Irving Scher

OVERVIEW

Experience

Irv is considered an antitrust icon, with many decades of extensive experience in counseling and all phases of antitrust, marketing, and trade practice litigation and appeals, often as lead counsel in multi-party matters. He has been the lead defense counsel in numerous class actions and FTC and government enforcement agency investigations and cases across a wide range of industries. Irv also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University School of Law from 2006 to 2022. He taught an advanced antitrust course focused on the distribution of goods and services.  

Irv’s enthusiasm for and knowledge of competition law is unparalleled. He prides himself on developing a deep knowledge of his clients’ businesses, enabling him to guide them to pragmatic and lawful business solutions. As a litigator, he advocates vigorously and impresses judges, co- counsel, and opponents with his legal and strategic acumen. He has been chosen to lead many times by his peers, both in litigation and in the antitrust bar.

Clients

With competition expertise spanning the airline, retail, apparel, automotive, electronics, publishing, grocery, pharmaceutical, publishing, and recorded music industries, Irv has represented numerous clients in significant antitrust, marketing, advertising, and trade practice investigations, litigations, and counseling matters over many decades.

EDUCATION

Columbia Law School (Reviews Editor, Columbia Law Review, and recipient of National Scholarship and Gluck Scholarship)

City College of NY, B.A.

BAR ADMISSIONS

New York

First Circuit

Second Circuit

Third Circuit

Seventh Circuit

Ninth Circuit

D.C. Circuit

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

United States District Court for the Northern District of New York

United States Supreme Court

AFFILIATIONS

Adjunct Professor, NYU Law School, teaching an advanced antitrust course, 2006-2022

Editor, Hausfeld Competition Bulletin

Member, MLex Advisory Board

Co-Editor and Co-Author, Antitrust Adviser, a Thomson Reuters two-volume practical reference treatise

Author, "Living with the Robinson-Patman Act, Corporate Practice Series Portfolio," Bloomberg Bureau of National Affairs, 2019

Former Chair, American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law

Former Chair, New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Antitrust Section

Former Co-Chair, Practicing Law Institute Annual Antitrust Institute

Vice Chair, Editorial Board, Antitrust Law Developments, ABA Section of Antitrust Law, 1975

NEWS

EVENTS

Irv has been asked to speak on a wide variety of topics over the course of his career:

• • "Penalties for Collusion: Can There Be an Overlap Between Fines and Damages?" The Global Antitrust Economics Conference (2016), Speaker
  • Numerous New York State Bar Association Annual Meetings, Speaker
  • Numerous ABA Antitrust Section Annual Spring Meetings, Speaker
  • Annual Antitrust Institute, PLI (1977-2004), Co-Chair
  • Dual Distribution, Law Journal Seminars (1992-2003), Speaker
  • Category Management Guidelines, American Antitrust Institute (2003), Speaker
  • "Discrimination in Price and Promotion," 43rd Annual Antitrust Law Institute, Sponsored by PLI (2002), Speaker
  • Speaker, "eCommerce Antitrust & Trade Practices," Sponsored by PLI (2001), Speaker

PUBLICATIONS

In addition, Irv has written extensively in a variety of legal publication over his career, including: 

