Blecher, Maxwell M.

Lawyer Overview

Maxwell M. Blecher, the founding partner of Blecher & Collins, is renowned for his expertise in the antitrust field. He has litigated significant cases resulting in many precedent setting decisions in state and federal courts, including the California and U.S. Supreme Courts. He has testified before Congressional hearings; authored numerous articles on antitrust and civil litigation; and lectures extensively on antitrust and trial practice at programs sponsored by federal, state and local bar associations.

Mr. Blecher is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He served on President Carter's National Commission for the Review of Antitrust Laws. In 1998 the California State Bar named him Antitrust Lawyer of the Year. Since 1995 he has been listed in Best Lawyers in America; profiled in Chambers USA Guide: America's Leading Business Lawyers; and is one of 14 attorneys profiled in America's Top Trial Lawyers. Mr. Blecher has also been featured in California Lawyer and Los Angeles Magazine as a leading California lawyer.

Significant Matters:

• Represented the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in its victory over the National Football League permitting member teams to move from one location to another with competitor approval.
• Represented a group of 10 independent service operators in a precedent shattering refusal to deal lawsuit against Eastman Kodak resulting in a $72 million judgment for the plaintiffs.
• Represented Handgards in a suit against Johnson & Johnson resulting in a sizeable judgment for plaintiff, and producing a new body of antitrust law in connection with prosecuting patent litigation in bad faith.
• Successfully defended a motion picture exhibitor against charges brought by the U. S. Department of Justice that the defendant had monopolized motion picture exhibition in Las Vegas.
• Won a significant judgment charging malicious prosecution against a Texas based oil company.
• Successfully prosecuted an antitrust case for one of the two inter island carriers in Hawaii against the other.
• Successfully prosecuted a case for a reseller of long distance service against AT&T.
• Numerous professional liability claims, both for plaintiffs and defendants involving alleged lawyer malpractice and alleged accounting malpractice, including defenses of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, Irwin, Cohen & Jessup and Greenberg Glusker Field Claman & Machtinger LLP.

Appellate Experience:

Mr. Blecher has argued over 60 state and federal appeals in his career. A number of his noteworthy and landmark reported decisions appear below:

United States Supreme Court

• State of Hawaii v. Standard Oil Co., 405 U.S. 251 (1972)
  (right of a State to sue parens patriae on behalf of its citizens)
• Atlantic Richfield Co. v. USA Petroleum Co., 495 U.S. 328 (1990)
  (antitrust injury an element independent of per se violation)
• Pacific Bell Telephone Co. v. Linkline Communications, Inc., 129 S. Ct. 1109 (2009)
  (No antitrust liability for price squeeze not below cost)

California Supreme Court

• ABC International Traders, Inc. v. Matsushita Electric Corp., 14 Cal. 4th 1257 (1997)
  (Purchaser victimized by price discrimination has the right to sue under California Business & Professions Code 17045)
• Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 25 Cal. 4th 826 (2001)
  (summary judgment under antitrust laws in State court)
• Korea Supply Co. v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 29 Cal. 4th 1134 (2003)
  (elements of tort of intentional interference with prospective advantage and interpretation of California Business & Professions Code 17200)

Other Significant Appellate Decisions

Education:

DePaul University (1953)
LLB., University of Southern California (1955)

Bar Admissions:

1955 State Bar of California
1955 California Supreme Court
1955 United States Court of Appeals
1955 U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
1963 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
1971 United States Supreme Court
1978 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
2004 U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii
2005 United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
2006 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
2006 United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
2008 U.S. District Court (Arizona)

Honors and Awards:

1998 Antitrust Lawyer of the Year (State Bar of California)
LAFLA 2006 Maynard Toll Award

Appointments:

National Commission for the Review of Antitrust Laws and Procedures, 1978-1979
(appointed by President Jimmy Carter)

Distinctions:

Best Lawyers in America: 1995-2009
America's Top Trial Lawyers by Donald E. Vinson (1994) (one of fourteen lawyers)
Guide to the World's Leading Competition and Antitrust Lawyers (International Bar Association)

Legal Authorship:

Numerous articles on antitrust and civil litigation in the following journals, among others:
U.C.L.A. Law Review
The George Washington Law Review
Southwestern University Law Review
The Antitrust Bulletin
Antitrust Law Journal
Antitrust Law & Economics Review

Speaking Engagements:

Speaker and panel member on numerous antitrust and trial practice programs sponsored by the American Bar Association as well as State and local bar associations.

Memberships and Professional Affiliations:

State Bar of California
Sections: Antitrust
Litigation
American Bar Association
Chairman, Private Antitrust
Litigation Committee, 1974-1976
Member, Council, 1976-1977
American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
American Board of Trial Advocates, Fellow
American Judicature Society
Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Chancery Club
Committee to Support Antitrust Laws
Federal Bar Association
Los Angeles County Bar Association

West Practice Categories

Antitrust Law, Business & Commercial Law, Intellectual Property Law, Litigation & Appeals, Complex Litigation, Professional Malpractice Law, Class Actions

Offers Free Initial Consultation

Address

515 South Figueroa Street
Suite 1750
Los Angeles, CA 90071-3302

Phones

(213) 622-4222

Faxes

213-622-1656

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.blechercollins.com