Craig G. Falls focuses his practice on helping clients obtain regulatory approvals for mergers and acquisitions and defending clients against antitrust claims brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Justice (DOJ), state attorneys general and private plaintiffs. Mr. Falls has represented clients in a wide variety of industries, including: energy, transportation, food & agriculture, healthcare and high-technology.
Mr. Falls has additional litigation experience in defending clients in investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in helping a financial institution obtain a significant damages award in commercial litigation against the United States involving a six-week trial and appellate proceedings.
Significant Representations
- Litigated Merger Challenges: FTC v. Whole Foods Markets, Inc.; United States et. al. v. Dean Foods. Defending clients in litigated merger challenges in federal district court, federal appellate court, and in FTC administrative proceedings, including work on preliminary injunction proceedings, taking and defending depositions and appellate briefing
- Private Antitrust Litigation: American Airlines Inc. v. Travelport Limited, et. al. Defending clients against claims of monopolization and horizontal and vertical conspiracies, including extensive work on motion practice and discovery
- HSR Merger Review and Second Requests: Monster Worldwide, Inc.-HotJobs; Travelport-Worldspan; Dow-Rohm & Haas; Aetna-Prodigy. Helping clients obtain regulatory clearances for mergers and acquisitions, including representing clients before the FTC and DOJ, helping clients comply with Second Requests, and working with economists and industry experts to develop arguments for clearance
- Pre-Signing Merger Advice: Helping clients assess the antitrust risk involved in potential acquisitions; drafting risk allocation provisions in purchase agreements; developing divestiture strategies to alleviate competitive concerns; and delivering presentations to sellers on how to resolve antitrust concerns
Education
The College of William & Mary, B.A., 1995
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 2006
Court Admissions
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
United States Court of Federal Claims
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Supreme Court of Virginia
Bar Admissions/Qualifications
District of Columbia
Virginia
Memberships
ABA Section of Antitrust Law’s Technology and Financial Resources Task Force (2011 to 2012)
Young Lawyer Representative to the ABA Section of Antitrust Law’s Communications & Digital Technology Industries Committee (2010 to 2011)
Publications and Lectures
- Contributor, “Private Antitrust Suits Chapter,” Antitrust Law Developments, Sixth Edition (2007)