Gary I. Smith Jr.

Partner
San Francisco

he / him / his

OVERVIEW

Gary is an acclaimed litigator, focusing his practice on complex federal antitrust cases. Gary has successfully litigated cases involving monopolistic and cartel activity in a wide range of industries in district courts throughout the country and, when necessary, defended his victories on appeal to the circuit courts and the Supreme Court of the United States. All told, over the past decade Gary has recovered over $1.5 billion for the victims of antitrust violations. For this work, The Legal 500 identified Gary as a “key name in California” for antitrust litigation and described him as “an outstanding antitrust lawyer,” “creative and intellectually nimble” in crafting antitrust theories, “a practical and effective litigator,” “a pleasure to work with,” and “a very skilled advocate” that “takes his professional and ethical obligations seriously.” Gary has received similar recognition over the years from Benchmark Litigation, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, Law360, The Legal Intelligencer, the American Antitrust Institute, and jurists presiding over his cases.

Gary is also committed to legal scholarship and the development of the antitrust laws. Gary has authored numerous articles on competition issues and the legal profession, including, most notably, contributing to the Eighth Edition and the upcoming Tenth Edition of the ABA Antitrust Section’s seminal publication, Antitrust Law Developments. And as a former Chair of the Committee to Support the Antitrust Law’s (COSAL) Amicus Committee, Gary has authored or contributed to over a dozen amicus filings across the circuit courts and in the Supreme Court seeking to advance pro-enforcement competition law policies.

Gary is also committed to providing pro bono services. Of particular import, before moving to California, Gary spent years representing victims of clergy sexual abuse that received settlement offers from the Philadelphia Archdiocese. As a result, Gary was a recipient of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation’s 2019 Pro Bono Award.

Clients

Gary counts among his clients hospitals and hospital systems, pediatricians, dentists and dental laboratories, universities, local governments, investment and pension funds, advertising agencies, consumers, and farmers.

WHAT OTHERS SAY

Courts

“[A]s I have stated before, based on my own observation over the course of nearly eight years, I find counsel to be skilled and experienced and find that they have zealously represented the interests of the plaintiffs and the settlement class.”

- Comments of Chief Judge Robert J. Shelby during the Final Approval Hearing in In re Broiler Chicken Grower Antitrust Litigation (No. II), where Gary successfully argued for final approval of the $100 million settlement with Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.

"This is a substantial recovery that has the deterrent effect that class actions are supposed to have, and I think it was done because we had really good Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in this case who were running it."

- Comments of Judge Brian M. Cogan during the Final Approval Hearing in In re Dental Supplies Antirust Litigation, where Gary successfully argued for final approval of the $80 million settlement with Defendants Henry Schein, Inc., Patterson Companies, Inc., and Benco Dental Supply Co.

Legal 500

“Gary Smith is an outstanding antitrust lawyer.” (Legal 500 US, Antitrust - Civil Litigation/Class Action: Plaintiff, 2025)

"Gary Smith is a very talented, ethical lawyer." (Legal 500 US, Antitrust - Civil Litigation/Class Action: Plaintiff, 2024)

"Gary Smith is a very smart lawyer, that is a very skilled advocate, who, while representing his clients’ interests vigorously, takes his professional and ethical obligations seriously." (Legal 500 US, Antitrust - Civil Litigation/Class Action: Plaintiff, 2023)

"Gary Smith is a pleasure to work with. He is creative and intellectually nimble in crafting antitrust theories and legal arguments. He is also a practical and effective litigator." (Legal 500 US, Antitrust - Civil Litigation/Class Action: Plaintiff, 2023)

American Antitrust Institute

Recipient of Award for Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice in 2025 for In re Broiler Chicken Grower Antitrust Litigation
Recipient of Award for Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice in 2023 for In re Broiler Chicken Grower Antitrust Litigation

Best Lawyers

Ones to Watch in 2025

Antitrust Law
Litigation - Antitrust

Benchmark Litigation

40 & Under List since 2023

Antitrust/Competition

Law360

Rising Star Under 40, Healthcare Law in 2017

Super Lawyers

Rising Star, Antitrust Litigation in Pennsylvania (2017 - 2022)
Super Lawyer, Antitrust Litigation in Pennsylvania in 2023
Super Lawyer, Antitrust Litigation in Northern California (2024 -2025)

The Legal Intelligencer

Pennsylvania Trailblazer in 2019

Other

Pro Bono Award of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation: an honor received by Gary and the firm's Philadelphia office in 2019.

