Morvillo Abramowitz Trial Team Receives Litigator of the Week Runners-Up Honors from Law.com

May 5, 2023

A Morvillo Abramowitz trial team led by Richard F. Albert and including attorneys Jorja Knauer, Andrew Dennis Dillon and Penina Moisa was selected by Law.com in these week's Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout Outs column.

The team secured a significant victory on behalf of its client, one of six individuals charged in the Justice Department's latest, and most high-profile, criminal antitrust case based on an alleged “no-poach” agreement. Connecticut federal judge Victor A. Bolden dismissed the case on April 28th, following five weeks of trial.  The Court ruled that "no reasonable juror” could find the six accused aerospace and engineering outsource company executives guilty based on the evidence presented.  This is an extraordinary result, as Judge Bolden’s decision marks the first time in decades that criminal antitrust charges have been thrown out at the close of the prosecution’s case prior to going to the jury.

The ruling is a significant setback for the DOJ Antitrust Division's efforts to prosecute alleged deals to restrict recruitment and hiring, as it continues to struggle to win a single jury conviction on these accusations. Bloomberg reports that this is now the “...DOJ Antitrust Division's fourth and latest loss in bringing criminal charges to curb antitrust violations in labor markets.”

The case centered around allegations of an employee "no-poach" agreement between our client and other current and former executives from engineering outsourcing firms, and former Pratt & Whitney outsourcing manager Mahesh Patel. The government accused them of entering into a conspiracy to restrict the hiring and recruiting of engineers and other skilled workers.

 

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