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Paul Weiss Pushes Back Against Removal Bid in Sugar Antitrust Fight

By  |  September 24, 2026
Sugar

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is fighting an effort by major food manufacturers to remove the law firm from the defense of Domino Sugar and its parent, ASR Group, in litigation accusing sugar producers of coordinating prices.

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    The firm asked a federal judge in Minnesota to reject the disqualification request, disputing allegations that its work for ASR creates a conflict stemming from earlier discussions about potentially representing the food companies bringing the claims, according to Reuters.

    The dispute adds a legal-ethics fight to sprawling antitrust litigation involving some of the biggest names in the food industry. Mondelēz and other plaintiffs contend that ASR and rival sugar producers participated in unlawful price coordination. ASR and other defendants have denied wrongdoing, Reuters reported.

    At the center of the disqualification fight are contacts between Paul Weiss and the food manufacturers in 2024. The manufacturers say they provided the firm with confidential information about strategy and pricing while Paul Weiss was seeking to represent them in the litigation. Paul Weiss disputes that characterization, saying the material it received consisted only of historical purchasing information from one plaintiff, according to Reuters.

    Paul Weiss also said that the principal lawyers involved in pitching for the manufacturers’ business are no longer with the firm. Those attorneys included William Isaacson, who departed last year to establish a new law firm, Reuters reported.

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    Related: Paul Weiss Faces Disqualification Bid in Sugar Price-Fixing Litigation

    In its filing, Paul Weiss characterized the attempt to remove it as “strategic gamesmanship,” according to Reuters. The firm maintains that its current representation doesn’t create the conflict alleged by the plaintiffs.

    ASR and Domino separately backed their counsel in a Wednesday filing. The companies argued that disqualification would deprive them of lawyers with extensive knowledge of their operations, the sugar industry and the issues involved in the litigation, Reuters reported.

    Paul Weiss entered the case on the defense side in September 2025 after Djordje Petkoski, the lead lawyer for ASR and Domino, moved to the firm from A&O Shearman, according to Reuters. The lawyers who had previously discussed representing the food-company plaintiffs weren’t part of that defense team, Paul Weiss has said.

    The manufacturers’ challenge nevertheless raises a broader issue for large law firms whose extensive client rosters can create conflicts as lawyers and matters move between firms. In their earlier request seeking Paul Weiss’s removal, the plaintiffs — including Kraft Heinz, Mondelēz Global, Nestlé USA and Hershey — argued that the firm’s change in position put confidential information at risk and said their consent hadn’t been obtained, Reuters reported Sept. 9.

    The underlying cases remain focused on allegations of anticompetitive conduct in the sugar market. A federal judge last year allowed groups of proposed class actions related to the alleged conduct to proceed, according to Reuters.

    Source: Reuters