Anna T. Pletcher

Anna T. Pletcher's practice in O'Melveny & Myers LLP deals with civil and criminal antitrust cases and corporate investigations.

After being an assistant chief of the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust division and special assistant U.S. attorney in the major crimes unit in San Francisco, she now plays a role litigating and advising clients.

"In my view, you can be tough and fair," Pletcher said of the way she practices law. "There are not many women doing criminal antitrust trial work nationally, and I am proud to be part of this group."

Pletcher's career features prosecutions and investigations of a variety of complex cases, including price fixing, bid rigging, market manipulation, fraud, and money laundering, working side by side with many giant corporations.

Since joining O'Melveny, she has worked with clients on high-profile cartel, white-collar investigations, securities class action, and compliance matters.

She represented Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ltd. in an antitrust class action lawsuit, where plaintiffs alleged it conspired with other companies to prevent vehicles from being exported from Canada into the United States. Automobile Antitrust Cases I and II, CJC-03- 004298 (S.F. Super. Ct., filed May 30, 2003)

O'Melveny took over as trial counsel from Latham & Watkins with a decision to go to trial, but the parties settled on favorable terms in January 2022.

"We were prepared to take the case to trial, but we settled although we were fully prepared," said Pletcher.

Pletcher said that in any case, understanding the needs of the client comes first. "You have to make a plan to help them achieve their goals," she said. "But then, think creatively about what the law is and how to achieve those goals. Be willing and ready to go to trial."

Her team represented a startup music performing rights organization called Global Music Rights. A consortium of 10,000 radio stations sued her client for alleged price fixing.

In response, Global Music filed a countersuit accusing the organization of price fixing as a monopsonist in an attempt to suppress the prices of performing rights licenses. Global Music Rights LLC v. Radio Music License Committee Inc., 2:19-cv- 03957 (C.D. Calif., filed May 6, 2019).

"Global Music Rights was very innovative," Pletcher said. "They created a group to help songwriters negotiate a fair price to perform their music." Plaintiff Radio Music License Committe's motion to dismiss was denied in February 2020, and the parties settled in 2022.

- Federico Lo Giudice