Jeffrey S. Jacobovitz

Senior Counsel

Direct: 202.677.4056
Fax: 202.677.4057
Washington
2100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Suite 350S
Washington, District of Columbia 20037

Biography

Jeff is a trial attorney with the Litigation practice and chair of the Antitrust & Competition group. He is a litigator with comprehensive experience in antitrust, white collar criminal defense, and complex civil litigation. Over the course of his career, he has handled more than 40 criminal and civil jury trials as first chair and 15 appellate arguments nationwide. Jeff conducts negotiations for various high-profile professionals in law and media. He counsels corporations, trade associations, healthcare and life sciences companies, sports leagues, and individuals. With an expansive criminal defense practice, he oversees white-collar prosecutions involving antitrust, money laundering, fraud, perjury, forfeiture, and tax evasion charges. He also handles major Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and conspiracy indictments. Jeff successfully represents clients who are the subjects of independent counsel investigations, including former White House officials and employees. In his civil litigation practice, he counsels in connection with antitrust, fraud, tort, breach of contract, healthcare, class action, privacy, FCRA, Qui Tam, and defamation cases. Jeff was formerly an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission.

Jeff is an adjunct associate professor at American University Washington College of Law and co-teaches a legal seminar titled “Criminal Antitrust.” He has appeared as a guest lecturer for individual classes at Georgetown University Law School, the Washington College of Law, and Howard University Law School on defending criminal antitrust cases. He is also a frequent broadcast media commentator on legal issues and significant cases and was featured as a “Leading Lawyer on Competition, Litigation and Globalization” in The Art & Science Of Antitrust Law (Aspatore Books, 2003). In addition, Jeff has been named a Washington D.C. Super Lawyer for a number of years.

Jeff is the vice chair of the International Cartel Task Force (criminal antitrust) of the American Bar Association (ABA) Antitrust Law Section. He is the former vice chair of the Compliance and Ethics, Cartel and Criminal Practice, Federal Civil Enforcement, and U.S. Comments & Policy committees of the ABA Antitrust Law Section.

Related Services

Related Industries

Experience

  • Provided antitrust analysis and advice with respect to joint affiliation and clinical integration agreement.

  • Provided strategic advice on potential affiliations, including antitrust analysis.

  • Represent defendants in class action cases involving the FCRA and TCPA.

  • Advise client on antitrust issues in Hart-Scott-Rodino filing

  • Represent witness in FTC merger proceeding.

  • Represent client in health care arbitration trial.

  • Represent clients in numerous criminal antitrust investigations.

  • Represent clients in antitrust litigation both in state and federal courts.

  • Represent clients in parallel civil litigation and grand jury investigation.

  • Represent on-air journalists in contract negotiations with major networks and NPR.

    • Represented a proposed company intervenor in the high-profile United States v. Microsoft Tunney Act proceeding, before both the United States District Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

  • Representation of Compass Marketing in an antitrust case that helped create new law. The Maryland Court of Appeals, on a certified issue from federal court, unanimously (7-0) adopted his client’s position after oral argument and broadened state jurisdiction in Maryland over both criminal and civil defendants in conspiracy cases – James J. Mackey, et al v Compass Marketing, Inc., Maryland App. Ct., Misc. No. 4 (February 2, 2006), 892 A.2d479 (Md. 2006).

  • Represented a proposed intervenor in the initial U.S. v Microsoft antitrust litigation and argued both in the U.S. District Court and the District of Columbia Circuit.

  • Served as lead counsel for one of the few senior tax partners at a major accounting firm to avoid indictment for tax evasion and related crimes and representation of a defendant in the allegedly largest bribery scheme in the history of government contracting.

Credentials

Education
  • American University Washington College of Law, Juris Doctor
  • State University of New York at Buffalo, Bachelor of Arts,
    magna cum laude
    • Phi Beta Kappa
Admissions
  • State of New York – 1989
  • State of Maryland – 1988
  • District of Columbia – 1981
Court Admissions
  • United States Supreme Court – 1982
  • United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit – 1982
  • United States District Court for the District of Columbia – 1982
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • United States Court of Claims
Associations
    • American Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section
      • International Cartel Task Force (Criminal Antitrust), Vice Chair, 2023-24
      • U.S. Comments & Policy Committee, Former Vice Chair
      • Compliance and Ethics Committee, Former Vice Chair, 2020-21
      • Long Range Planning Committee, Former Member, 2017-18
      • Federal Civil Enforcement Committee, Former Vice Chair
      • Civil Practice and Procedure Committee, Former Vice Chair, 2011-14
      • Cartel and Criminal Practice Committee, Former Vice Chair, 2008-11
    • American University Washington College of Law, “Criminal Antitrust” Legal Seminar,” Adjunct Associate Professor
    • DRI, Antitrust Subcommittee of the Corporate Integrity and Government Enforcement Section, Former Chair
    • Georgetown Law School and American University Law School for Advanced Antitrust Classes, Guest Lecturer
    • Jelleff Boys & Girls Club, Former Basketball Coach, 1995-2010

Recognition

  • AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings
  • Washington D.C. Super Lawyers, 2011-16
  • Fellow, Trial Lawyer Honorary Society of Litigation Counsel of America, 2019-22

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