Bonny Sweeney BW Photo

OVERVIEW

Bonny is a partner in the firm’s Antitrust practice and a nationally recognized trial lawyer who focuses on complex antitrust and competition matters. For more than two decades, she has litigated price‑fixing, monopolization, Robinson‑Patman Act, and tying claims, as well as related consumer protection and commercial disputes. She has served as lead and co‑lead counsel in some of the largest private antitrust class actions in the United States and has tried multiple antitrust class actions to jury verdict. Several of her cases have resulted in landmark court decisions on class certification, antitrust injury, and damages.

Bonny’s practice spans both private enforcement and government service. In private practice, she played leading roles for plaintiff classes in multidistrict litigations such as In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, In re Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, In re Parking Heaters Antitrust Litigation, and In re Aftermarket Automotive Lighting Products Antitrust Litigation, securing substantial recoveries for merchants, businesses, and consumers.

Drawing on her experience as Senior Trial/Litigation Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, Bonny also brings an insider’s understanding of government enforcement.  At the Division, she trained and advised attorneys on trial practice and substantive antitrust law and served on the trial teams in United States et al. V. Live Nation/Ticketmaster and United States et al. V. American Airlines et al. In Live Nation, Bonny led the team prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States, argued several significant motions, including summary judgment, and examined a key witness at trial before the United States settled its claims. In American Airlines, she examined key fact witnesses at trial, advised members of the trial team, and participated in briefing in the successful challenge to the airlines’ Northeast Alliance under Section 1 of the Sherman Act.

Bonny is also a seasoned trial lawyer beyond government matters. She has tried several antitrust cases to verdict, including the landmark Section 1 case Law/Hall/Schreiber v. NCAA, in which college coaches challenged the NCAA’s restricted‑earnings rule. She has represented college coaches and student‑athletes in additional antitrust challenges to NCAA rules, as well as professional athletes in league disputes, and has taught sports law as an adjunct professor, giving her a unique perspective at the intersection of antitrust and sports. In addition to her antitrust work, Bonny litigates consumer fraud class actions and complex commercial disputes and maintains an active pro bono docket.

Bonny’s leadership in the field has been recognized repeatedly. She was honored as the 2023 “Antitrust Lawyer of the Year” by the Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section of the California Lawyers Association, reflecting her decades of impact litigating and trying complex antitrust cases, her service to the bar, and her role mentoring the next generation of antitrust lawyers.

EXPERIENCE