Lisa Jose Fales

Representative Matters

Antitrust Litigation

• Won motion to dismiss an antitrust class action complaint alleging that Venable’s client, Sage Publications, conspired with five other publishers of peer-reviewed scholarly journals and an industry association to suppress competition among the scholarly journals and to suppress compensation for peer reviewers (Uddin, et al. v. Elsevier, B.V., et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-06509-HG (E.D.N.Y.)
• Representing Perdue Farms Inc. (Perdue) against claims brought by multiple putative classes and over 150 direct action plaintiffs alleging that broiler producers conspired to fix the price of broilers by coordinating and restricting production in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act (In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, 1:16-cv-08637 (N.D. Ill.))
• Representing asphalt producer and road paving company Francis O. Day Co., Inc. in this antitrust action brought by a plaintiff alleging a conspiracy among multiple companies and an industry association to drive it out of the road paving industry.  Won partial motion to dismiss (Team Cam, LLC v. Reliable Contracting Co., et al., Civil Action No. 8:24-cv-1545 (D. Md.))
• Representing Perdue in an antitrust class action complaint filed on behalf of poultry growers in the United States against allegations that the five largest poultry producers conspired to fix the price of grower pay in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act (In re: Broiler Chicken Grower Litigation, 6:17-cv-00033-JS-SPS (E.D. Okla.) (Chicken Growers Antitrust Litigation))
• Representing Perdue against claims brought on behalf of chicken and turkey plant workers alleging that certain poultry companies, along with two benchmarking services, conspired to fix wages for processing plant workers (Judy Jien, et al. v. Perdue, et al., 1:19-cv-2521 (D. Md.) (Wages Antitrust Litigation))
• Representing Perdue against claims by putative direct and indirect purchasers of turkey, alleging that ten turkey producers, plus a benchmarking service, conspired to exchange competitively sensitive information regarding their production and sales of turkey (Olean Wholesale Grocery Cooperative, Inc., et al., v. Agri Stats, Inc. et al., No. 19-cv-08318 (N.D. Ill.); Sandee’s Catering v. Agri Stats, Inc., et al., No. 20-cv-02295 (N.D. Ill.) (Turkey Antitrust Litigation))
• Defended Ranbaxy, a Hatch-Waxman “first-filer” generic pharmaceutical company, against a multi-billion-dollar class action (MDL) antitrust “reverse payments” claim in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts. Obtained a unanimous defense jury verdict after a seven-week trial, in the first “reverse payment” antitrust trial after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in FTC v. Actavis (In re Nexium [Esomeprazole] Antitrust Litigation)
• Defended Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., a generic pharmaceutical manufacturer that acquired Ranbaxy, against claims under the Sherman Act arising from an alleged “reverse payment” settlement of patent litigation in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. A highly favorable settlement with retailer and competitor plaintiffs followed a complex four-week jury trial (In re Modafinil Litigation). Defeated certification of the putative direct purchaser class
• Represented Impax Laboratories, Inc. in “reverse payment” patent settlement cases brought by putative classes of purchasers of Solodyn, an acne treatment drug, and consolidated as an MDL in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts
• Represented Impax Laboratories, Inc. in “reverse payment” patent settlement cases brought by a putative class of purchasers of Opana, an opioid pain medication, in the Northern District of Illinois

Government Conduct Investigations

• Represented a major pharmaceutical company in an FTC investigation for alleged antitrust violations involving patent litigation settlements, with no action against the client
• Represented a major hospital system in a DOJ antitrust investigation of alleged collusion to block other hospital systems and insurers, with no action against the client
• Represented a consumer products company in a DOJ antitrust investigation involving alleged anticompetitive information exchanges, with no action against the client
• Represented a national health insurer in a DOJ investigation, with no action against the client
• Represented a leading communications services provider to the pari-mutuel industry in an FTC investigation, with no action against the client
• Represented an advertising and marketing company in an FTC investigation of online practices
• Represented multiple third-party witnesses in a variety of FTC and DOJ investigations

