Laura Protzmann

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Professional Experience

: Current; Bertelsmann AG In re Napster, Inc. Copyright Litigation, Case No. 06-15886 (9th Cir. 2006); Case No. 06-72515 (9th Cir. 2006); MDL 1369 (MHP) (N.D. Cal. 2003) Litigation over the former Napster service; successful settlements in the single largest copyright infringement case in U.S. history

: Current; Bertelsmann AG UMG Recording, Inc. et al. v. Bertelsmann AG et al., 2000-CV-01369 (9th Cir. 2006) Appeal of ruling that compelled production of privileged documents under the “crime-fraud exception.” Won appeal: In a significant precedent, Court clarified scope of “crime-fraud exception”; also ruled substance of documents provided no evidence of fraud.

: Current; Johnson & Johnson Applied Medical Resources Corp. v. Ethicon, Inc., et al., 03-CV-1329 (C.D. Cal. 2006) Obtained a complete defense verdict for client, Johnson & Johnson, in an antitrust case challenging J&J's practice of offering the best prices to its customers who purchased sutures and endomechanical products (a so-called "bundle") from J&J. more

: Current; Johnson & Johnson ConMed Corp. v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. Following Johnson & Johnson’s victory in the Applied Medical antitrust trial J&J faced another court case over similar “bundling” allegations made by ConMed Corporation. The stakes were enormous; ConMed’s own public filings acknowledged it was asserting damages claims of $1.7 billion before trebling. Trial was avoided and the case settled for $11 million - less than one percent of the (untrebled) damages number - and no conduct relief.

: Current; MasterCard International Incorporated Reyn’s Pasta Bella, LLC, et al. v. Visa U.S.A. Inc., et al. Defended MasterCard against allegations that it, along with Visa and several banks, had fixed prices on interchange rates with regard to payment card transactions. Weil Gotshal successfully argued the claims were precluded by settlement, and the district court's dismissal was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit. more

: Current; UnitedHealth Group Inc. Acquisition of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. Represented UnitedHealth Group Inc. in its $8.1 billion acquisition of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. more

: Current; Bertelsmann AG In re Napster, Inc. Copyright Litigation Representing Bertelsmann AG in a series of litigations brought by music publishers and record labels asserting that Bertelsmann should be liable (for tens of billions of dollars) for contributory/vicarious copyright infringement stemming from its loans extended to the Napster file-sharing service. more

: Current; Thomas H. Lee Partners LP Private Equity Antitrust Litigation Lead counsel for Thomas H. Lee in connection with private nationwide antitrust class action litigation asserting broad ranging antitrust conspiracy claims against THL and other private equity companies.

: Current; Tyson Foods, Inc. In re Tyson Foods, Inc. Won a major court victory for Tyson Foods, Inc. over several poultry industry competitors by defeating a request for a temporary restraining order.

: Current; UnitedHealth Group Inc. UnitedHealth Group's merger with PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. Represented UnitedHealth Group in its recent merger with PacifiCare Health systems, Inc., a transaction valued at approximately $8.1 billion. Obtained antitrust clearance after negotiating a favorable settlement with the Justice Department.

Education