Doug Baldridge is Chair of Venable's Washington Litigation Group encompassing the Washington, D.C., Virginia and Rockville, Maryland offices. For over two decades, Mr. Baldridge has litigated disputes concerning First Amendment and publishers' rights, antitrust, intellectual property, false advertising, unfair competition, franchise, toxic torts, securities, commercial lending, commercial real estate and general business issues. A first chair trial lawyer, he has tried to verdict numerous complex matters and has participated on numerous trial teams. In addition to his extensive in-court experience, Mr. Baldridge has taken or defended more than 500 depositions.

Mr. Baldridge also serves as General Counsel of duPont Publishing which distributes magazines under the duPont Registry brand in the United States and 54 countries.

Significant Matters

• Defense of a Fortune 10 consumer products company against claims under the Sherman Act, culminating in a three month jury trial involving retail marketing, category management, rebates, and exclusive dealing;
• Defense of a Fortune 20 beverage manufacturer against claims under Sherman Act and RICO arising from termination of a dealership, culminating in a five month jury trial;
• Defense of a generic pharmaceutical manufacturer against claims under the Sherman Act arising from a "Schering Plough"-type settlement of patent litigation (In Re Modafinil Antitrust Litigation);
• Defense of submersible turbine petroleum pump manufacturers against Department of Justice Clayton Act Section 7 merger challenge. He contributed to "the fix," which involves the licensing of critical patents or technologies by the merged entity to market competitors resulting in positive competitive impact (United States v. Franklin Electric Company);
• Defense of a coal producer merger candidate against a Federal Trade Commission Clayton Act Section 7 merger challenge, defeating the FTC resulting in consummation of the merger (Arch Coal, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission);
• Defense of a consumer products company in six class actions involving false advertising and unfair competition.

• Prosecution of rights of publicity and privacy claims on behalf of an internationally recognized professional athlete (Eldrick Tiger Woods, Elin Nordegren Woods, & Privacy, Ltd. v. Christensen Shipyards, Ltd. & Carol Williamson & Associates);
• Prosecution of libel claims in the Irish High Court on behalf of an international celebrity (Elin Nordegren Woods v. Dubliner Media, Ltd.).

• Defense of Mobil Oil in patent infringement case involving numerous chemical patents claiming metallocene catalysts for fabrication of plastics;
• Defense of Tenneco in patent infringement case involving mechanical patent claiming latching mechanism for plastic containers;
• Defense of patent infringement claims involving a method patent for compressing and downloading audio and visual data (Global Patent Holdings LLC v. The Boca Raton Resort & Club);
• Defense of an international publisher against claims for trademark infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition (Modell v. duPont Publishing, Inc.);
• Defense of an international publisher against claims under the Copyright Act involving rights to artwork used on magazine covers (duPont International v. Lajos).

• Representation of the District of Columbia in all litigation relating to the acquisition of land for the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball stadium (i.e. District of Columbia v. 521,025 Square Feet of Land In the District of Columbia);
• Representation of a pension fund in the liquidation of a $500,000,000 commercial real estate portfolio, involving all aspects of liquidation and complex business and bankruptcy issues (Potomac Equity Portfolio L.P.).

• Representation of plaintiff-shareholders in energy cogeneration company in multiple arbitrations and court proceedings arising from diversion of company assets, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract;
• Representation of defendant-shareholders and board of directors in Voice-Over-Internet communications company in action arising from diversion of corporate opportunities, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty;
• Defense of an international mining company against CLASS ACTION claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act;
• Defense of member of Board of Directors against CLASS ACTION claims under Section 11 of the Securities Exchange Act.

• Prosecution of claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, forcing the purchase and implementation of ADA-accessible voting technology resulting in a multi-week trial and landmark ADA decision (American Assoc. of People With Disabilities v. Duval County Florida Supervisor of Elections).