Merger and Acquisition Government Investigations

• Representing a leading consumer products company in confidential merger investigations
• Represented Dechra, a global top-10 animal health company, in a six-month FTC investigation of its proposed acquisition of Osurnia, a canine prescription drug being divested by Elanco Animal Health, Inc. as part of its $7.6 billion acquisition of Bayer Animal Health GmbH. The FTC ended up unanimously approving Dechra as the purchaser
• Univision's acquisition of Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation
• Nestlé's acquisition of Ralston Purina
• Chevron's acquisition of Texaco
• Sunoco's acquisition of various refineries, chemicals, and other assets
• Albertson's acquisition of American Stores
• Delhaize America's acquisition of Hannaford Brothers supermarkets
• Kroger's proposed acquisition of Winn-Dixie’s stores in Texas and Oklahoma
• Lockheed Martin's attempted acquisition of Northrop Grumman
• Represented many companies in third-party FTC and DOJ CIDs in investigations of mergers

Antitrust Counseling

• Retained as the antitrust advisor to Special Master Lawrence F. Stengel, a former federal judge, in a highly complex court-ordered plant and asset divestiture, which resulted from years of contentious antitrust litigation involving interior molded doors and doorskins (Steves and Sons, Inc. v. JELD-WEN, Inc., 3:16-cv-545 (E.D. Va.))
• Regularly counsels a host of household name companies on antitrust issues in proposed mergers and acquisitions, and on a myriad of business practices, including giving comprehensive compliance presentations to C-suites, legal departments, and sales forces

Education

• J.D. University of Baltimore School of Law 1990
• • Articles editor, University of Baltimore Law Review
• B.A. University of Maryland 1984

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Maryland

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
• U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Professional Memberships and Activities

• Former member, Board of Directors, Calvary Women’s Services, Washington, DC
• Former Council member, Antitrust Section, American Bar Association
• Editor and editorial board member, Antitrust magazine, Antitrust Section, ABA (for ten years)
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, The Trial Lawyer Honorary Society
• Former chair, Consumer Affairs Committee, DC Bar Association
• Member, Maryland State Bar Association
• Former board member, Women’s Law Center of Maryland
• Former member, Benefits Committee, Legal Momentum
• Member, Fellows of the American Bar Association

• Chambers USA, Antitrust: Litigation Specialists, Washington, DC, 2022 – 2026
• Antitrust Group, Chair
  
  • Global Competition Review
    • GCR 100 (Top 100 Antitrust Firms Worldwide), 2015 – 2022, 2025 – 2026
    • Top DC Antitrust Practices, 2015 – 2019
  • U.S. News – Best Lawyers, Best Law Firms, Regulatory – Antitrust, 2011
• Benchmark Litigation
  • Local Litigation Star, 2019 – 2025
  • Top 250 Women in Litigation, 2016 – 2025
• Legal 500, DC Elite, Antitrust, 2026
• Expert Guides, Women in Business Law, Competition and Antitrust, 2022
• Super Lawyers, Washington, DC, 2019 – 2023
• Lawdragon, 500 Leading Litigators in America, 2022, 2024
• Global Competition Review, Antitrust Litigation and Government Enforcement Defense, 2015 – 2022
• National Law Journal, Trailblazer, Mergers & Acquisitions, Antitrust, 2018
• Law360, Legal Lion
• Nightingale’s Healthcare News, Outstanding Healthcare Antitrust Lawyer
• Washington SmartCEO, Legal Elite, Antitrust Law
• Business Today, Top 10 DC Antitrust Litigation Specialists to Watch, 2023
• The Best Lawyers of America
  • Litigation - Antitrust, 2025 – 2026
  • Antitrust Law, 2026

Pro Bono

• Former member, Board of Directors, Calvary Women’s Services, Washington, DC
• Tutored underserved students in Washington, DC