Thomas A. Isaacson

Thomas Isaacson is of counsel in the firm’s Washington, DC office and focuses on a wide range of commercial litigation and antitrust class actions.  He has been involved in a wide range of civil litigation in more than a dozen federal district courts and numerous appellate courts, state and federal administrative agencies and alternative dispute resolution forums.  The bulk of that work has involved antitrust litigation, and another significant portion has involved antitrust counseling and obtaining government clearance of dozens of mergers and acquisitions.

Representative Matters

• Louisiana Whole Drug Co. v. Schering-Plough Corp.  Represents Schering-Plough Corporation in an ongoing antitrust action in which dozens of named plaintiffs, including two putative classes of direct and indirect purchasers of Schering’s K-Dur pharmaceutical, allege that Schering conspired to exclude generic competition.
• In re Digital Music Antitrust Litigation.  Represents Bertelsmann Inc. in an ongoing antitrust action brought by a putative class of consumer purchasers alleging that the major record labels conspired to fix the price of Internet music and prop up the market for compact disks. 
• Wheeler v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation.  Represented Tyson Foods, Inc. in an antitrust action brought by a putative class of chicken growers who alleged that the two major chicken integrators conspired to depress the price paid to chicken growers.  Relying on Tyson's arguments, made by Mr. Isaacson, the court denied class certification and the Fifth Circuit denied plaintiffs' appeal.
• GTE New Media Services, Inc. v. Ameritech Corp., et al.  Represented a major Internet company in a challenge to the RBOCs’ exclusion of competition from key websites.  Mr. Isaacson argued the case in the D.C. Circuit—the first appellate decision involving personal jurisdiction over an Internet business in the antitrust context.
• Rivendell Forest Products Ltd. v. Canadian Forest Products, Ltd.  Represented Canadian lumber manufacturer defendants in an antitrust case in which a major class action was dismissed on grounds of international comity.  The case is one of the principal decisions actually applying, rather than merely alluding to, principles of international comity.

Honors and Rankings

• Washington DC Super Lawyers, Antitrust Litigation and Class Action/Mass Torts (2012)

Pro Bono

• Joseph Palmour and Aihua Palmour v. The Cathedral Avenue Cooperative Inc.  Represented plaintiffs in a case that established, for the first time, that the reasonable accommodations provisions of the Fair Housing Act could require an owner to allow tenants to work in the building if their disability precluded them from working outside their home.

Memberships and Affiliations

• American Bar Association, Member
• District of Columbia Bar Association, Member
• Flatirons Climbing Council, President
• The Access Fund, Volunteer
• Appalachian Trail Club, Publications Editor and Legal Committee Member (1985-1995)

Publications and Speeches

• "Traders In Our Midst: International Trade Regulation," Ithaca Policy Research (1981), Author
• "The Rights of Consumers," National Textbook Co. (1980), Co-Author
• "Safe But Sorry: The Case Against Consumer Product Regulation," Ithaca Policy Research (1980), Author