Aaron Gott

Aaron Gott is a top-rated antitrust and appellate lawyer.

Aaron has litigated dozens of antitrust cases, serving as lead counsel in a majority of them. High profile antitrust cases where Aaron played a key role include FTC v Qualcomm, In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litigation, In re Capacitors Litigation, Salt River Agricultural Improvement District v. Tesla Energy, and North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC (see sidebar for a more complete list).

Aaron has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court and argued countless appeals in the U.S. Courts of Appeals. He is also one of the nation’s leading lawyers on antitrust federalism and the state-action immunity.

Aaron also helps clients manage their antitrust risk by advising on antitrust compliance, as well as establishing and maintaining antitrust exemptions including farm cooperatives under the Capper-Volstead Act. He advises and represents clients in competition-related areas such as employment non-compete agreements, trade secret protection, and issues relating to partnerships and joint ventures.

Aaron is a combat veteran who served nearly a decade in the U.S. Army. Before law school, he was a professional writer as a newspaper editor and later as an Army public affairs officer. His legal scholarship has been called “meticulously researched and brilliantly argued,” and showcased as “rigorous and elegant writing.”

Aaron has been recognized as a Super Lawyers® Rising Star and by Best Lawyers® as a leading antitrust litigator.

Education

J.D., The Florida State University College of Law
Magna Cum Laude
Honors and Activities:
Order of the Coif
Executive Editor, The Florida State University Law Review
Research Assistant to Professor Dan Markel
Research Assistant to Dean David E. Landau

B.A., Iowa State University
Political Science and Military Science

Government Service

United States Army (2003–2012)

Operation Iraqi Freedom 2004–2005 Force Protection Team Leader, Tenth Mountain Division and III Corps

Operation Enduring Freedom 2008–2010 Brigade Public Affairs Officer, First Army Division West

Admissions

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

California

Minnesota

Accolades

SuperLawyers Rising Star – San Diego

SuperLawyers Rising Star – Minneapolis

Best Lawyers – Antitrust Litigation, Minneapolis

Representative Matters

People v. Vitol: Outside litigation counsel for the California Attorney General in a price fixing case against global gasoline trading firms.
Defended one of the nation’s largest trucking companies against class action allegations of a nationwide no-poaching conspiracy.
Advised acclaimed software developer on complex business relationship issues.
Represented Restore the Fourth as amicus curiae supporting certiorari in Nichols v. Wayne County, a case challenging the constitutionality of civil asset forfeiture, before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Argued appeal of Lanham Act claim dismissal on behalf of nutrition supplement company at U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit resulting in reversal and a significant precedential decision (Ariix v. NutriSearch et al.).
Outside U.S. general and litigation counsel to major online contact lens retailer.
Defended egg producer in multiple class actions in federal district courts alleging violations of state price-gouging laws.
Represented plaintiff software developer as deputy lead counsel in an Atlanta federal antitrust lawsuit against utility management software monopolist (Lucasys v. PowerPlan) that the court held .
Represented service-disabled veteran and his business in administrative challenge to California agency’s unlawful interference with a competitively awarded U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs contract in California state court.
Represented plaintiff as lead counsel in antitrust case against pharmaceutical associations who wiped pharmacy competition from the internet (PharmacyChecker.com v. NABP et al.).
Represented plaintiff as lead counsel in federal antitrust lawsuit against City of Richmond, Virginia and its corporate ambulance subsidiary for monopolizing the non-emergency ambulance market (Metro Health EMS v. City of Richmond).
Petitioned for writ of certiorari to U.S. Supreme Court on the scope of the state action immunity and argued for a market participant exception to the doctrine (AmeriCare v. City of Anaheim et al.).
Represented International Center for Law & Economics and a dozen legal and economics scholars as amicus curiae supporting Qualcomm in FTC v. Qualcomm before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Argued state action immunity issues to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in case against California cities who monopolized a dozen ambulance markets.
Represented NFIB Small Business Legal Center as amicus curiae in U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that denials of state action immunity should not be immediately appealable (Salt River Agri. Improvement & Power Dist. v. Tesla Energy).
Represented plaintiff as lead counsel in antitrust case involving price-fixing and group-boycott conspiracies in the cement and ready mix industries in Atlanta federal court. (Southeast Ready Mix et al. v. Argos North America, Inc., et al.).
Appealed class certification on behalf of electronics manufacturer in antitrust MDL under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(f) before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Represented clinical research company seeking declaration of non-liability for trade secret misappropriation claimed by competitor in San Diego federal court. (JEHM, LLC v. Palmtree Clinical Research, Inc.).
Represented plaintiff nutrition supplement company in federal Lanham Act false advertising case against competitor-sponsored review publication.
Represented National Federation of Independent Businesses Small Business Legal Center as amicus curiae in antitrust state-action immunity case at the U.S. Supreme Court. (Salt River v. Tesla Energy).
Represented client in a dozen antitrust lawsuits against Orange County municipalities and private company for monopolizing the ambulance industry.
Defended one of the nation's largest online contact lens retailers against class action antitrust claims in federal Multi-District Litigation. (In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litigation).
Defended Japanese capacitor manufacturer against class action antitrust claims in federal Multi-District Litigation. (In re Capacitors Antitrust Litigation).
Represented one of the nation's largest online contact lens retailers as amicus curiae in the Federal Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit relating to challenge to Utah law prohibiting enforcement of Uniform Pricing Policies against contact lens retailers. (Johnson & Johnson et al. v. Reyes).
Represented nonprofit complementary and alternative healthcare advocacy group as amicus curiae in federal antitrust case before the U.S. Supreme Court (N.C. State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC).
Represented association of rental property owners as amicus curiae in constitutional challenge to municipal rental ban. (Dean et al. v. City of Winona).
Represented group of scholars of law and economics as amicus curiae in constitutional challenge to state medical device certificate-of-need regulation. (Colon Health Centers of America v. Hazel).
Represented National Federation of Independent Businesses Small Business Legal Center as amicus curiae in FOIA challenge to EPA’s proposed release of private business information to environmental interest groups (Am. Farm Bureau Fed. v. U.S. EPA).

Speeches & Presentations

Panelist, Minnesota State Bar Association CLE, The Farm Cooperative Antitrust Exemption under the Capper-Volstead Act, March 31, 2021.
Panelist, ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Friendly Advice: Amicus Perspectives on the FTC v. Qualcomm Case – June 23, 2020
Co-author, "State certificate-of-need laws for hospitals must go," Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 28, 2020.
Radio Interview, KRVN/Rural Radio Network, Agriculture and Antitrust, November 2019.
Panelist, ABA Section of Antitrust Law, NC Dental Amici: The Scope of the State Action Doctrine, April 2015.
Presenter, Quimbee CLE, Antitrust 101: Everything You Need to Know About When to Hire an Antitrust Lawyer, January 2022
Presenter, Quimbee CLE, Antitrust v. The Government: Litigating Government-Induced Competition Problems, June 2022
Panelist, American Bar Association CLE, Production Restraints During the Pandemic: Understanding Farm Cooperatives and the Capper-Volstead Act, November 19, 2021

Professional Associations &
Bar Memberships

Federal Bar Association
Minnesota Chapter
American Bar Association
ABA Section of Antitrust Law
Minnesota State Bar Association
Governing Council Member and Treasurer, MSBA Antitrust Law Section