Daniel B. Asimow

SAN FRANCISCO -- Daniel B. Asimow is a veteran antitrust lawyer who heads Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP's California antitrust practice. Clients include the Oakland Raiders, Bayer Health Care LLC, Bristol-Myers Squib Co., Bausch Health Companies Inc., Elanco Animal Health Inc. and Celgene Corp.

Asimow has focused on antitrust law for his entire career, including for nearly 20 years at San Francisco- based Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin PC, before the firm combined with Arnold & Porter in 2012. "I was interested in antitrust since law school because I like the combination of law, economics and history," he said.

Asimow is a sports fan, which mixes neatly with his major cases involving the Bay Area's basketball and football franchises. In 2015, he successfully defended the Golden State Warriors when they were sued for allegedly monopolizing the market for secondary ticketing services. He has also represented baseball and hockey teams in antitrust matters.

This year, he's wrapping up his successful defense of the former Oakland Raiders in an antitrust suit by the city of Oakland over the team's move to Las Vegas. In October 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court denied cert, letting stand the favorable ruling for his client handed down by a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2021. City of Oakland v. Oakland Raiders et al., 20-16075 (9th Cir., op. filed Dec. 2, 2021).

In that case, the city of Oakland alleged that the league ignored its own relocation policies and violated the Sherman Act by approving the Raiders' move. Oakland claimed the league improperly restricted the number of teams -- thereby driving up the cost of hosting a team -- and that the league boycotted Oakland in favor of Las Vegas to collect the Raiders' $378 million relocation fee.

The circuit panel, agreeing with Asimow's arguments, held that Oakland lacked standing because of the speculative nature of its alleged injury. Oakland's injury depended on a long chain of causal steps -- that if the NFL had a different policy regarding admitting new teams, there would be more teams. One of those teams would have agreed to play in Oakland, and Oakland would have benefitted financially. Asimow commented that the 9th Circuit decision is "significant because it contains an important discussion of how concrete a plaintiff's injuries need to be -- too much speculation and you lack statutory standing."

He added: "Sports antitrust cases are very interesting because sports require a degree of cooperation among the teams in a league. That clashes with the limits antitrust law imposes on the extent of that cooperation."

Asimow has upcoming trials for Bayer over a monopolization claim by an alleged competitor and for Bausch Health over claims that a patent litigation settlement violated antitrust laws. Both trials are set for 2024.