Pisano, Francesca

Francesca Marie Pisano

Counsel

francesca.pisano@lw.com
    Pisano, Francesca

    Francesca Marie Pisano

    Counsel

    francesca.pisano@lw.com
    Ones to Watch – Antitrust Law (D.C.)

    Best Lawyers 2024

    Profile

    Francesca Pisano provides strategic advice to leading companies seeking merger clearance from US regulators for complex deals and defending themselves in civil and criminal antitrust investigations.

    Ms. Pisano draws on her experience to guide clients in strategic mergers and transactions before the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice (DOJ), including defending clients facing merger litigation. She also represents companies in government conduct and internal investigations, as well as providing business-centric, sophisticated compliance counseling.

    She advises a broad spectrum of companies across highly regulated industries, including telecommunications and technology, entertainment, government contracting, and healthcare.

    An active member of the antitrust bar, she serves as the Vice Chair of the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section’s Transportation and Energy Industries Committee. Before joining Latham, Ms. Pisano was a senior associate at a global law firm in Washington, D.C., where she focused on antitrust matters.

    Experience

    Ms. Pisano’s experience includes representing:

    Transactions

    • Altria in:
      • Its US$2.75 billion acquisition of NJOY Holdings*
      • Its investment in JUUL Labs, including the FTC litigation challenging the transaction*
    • AT&T in:
      • WarnerMedia’s merger with Discovery*
      • Its US$85.4 billion stock-and-cash acquisition of Time Warner, including the DOJ’s litigation challenging the transaction*
    • Snapfish and District Photo in Apollo Global Management’s acquisition of Snapfish and Shutterfly*
    • Monsanto in its proposed sale of Precision Planting to Deere & Company, including the DOJ’s litigation challenging the transaction*
    • General Electric in:
      • The proposed sale of its appliances business to AB Electrolux, including the DOJ’s litigation challenging the transaction*
      • The US$5.6 billion sale of its appliances business to Qingdao Haier*
      • The acquisitions of Arcam and Concept Laser, two additive manufacturing companies*

    Government Investigations/Counseling

    • An international technology company in a DOJ investigation into alleged market allocation for web-based products and technologies, which closed with no action taken against the company*
    • A manufacturing company in a DOJ investigation into allegations of price fixing, which closed with no action taken against the company*
    • A broadcast television company in a DOJ and state attorney general investigation into alleged exclusionary conduct, which closed with no action taken against the company*
    • A Fortune 50 company on issues related to Clayton Act §8 (interlocking directorates)*
    • A healthcare company in a FTC investigation into prior acquisitions and contracting practices*

    Antitrust Litigation

    • TPG Capital in private civil antitrust litigation in the District of Massachusetts regarding leading private equity firms’ leveraged buyout bidding practices*
    • Yamashita Rubber in complex multidistrict antitrust litigation alleging bid rigging and price fixing of anti-vibration rubber parts arising from a government investigation into the auto parts industry*
    • Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers America (PhRMA), as amicus curiae, in In re Lamictal Antitrust Litigation (3rd Cir.), an appeal concerning antitrust laws’ application to pharmaceutical patent litigation settlements following the US Supreme Court’s decision in FTC v. Actavis (2013)*
    • A healthcare system in pending Section 2 litigation*

    *Matter handled prior to joining Latham

    Qualifications

    Bar Qualification

    • District of Columbia

    Practices

    Industries

    News & Insights