Alison M. Agnew

Representative Matters — Antitrust Litigation and M&A

• Litigation counsel for the former parent entity of a North Carolina health care system in antitrust class actions brought by direct and indirect purchasers in, respectively, federal and state courts, which alleged monopolization, attempted monopolization and restraint of trade.
• Litigation counsel for a senior executive of a large publicly traded generic pharmaceutical manufacturer in wide-ranging civil multidistrict class action litigation and actions from state attorneys general, alleging conspiracies among generic manufacturers to fix prices and allocate markets/customers. 
• Antitrust and litigation counsel for a New Jersey health care system with respect to an FTC investigation and lawsuit to block its proposed merger with a general acute care hospital.
• Antitrust and litigation counsel for the largest health care system in the Philadelphia area. This includes providing antitrust advice, conducting antitrust risk assessments and due diligence, and obtaining regulatory clearance for a variety of M&A transactions. This also includes representing the system to defeat a lawsuit brought by the FTC and Pennsylvania AG to block a $600-million hospital merger.
• Antitrust counsel for a major national health insurer and industry leader in health solutions on a variety of antitrust matters and M&A transactions, including securing state and federal antitrust and regulatory approvals.
• Antitrust counsel for a global technology company in connection with its cross-border acquisition of a provider of set-top boxes and broadband access devices. 

Representative Matters — Fraud & Abuse

Alison also represents companies and individuals in civil and criminal investigations and litigation for a variety of fraud and False Claims Act / Anti-Kickback Statute matters, including:

• Counsel for a large national charity in multiple putative class actions in federal courts in California, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. The lawsuits alleged that the charity’s use of donations received from drug manufacturers to help low-income patients afford their medications is a violation of certain kickback and fraud laws, asserting RICO claims and violations of state consumer protection and unjust enrichment laws. The matters were settled favorably following motions to dismiss.
• Counsel for a large hospital system in a False Claims Act qui tam litigation brought by a former employee, alleging that the system improperly billed for inpatient services and retained a consultant that provided advice that the former employee claimed was overly aggressive. The matter settled on favorable terms after the close of discovery.

Representative Matters — Commercial Disputes

Alison’s litigation experience extends to various complex commercial matters, including contract disputes and trade secret and unfair competition claims, including:

• Counsel for a homebuilding company in Georgia federal court through a jury trial, where client, as plaintiff, pursued more than $40 million in lost profits from an acquired homebuilder for breach of several contractual agreements.
• Counsel for the landlord of a commercial building in Washington, D.C., in an action brought by a real estate broker for breach of contract, unjust enrichment and tortious interference. The client’s motion for summary judgment was granted in full.
• Counsel for real estate developers in a lawsuit against the owner/seller of a commercial building in Washington, D.C., to enforce the purchase contract for the property. After trial, the court granted a directed verdict in the client’s favor on the seller’s counterclaims, and the jury issued a unanimous verdict in our favor on the claim to enforce the contract.

Prior Experience

While in law school, Alison interned at the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of Virginia and served as a law clerk in the Boston College Innocence Project. Prior to law school, Alison was a paralegal at a law firm in Washington, D.C.

Personal Interests

Alison enjoys traveling, live music and British TV period dramas.