Former FTC Lawyers Launch Antitrust-Focused Law Firm Amid Rising Private Litigation

According to Reuters, the new firm, Simonsen Sussman, was founded by three former FTC attorneys—Catherine Simonsen, Shaoul Sussman, and Nicolas Stebinger—alongside Kate Brubacher, who previously served as the U.S. attorney for Kansas under the Biden administration. The firm is positioning itself to pursue cases involving unfair competition, price discrimination, and other antitrust violations, areas they say have suffered from regulatory underenforcement.

The formation of Simonsen Sussman comes at a time when private antitrust litigation is on the rise, even as the FTC has experienced a notable decline in personnel. Per Reuters, the agency has seen a roughly 10% reduction in staff during the second Trump administration. In a recent statement to Congress, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson noted that 94 employees had left the agency this year alone, leaving it with 1,221 full-time staff.

Simonsen Sussman’s founders argue that institutional limitations and policy shifts have left important legal tools underutilized. One such statute is the Robinson-Patman Act, a Depression-era law aimed at preventing discriminatory pricing practices. While the FTC dropped a case in May accusing Pepsi of violating that law, citing concerns about the adequacy of the investigation, attorneys at the new firm believe the statute remains a potent mechanism for addressing corporate misconduct. Pepsi has denied any wrongdoing.

According to Reuters, the firm’s founders are also interested in leveraging state-level laws, such as California’s unfair competition statute, to hold companies accountable. In a recent legal battle brought by “Fortnite” creator Epic Games, a federal judge in California ruled that Apple had breached the state’s unfair competition law, though not federal antitrust rules. Apple has denied the allegations.

As former FTC attorney Catherine Simonsen told Reuters, “We’ve seen courts starting to understand that corporate interests have gone too far,” underscoring the firm’s belief that the legal tide may be shifting in favor of stronger enforcement.

Source: Reuters