical Advice to Avoid the Antitrust, Tax, and Fraud and Abuse Pitfalls,” Physicians and Physician Organizations Law Institute and Hospitals and Health Systems Law Institute (February 2009) (Panelist).
• Bloomberg radio interviewed Mr. Sibarium for a news story regarding a recent federal appeal court ruling regarding an antitrust challenge to Major League Baseball’s restrictions on licensing team names and logos (September 2008).
• “Resale Price Maintenance Post-Leegin,” Antitrust Section of the New York State Bar Association Annual Meeting (January 2008) (Panelist).
• “US/EU Antitrust Enforcement,” Northwestern University Law School’s Garrett Institute for Corporate and Securities Law (May 2006) (Moderator).
• ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Mergers and Acquisitions, 3d Ed (2008) (Contributor).
• “Antitrust Issues Arising from Health Care Joint Ventures,” American Health Lawyers Association (March 2008) (Panelist).
• “FTC v. Evanston Northwestern Healthcare — The View Up Close,” the American Health Lawyers Association Annual Meeting in Philadelphia (June 2006) (Panelist).
• “Hospital Mergers and Alliances: Lessons from the Evanston Northwestern Litigation,” Antitrust in Healthcare Conference sponsored by the American Bar Association Antitrust Section and the National Health Lawyers Association (May 2005) (Panelist).
• “Providers Describe Experiences with Clinical Integration Programs and Call for Further Antitrust Guidance,” Antitrust Health Care Chronicle (August 2008) (Co-author).
• “Antitrust Today: Maturity or Decline,” The Antitrust Bulletin, Vol. XXXV, No. 1 (Spring 1990) (Co-author).