Partner

Karen Kazmerzak

Antitrust/Competition

kkazmerzak@sidley.com

Washington, D.C. +1 202 736 8068

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KAREN KAZMERZAK, a former Federal Trade Commission lawyer, has a broad practice counseling clients regarding antitrust matters involved in mergers and acquisitions and concerning antitrust issues in licensing, distribution, pricing, and competitor collaborations. She represents clients seeking merger clearance from the FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice, and clients that are third-party market participants subpoenaed by the government or that oppose an acquisition. Karen also works closely with co-counsel and economists around the world to develop the best global strategy for clients’ advocacy across several jurisdictions, including in the United States. Hailed as “very knowledgeable and easy to talk to,” her clients appreciate her strong legal acumen combined with her ability to address the business issues in an array of industries. In 2018, Chambers recognized Karen as an “Up and Coming” lawyer for her growing presence in the legal industry and driving practice focused on merger work and business compliance counseling.

Her experience includes:

Obtaining regulatory clearance of transactions in a variety of industries, including those subject to sectoral regulation, such as pipelines, electric generation, natural gas distribution, telecommunications and airlines.
Representing clients in opposing transactions in industries, such as medical waste and technology used to manufacture semiconductor chips software.
Advising clients on antitrust issues in competitor collaborations and other transactions across a variety of regulated industries, including airlines, energy and telecommunications.
Successfully defending auto parts distributor in FTC investigation of its supply agreements.
Obtaining dismissal of federal-court antitrust claim against major standard-setting body.

Experience

Advising Salesforce in its $1.33 billion acquisition of Vlocity, Inc.
Advising Pandora in connection with antitrust clearances for the company’s sale of Ticketfly to Eventbrite and its acquisition by SiriusXM.
Advising Medline Industries, Inc., in connection with antitrust clearances for the company’s acquisition of Centurion Medical Products Corporation, a medical products supplier.
Advising Cabela’s in connection with antitrust clearances for the company’s acquisition by Bass Pro Group.
Advising PayPal, Inc., in connection with antitrust clearances for the company’s acquisition of TIO Networks Corporation.
Advising Anadarko Petroleum Corporation in connection with antitrust clearances for its sale of certain upstream and related assets to WildHorse Resource Development Corporation.
Advising CBOE Holdings in connection with antitrust clearances for its merger with Bats Global Markets, Inc., an electronic stock exchange.
Advising Recall Holdings in connection with U.S. and global antitrust clearances for the company’s acquisition by Iron Mountain.
Advising Tribune Publishing (since renamed tronc) in connection with antitrust clearances for the sale of an interest in the company to Merrick Media.
Advising Duke Energy in connection with antitrust clearances for its acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas.
Advising BorgWarner, Inc., in connection with antitrust clearances for its acquisitions of Remy International and Sevcon.
Advising Sigma-Aldrich in connection with regulatory clearances for the company’s acquisition by Merck KGaA.

Karen is an active member of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust. She served as a vice chair of the Transportation and Energy Industries Committee (2012–2018) and currently serves as an associate editor of ANTITRUST. Karen is also a co-founder of the Women’s Antitrust Forum, an organization based in Washington, D.C.

Karen Kazmerzak

Credentials

Admissions & Certifications

Education

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