Overview
Josh Mahoney is a commercial litigator and trial attorney in the Chicago office. He represents clients in all types of antitrust and competition-related disputes, including significant experience in price fixing, bid-rigging, monopolization claims and trade-secret misappropriation cases.
As part of his practice, Josh also regularly advises companies and their executives on white-collar issues and internal investigation matters and defends them in proceedings brought by DOJ, SEC, other government agencies and private plaintiffs.
Josh has litigated alongside and against some of the best trial lawyers in the country. He relishes working with clients and colleagues to develop winning strategies on day one. Josh and his teams have won several high-stakes disputes in recent years in varied forums throughout the country.
Representative Antitrust Matters
- Counsel for eight affiliated dental health insurance plans in consolidated class actions brought by dental providers across the country challenging certain business practices and agreements as anticompetitive under the Sherman Antitrust Act.
- Counsel for large international electronics manufacturer and its U.S. subsidiary in multidistrict litigation spanning more than a decade involving allegations of an international price-fixing cartel in the cathode-ray tube industry, which supplies manufacturing components for television and computer monitor screens.
- Counsel for national insurer in multidistrict litigation proceedings involving several class action lawsuits brought by autobody repair shops accusing insurers of conspiring to suppress reimbursement rates for collision repairs and boycott certain repair shops in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and various state laws. Obtained favorable dismissal of bellwether claims in the MDL, which was affirmed on appeal by the Eleventh Circuit in en banc proceedings.
- Represented national construction company in parallel criminal and civil proceedings brought by federal, state and local authorities stemming from allegations of improprieties related to a large-scale public construction project. Matter settled favorably while avoiding litigation or disbarment proceedings.
- Defended several Blue health plans in consolidated class actions brought by all Blue insureds and all health care providers challenging Blue Cross Blue Shield system under state and federal antitrust laws.
- Defended pork-processing company in an antitrust conspiracy case alleging an anticompetitive agreement among pork producers to reduce nationwide pork supplies and exchange competitively sensitive information with other pork producers to raise pork prices for all users.
Representative Non-Antitrust Matters
- Counsel for global pharmaceutical company in trade secret misappropriation case involving allegations of theft of commercial information.
- Counsel for national health care provider in pending invasion-of-privacy class action in Illinois state court.
- Represented publicly traded major chemical company in dispute involving more than $1 billion in engineering and construction cost defects and overruns at multiple plants. Investigated and prepared board report and litigated matter in private arbitration until reaching a successful settlement of all claims.
- Represented consumer electronics and technology company as plaintiff in fraud and breach-of-contract case with third-party logistics provider. Case settled favorably after court denied summary judgment to defendant on fraud claims.
- Counsel for the State of Georgia in a rare “original jurisdiction” water rights dispute with the State of Florida before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case culminated in a five-week bench trial that resulted in two different Special Master reports and recommendations, each of which rejected Florida’s claim seeking an equitable apportionment of the water flowing from Georgia into Florida. Final victory in the case was achieved in April 2021 after the Supreme Court overruled Florida’s objections to the second Special Master’s report.
Prior Experience
Before joining the firm, Josh practiced commercial litigation at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago. He began his career as a judicial clerk for the Hon. Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer of the Northern District of Illinois and the Hon. Michael J. Melloy of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
While in college, Josh played linebacker for the University of Northern Iowa Panthers football team and was a two-time Division I Academic All-American and two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference First-Team selection, leading the team and conference in tackles his junior and senior years. After his senior season, he was named an Academic Heisman finalist and received the NCAA Walter Byers Award — the NCAA’s highest academic honor given annually to one student-athlete in any NCAA sport in any division of play.
Related Services
Credentials
Bar Admissions
Colorado
Illinois
Court Admissions
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Certifications
VA accreditation
Clerkships
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Hon. Rebecca Pallmeyer, 2014-2015
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Hon. Michael J. Melloy, 2013-2014
Education
University of Chicago Law School
J.D. with honors, The University of Chicago Legal Forum (articles editor) (2013)
University of Northern Iowa
B.A. in Economics and English, summa cum laude (2009)
Insights & Events
Latest
Insights
News
Other Perspectives
- Justice Department Remains Committed to Aggressive Antitrust Enforcement Against Employers and Their Employees Even in the Wake of Recent Trial Defeats
Republished in Employee Relations Law Journal, July 2022
Leadership & Community
Pro Bono
- National Veterans Legal Services Program
Professional Associations
- American Bar Association
- Young Lawyer Representative (YLR)
- Spring Meeting Committee (2021-present)
- Joint Conduct Committee
- "Quick Look" Newsletter, Editorial Board (2021-present)
- Young Lawyer Representative (YLR)
- Faculty of Federal Advocates
Civic Activities
- LINK Unlimited Mentorship Program
- Center for Conflict Resolution — Auxiliary Board
- National Football Foundation — Voting Member, College Football Hall of Fame
Honors
- Faegre Baker Daniels — Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2019
No aspect of these recognitions has been approved by the highest court of any state.