• • "Competition Laws Outside the United States," two-volume treatise, American Bar Association (2020), Editor-In-Chief
  • "Applying Amex: When Two-Sided Platforms Become One Market," Antitrust Magazine (Fall 2018), Co-Author
  • "Litigating Indirect Purchasers Claims: Lessons for the EU from the U.S. Experience," Antitrust Magazine (Fall 2017), Co-Author
  • "Damage Class Actions After Comcast: A View From the Plaintiffs' Bar," Antitrust Magazine, (Spring 2016), Co-Author
  • "Living with the Robinson-Patman Act, Corporate Practice Series Portfolio," Bloomberg Bureau of National Affairs (2019), Author
  • "The FTC's Revised Fred Meyer Guides: Back to the Sixties," Antitrust Source (Feb. 2015), Author
  • "Stepped Up Enforcement Against Inadequate Negative Option/Automatic-Renewal Disclosures," Orange County Business Journal (Nov. 17-23, 2014), Co-Author
  • "Conscious Parallelism or Conspiracy," Issues in Competition Law and Policy, American Bar Association (2008), Co-Author
  • "Anticipating Collateral Legal Risks Arising From FTC Enforcement Actions," Metropolitan Corporate Counsel (May 1999), Author
  • "Franchising and the Robinson-Patman Act: Some Problems and Solutions," Antitrust Law Journal (1991), Author
  • "Single Firm Conduct: The Government's and Antitrust Section's View," Antitrust Law Journal (1990), Author
  • "The Major Antitrust Issues in the Decade Ahead," Antitrust Law Journal (1989), Author
  • "How Sellers Can Live With the Robinson-Patman Act," Business Lawyer (1986), Author
  • "Emerging Issues under the Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976," Columbia Law Review (1977), Author
  • Author, "Opening State Courts to Class Actions: The Uniform Class Actions Act," Business Lawyer (1976)
  • "New Directions in Buyer's Liability Under the Robinson-Patman Act," Antitrust Law Journal (1971), Author
  • "Antitrust and Consumerism: What Is It All About?" Case Western Law Review (1970), Author
  • "Manual of Federal Trade Regulations Affecting Retailers," two-volume treatise published by National Retail Merchants Association (1969), Author
  • Supplement to report of Attorney General's National Committee to Study the Antitrust Laws, American Bar Association (1968), Contributing Editor

PERSPECTIVES

WHAT OTHERS SAY

Best Lawyers

• Best Lawyer since 2006
  • Antitrust Law 
  • Litigation - Antitrust
• Lawyer of the Year in New York City, Antitrust Law in 2015

Chambers

• Senior Statesperson, Antitrust: USA – Nationwide since 2018
• One of only two Senior Statespeople, Antitrust: Mainly Plaintiff – New York since 2018

"Irving Scher is renowned in the market for his antitrust expertise, especially in representing plaintiffs.  He has significant experience handling cases in the healthcare and media spheres. Sources note that is 'one of the greatest lawyers I have worked with. He is simply one of the best.'" (Chambers USA, Antitrust, 2022)

"Irving Scher's clients benefit from his decades of experience in the antitrust space and his singular knowledge of the law. A long-time defense-side practitioner, he now provides invaluable advice in plaintiff-side multidistrict class action litigation."  (Chambers US, Antitrust: Mainly Plaintiff, New York, 2020)

"Commands respect for his extensive experience litigating complex antitrust disputes for plaintiff classes and individuals." (Chambers US, Antitrust: Mainly Plaintiff, New York, 2019)

Global Competition Review

• Litigation of the Year - Cartel Prosecution in 2021: an honor he received as part of the In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation case team.

Lawdragon

• Hall of Fame since 2021 – described by the Lawdragon as "outstanding lawyers who have made remarkable contributions as leaders, litigators, dealmakers, power brokers, judges and innovators." 
• Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer since 2019

Super Lawyers

• Super Lawyer, Antitrust Litigation in New York since 2006

Who’s Who Legal

• Recommended Competition Plaintiff Lawyer in 2020

"Irving Scher is an antitrust specialist who garners plaudits for his experience as lead counsel in all phases of litigation." (Who’s Who Legal, Competition - Plaintiff - Legal Marketplace Analysis, 2022)

"Irving Scher is a highly respected antitrust specialist and a mainstay of the North American market. He has standout experience advising clients in the airline, retail, automotive and pharmaceutical sectors." (Who’s Who Legal, Competition - Plaintiff - Legal Marketplace Analysis, 2020)

Other

• World’s Leading Competition Lawyer: an honor he received from the Euromoney Expert Guide in 2008.