David Goldstein represents clients, as both defendants and plaintiffs, in demanding and complex litigation in federal and state courts. Much of his practice focuses on antitrust and competition matters involving cartels, dominant firms and monopolization, vertical relationships, antitrust/IP matters, and other areas of antitrust law. He often provides guidance to clients regarding antitrust issues involving pricing and distribution, vertical agreements, trade association activities, and licensing agreements. He has handled cases and counseled clients in a broad range of industries, such as electronic devices and components, chemicals, entertainment, health care, pharmaceuticals, payment cards, credit reports/identity theft, DSL technology, LED lighting, motor oil, and medical devices. In addition to antitrust matters, David has represented clients in business disputes involving contracts, business torts, California’s Unfair Competition Law, investor disputes, and other matters.

David is ranked for antitrust in California in Chambers, Best Lawyers in America, Benchmark Litigation, and SuperLawyers. He has a peer- and judiciary-reviewed AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

David served as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the California Lawyers Association’s Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section. He also served as the Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the Antitrust Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF). He was the Chair of BASF’s Litigation Section’s Executive Committee, and he served on the Editorial Board of San Francisco Attorney Magazine. He has written many articles about, and been a panelist for, many antitrust and litigation issues.

Prior to joining the firm, David was a partner at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP from 2008-2018.  Before that, he was a shareholder at Heller Ehrman LLP, where he served as a co-chair of the Antitrust Practice Group, as a co-chair of the San Francisco Litigation Department, and as a member of the San Francisco Management Committee.

Representative Engagements

Cartels:

• Mitsui Chemicals. Obtained dismissal of Mitsui in a class action alleging price-fixing and market allocation.
• Taiwanese Electronic Components Manufacturer. Advised company in a price-fixing class action.
• Sony Pictures. Defended Sony in alleged no-poach and wage-suppression class action.
• Sony Electronics and Sony PlayStation. Asserted claims for Sony in price-fixing case involving TFT-LCD panels.

Dominant Firms and Monopolization:

• Sidibe v. Sutter Health. Represented plaintiffs asserting tying and monopolization claims against health care system.
• Merck. Defended Merck against Section 2 antitrust counterclaims in Hatch-Waxman case involving cholesterol drugs.
• Visa. Defended Visa in a purported U.S. $100 billion class action brought by Wal-Mart and other merchants asserting tying and attempted monopolization claims based on Visa’s payment card rules, In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation.
• Visa. Defended Visa in 40 indirect purchaser class actions in more than 20 states asserting monopolization, consumer protection, and common law claims in follow-on cases to In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation.

Antitrust/Intellectual Property:

• DuPont. Represented DuPont in asserting Section 1 and Section 2 counterclaims based on exclusive dealing.
• Texas Instruments. Defended Texas Instruments against Section 2 antitrust counterclaims based on standards-setting for DSL technology.
• One Technologies. Represented One Technologies in asserting Section 2 antitrust counterclaims in a trademark infringement case involving Google AdWords.

General Litigation Matters:

• Delta Dental of California. Defended Delta Dental in an arbitration and a follow-on class action alleging breach of contract and other claims.
• Sony Electronics and Sony PlayStation. Represented Sony as a plaintiff in a breach of contract case involving a mediated settlement agreement. Sony v. HannStar, 835 F.3d 1155 (9th 2016).
• Real Estate Company. Represented real estate owner in a three-week arbitration to determine the fair market rent for a property in Silicon Valley.

Practices

•  Antitrust and Competition Law
• Complex Commercial Litigation