Eric Hochstadt Joins Orrick as Head of Antitrust Litigation

• Antitrust advisor Eric Hochstadt joins Orrick as the head of the firm’s global Antitrust Litigation practice and a member of the Management Committee. He is based in New York.
• Eric brings to Orrick a distinguished record in high-stakes antitrust disputes in the life sciences, tech, financial services, fintech and energy sectors.
• His practice comprises civil antitrust, class action and other complex litigation, as well as civil merger and non-merger conduct investigations, criminal cartel investigations and antitrust counseling with global reach. He has litigated in state and federal courts around the country and has prevailed in antitrust class action jury trials and complex commercial arbitrations.
• He joins the firm from Weil Gotshal.
• Eric is the 22nd addition to Orrick’s litigation platform over the past three years, representing about a third of partner hiring.

“Growing our Antitrust Litigation and advisory platform has been a top strategic recruiting priority and we are thrilled to add Eric’s world-class talent,” said Orrick Chair and CEO Mitch Zuklie. “Highly respected as an insightful advisor, an exceptionally skilled litigator and an effective leader by our shared clients and the market, he is going to lead us in building something truly special.”

“Eric is a litigator of the highest caliber with a proven record helping clients in the sectors on which we focus to navigate their most important and high-stakes antitrust conduct and litigation issues,” said Josh Rosenkranz, head of Orrick’s Supreme Court & Appellate practice. “He is a game-changing addition to our litigation platform and we greatly look forward to collaborating with him to deliver exceptional results for our clients together.”

Eric’s record includes representing a leading pharmaceutical company in antitrust litigation related to its blockbuster drugs; successfully defending a global technology company against the FTC’s attempt to block an acquisition; securing dismissal of no poach claims on behalf of a luxury retail brand; and, as a lead trial counsel, securing a complete defense jury verdict for a leading wholesaler in an $800 million antitrust class action alleging a violation of the Sherman Act.

“I am incredibly excited by Orrick’s strategic focus on the convergence of tech (and AI) with life sciences, energy and finance combined with the firm’s investment in a world-class trial team that understands these sectors,” Eric said. “Antitrust will be an increasingly important consideration for innovators pursuing opportunities driven by this sector convergence, both in protecting products and services, as well as accomplishing transformational deals. I’m thrilled to collaborate with Orrick’s leadership to build a market-leading practice.”

A leader in the legal community, Eric currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Antitrust Section of the New York State Bar Association and has co-chaired the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Alumni Mentor Program for law students and served as a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School.

American Lawyer named Orrick a finalist for National and IP Litigation Departments of the Year in 2023 – the only firm to be named a finalist in two categories.