Bob Connolly:  [email protected]    (215) 219-4418

I currently practice in the area of representing individuals in antitrust and other white collar investigation; assisting plaintiffs’ class action teams, and offering competition law compliance programs.  I have also been involved in representing whistleblowers in government fraud cases.

Cartel Capers has been a great deal of fun and has had some notable recognition.  It was named one of the ABA’s top 100 blogs.  I also had a unique honor of being quoted at length by Judge Richard Posner in Motorola Mobility v. AU Optronics, 775 F.3d 816, 826-27 (7th Cir. 2015).  Many other Cartel Capers blog posts have been published in Law 360, Global Competition Review and the Society of Corporate Compliance magazine.

I served for 33 years in the Antitrust Division.  I started as a trial attorney in 1980 and was captain of the ship (Chief) when the Philadelphia Field office was closed in 2013 (along with three other field offices). My first trial with the Division was a three-month trial of a conspiracy by copper tubing manufactures to fix prices.  While the defendants were acquitted, it was a tremendous learning experience.  I cut my teeth on what was then one of the largest conspiracy cases filed by the Division.  From there it was a string of road building cases, auction rings, defense department procurement fraud and bid-rigging and other local and regional cases that where at one time the staple of the Antitrust Division.  By the time I finished my career with the Division, the playing field had shifted to international cases.  The Philadelphia office was involved in some historic prosecutions:  the graphite electrodes cartel, the extradition and conviction of a British national for obstruction, and a Mexican cartel (Tampico—not drugs) which we prosecuted for both a horizontal and vertical price fixing.

In 1987 I was made Assistant Chief of the office and in 1994 I became Chief.  During that time I was able to participate in, and give my voice to policy decisions and mission objectives of the Division.  I have the greatest respect for the deliberative process the Division follows and how opinions are sought and considered.  I always had many ideas; some of them were even good.  When I had a different view than that which was adopted and I was happy (and obligated) to carry out that policy to the best of my ability.  Now, no longer a Division prosecutor, I am free to offer my insight, analysis and recommendations in a public forum.   I hope to continue to learn so please feel free to offer comments or feedback on how the site (and my thinking) can be improved.