US: New antitrust law powerhouse forms

A US Supreme Court victory against Visa and Mastercard over ATM fees has helped unite two solo antitrust litigators to form a bicoastal firm.

Jonathan Rubin of Rubin in Washington, DC, and Daniel Mogin of the Mogin Law Firm in San Diego announced the formation of eight-lawyer MoginRubin last week.

In National ATM Council v. Visa, the pair represents a class of independent ATM operators who accuse the credit card companies of price-fixing. The Supreme Court rejected efforts by Visa, Mastercard and financial institutions to stop the litigation late last year. The case was originally brought by the independent ATM operators and trade association, the National ATM Council Inc., which alleged that Visa and MasterCard imposed illegal restraints preventing them from offering lower access fees for transactions over rival credit card networks. ATM users also filed follow-on suits that were consolidated with the operators’ case.

Rubin and Mogin’s partnership dates back to about a year ago.

The combination will allow Rubin to contribute to Mogin’s major cases, while Mogin can increase his East Coast visibility as more of his types of cases materialize outside of California and focus on antitrust law. Recently, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal that could have prevented Mogin’s clients from certifying a 12 billion antitrust class action.

The deal also allows Mogin and Rubin, who are 61 and 62, respectively, to start thinking about transitions—although neither lawyer wants to get ahead of himself.

Full Content: Yahoo

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