Joseph Saveri was selected for and featured in The National Law Journal Trailblazers: Mergers & Acquisitions and Antitrust:
PIONEER SPIRIT
Joseph Saveri’s father and uncle were both antitrust lawyers. “They were part of a small group who handled some of the most important cases of the time and set the parameters and basic principles of modern private enforcement of the antitrust laws.” Once he started practicing, Saveri also found antitrust lawyers to be among the best and smartest in the business. “I can’t think of a better place to practice, due to the combination of intellectual challenges, social importance, and the complexity of the cases.”
TRAILS BLAZED
Saveri was involved in the first wave of “reverse payments” suits against pharmaceutical companies. “Brand name companies would essentially pay generics to stay out of the market.” Saveri filed suit against the makers of the drug Cipro in 2000 and eventually won in front of the California Supreme Court in 2015. “This is probably the most significant recent case in determining how courts would apply the U.S. Supreme Court seminal Activis decision.” Saveri also broke new ground by representing high-tech workers in In re High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, where large technology companies had agreed to not recruit each other’s employees. “It was an unusual antitrust case because the collusion was among buyers—not sellers of products.” The case settled for about $440 million. “This was a case that no one really wanted to prosecute. But there’s nothing more important than people being able to be paid for their talents and have that price set by the free market.”
FUTURE EXPLORATIONS
Much of Saveri’s success has been in cases that other attorneys would not take, or would not continue to pursue. “I will continue to be a fierce advocate for the private enforcement of antitrust law. It has been fundamental to the type of society we live in.”