Anna T. Pletcher

San Francisco

Litigation

Anna T. Pletcher had previously spent more than a decade at the U.S. Department of Justice working antitrust and major crimes cases, leading investigations and prosecutions into price fixing, market manipulation, fraud and money laundering.

Now, in four short years at O'Melveny, Pletcher has racked up a series of successes that is a Who's Who of the business world. One of the most famous was an antitrust case against 10 defendants from different food companies accused of price-fixing broiler chickens. United States v. Penn et al., 1:20-cr-00152 (D. Colo., filed June 3, 2020).

"It was just a powerhouse team of incredibly talented lawyers from around the country, all of whom worked together seamlessly," Pletcher said. "And we were able to leverage each other's strengths and fight back against this government case that never should have been charged. It took a lot of time."

Her client, Pilgrim's Pride CEO Jayson Penn, "suffered through three trials along with his family, and finally, through all of it, we got to the right result," Pletcher said.

After two hung juries, the number of defendants was whittled down from 10 to five. Penn and his co-defendants were acquitted in the third trial last year.

"From the defense side, managing the decision making were 10 different teams and it was a very challenging process," Pletcher said.

Other cases have included opposing a California mandate limiting laboratories available for prenatal genetic screening and price-fixing litigation against the Radio Music Licensing Committee on behalf of Global Music Rights and serving as an amicus on behalf of anti-gun violence non-profits supporting the federal government's 'bump stock' ban on semi-automatic weapons being challenged in the 6th Circuit.

It's a high-profile career for the first-generation college graduate from a Puerto Rican family. Pletcher has not forgotten her roots and spends much of her time working with underserved communities. She serves on the board of directors for Bay Area Legal Aid, works with an at-risk youth program, and co-leads O'Melveny's team working with the Abortion Defense Network, which provides pro-bono legal aid to patients and providers navigating the complicated patchwork of abortion laws across the nation.

--Tori Richards