EVENTS

“Antitrust Ethics in Action 3.0,” Golden State Institute (Oct. 23, 2025), Mock Hearing Participant and Conference Master of Ceremony
“Antitrust Ethics in Action 2.0,” Golden State Institute (Oct. 24, 2024), Panelist
"AI Antitrust Recent Developments," (May 29, 2024), Panelist
"Third Party Filers," Complex Litigation Ethics Conference (Oct. 27, 2023), Panelist
“Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner: A Spotlight on Antitrust in the Protein Industry,” American Antitrust Institute Private Enforcement Conference (Nov. 10, 2021), Panel Moderator
"The Current Antitrust Spotlight on Agriculture: What You Need to Know," Agricultural Law Association Webinar (Aug. 6, 2020), Speaker
ABA Section of Antitrust Law Agriculture and Food Antitrust Case Update 2019 (February 28, 2019), Panelist

California Lawyers Association’s 2024 Golden State Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Institute

24 okt. 2024

Complex Litigation Ethics Conference

17 okt. 2024

Complex Litigation Ethics Conference

24 okt. 2023

AAI Annual Private Antitrust Enforcement Conference

10 nov. 2021

- In Re: RealPage, Inc., Rental Software Antitrust Litigation (M.D. Tenn.) – In which Gary developed and filed the first complaint in the nation challenging so-called “algorithmic collusion,” bringing claims against RealPage, Inc. and several of their property management clients, alleging that the largest owners and managers of rental real estate in the United States conspired to use RealPage’s “revenue management” service to set rental prices and restrict the supply of available rental units in major metropolitan areas across the United States. The case has resulted in over $140 million in settlements and continues against twenty remaining landlord defendants in addition to RealPage, Inc.
- In re LIBOR-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y.) – in which Gary certified a class of purchasers of over-the-counter (OTC) financial instruments with interest payments tied to the London Interbank Offering Rate (LIBOR) challenging the collusive manipulation of U.S. Dollar LIBOR by the world’s largest financial institutions. The collusion is claimed to have suppressed the U.S. Dollar LIBOR rate, which allowed the defendant banks to benefit financially to the detriment of their counterparties in OTC financial instruments such as swaps and bonds. The case has resulted in $781 million in settlements with twelve banks, and continues against the remaining five defendant banks.
- In re Broiler Chicken Grower Antitrust Litigation (E.D. Okla.) – in which Gary certified a nationwide class of broiler chicken farmers (referred to as “Growers”) claiming that over twenty of the country’s largest poultry producers, including Tyson, Pilgrim’s, Perdue, Koch Foods, and Sanderson Farms colluded to suppress Grower pay through agreements not to recruit, solicit, or “poach” one another’s Growers and through comprehensive and systematic exchanges of Grower compensation information. Settlements have been reached with Tyson ($21 million), Perdue ($14.75 million), Koch Foods ($15.5 million), Sanderson Farms ($17.75 million), and Pilgrim’s Pride ($100 million) totaling $169 million.
- In re Dental Supplies Antitrust Litigation (E.D.N.Y.) – In which a proposed class of private dental practices claimed that the four major distributors of dental products and equipment conspired to fix margins, divide markets and allocate customers, and orchestrate industry boycotts of lower-priced, innovative rivals. Gary beat the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to the courthouse by almost two years, with the FTC filing a related lawsuit against the dental distributor companies well after the private plaintiffs first initiated their action, borrowing legal theories first investigated and advanced by the private plaintiffs. The private plaintiffs’ action was settled just minutes before a class certification and Daubert hearing was set to commence for $80 million.
- Adriana M. Castro, M.D., P.A. v. Sanofi Pasteur Inc. (D.N.J.) – In which Gary certified a class of wholesalers, hospitals, and physicians that purchased Sanofi’s quadrivalent conjugate meningococcal vaccine (MCV4) Menactra (a vaccine for Meningitis) claiming that Sanofi monopolized the MCV4 market by threatening large price penalties across Sanofi’s broad line of pediatric vaccines if pediatricians purchased MCV4 vaccines from Sanofi’s only MCV4 rival, Novartis’s Menveo. The suit claimed that Sanofi’s conditional pricing practices had the purpose and effect of foreclosing Sanofi’s only MCV4 rival from the market, allowing Sanofi to continue to charge monopoly prices for Menactra. The case settled in December 2016 for $61.5 million.
- In re Transpacific Passenger Air Transportation Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Cal.) – In which Gary certified a class of consumers of transpacific passenger air travel claimed that thirteen airlines conspired to fix the prices of certain air fares and fuel surcharges. The last of the thirteen defendants settled on the eve of trial for $58 million, bringing the total settlements in the case to over $147 million.

Gary Smith is an outstanding antitrust lawyer.

Legal 500 US, 2025

Gary Smith is a very talented, ethical lawyer.

Legal 500 US, 2024

Gary Smith is a very smart lawyer, that is a very skilled advocate, who, while representing his clients’ interests vigorously, takes his professional and ethical obligations seriously.

Legal 500 US, 2023

Gary Smith is a pleasure to work with. He is creative and intellectually nimble in crafting antitrust theories and legal arguments. He is also a practical and effective litigator.

Legal 500 US, 2023

Gary I. Smith Jr.

OVERVIEW

EDUCATION

BAR ADMISSIONS

AFFILIATIONS

WHAT OTHERS SAY

PUBLICATIONS

NEWS

EVENTS

Experience

WHAT OTHERS SAY