Robert J. Zastrow Joins GeyerGorey LLP

Nov. 20, 2012 - PRLog -- Robert J. Zastrow Joins GeyerGorey LLP (http://www.geyergorey.com/)

GeyerGorey LLP (http://www.geyergorey.com/) today announced that Robert J. Zastrow would be joining the firm to complement its efforts to provide companies with advice on compliance with Federal criminal laws and regulations, in detecting wrongdoing by corporate employees and in providing full-scope white collar defense where prevention and mitigation measures fail.   Zastrow  also brings 30 years of civil litigation experience as well as substantial experience in parallel civil and criminal proceedings.    

GeyerGorey LLP (http://www.geyergorey.com/) provides international and inside-the-beltway experience to individuals and companies that have become -- or wish to avoid becoming -- the subject of federal law enforcement agency interest.    

Zastrow has more than 35 years of antitrust litigation and counseling experience.  He tried his first non-antitrust cases as a law student.  

After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1977, he was a partner at the Wall Street firm, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan;  a prosecutor with what is now the National Criminal Enforcement Section at the Antitrust Division; the assistant chief at the unit charged with overseeing the Division’s civil non merger litigation; and finally Assistant General Counsel, in Verizon Communications’ Antitrust and Special Projects group.

As a federal prosecutor:

He started his career by trying cases in the highway bid-rigging investigation, which generated the most criminal trials the Antitrust Division ever conducted.  Later, during his second tour of duty, he initiated the Reagan administration’s first challenge to a merger and led several investigations of Microsoft, one of which resulted in a case that curtailed its licensing practices.

As a partner at a Wall Street firm:

He litigated the first felony case brought under the enhanced penalty provisions of the Sherman Act.  He helped seize Jean Claude Duvalier’s assets and return them to the Haitian people.  He represented figures in New York’s largest corruption scandal in the modern era, the Parking Violations Bureau scandal, which led to the downfall of a powerful Democratic leader and many others.

As corporate counsel:

He was lead district court attorney for Bell Atlantic in a case brought by a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC), Covad v. Bell Atlantic (now Verizon Communications).  While Bell Atlantic ultimately was held not liable and paid zero damages to Covad, a similarly situated competitor, SBC Communications (now AT&T), ultimately paid more than $500 million in damages.  

He helped guide Verizon’s litigation strategy in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, which significantly increased the pleading burden for plaintiffs alleging an antitrust conspiracy and again in Verizon Communications v. Trinko, LLP, a case that dealt with a dominant firm’s refusal to deal with its rivals; the “essential facilities” doctrine; and monopoly leveraging.

He successfully negotiated Project Isis, an undertaking by three major mobile carriers to combine credit cards and coupons on a mobile phone.  

Zastrow stated: “I was intrigued by GeyerGorey because Hays Gorey, Bradford Geyer and I all had the same intuition at the same time.  What do lawyers really do?  They communicate electronically, they do legal research electronically -- after all when has anyone under the age of 50 recently been in a law library -- yet they endure horrendous commutes to work in incredibly expensive offices to do what they could do anywhere, including in the airport on the way to a client meeting.  And do clients really care whether they meet in a fancy office with Italian sofas and polished pink granite or marble?  I suspect not.

“So, GeyerGorey’s promise, a virtual firm where the office is defined by our mandatory technical requirements rather than by a physical office, delivers value to both clients and our law firm.  For clients, it delivers exemplary legal services at competitive rates made possible through extensive use of technology including videoconferencing.  And with a network of former prosecutors and agents, it is immediately scalable.  If the FBI serves several dozen grand jury subpoenas on a company or on a company’s employees, we can, with our network, mobilize faster than many bricks and mortar firms.  For our lawyers, it delivers much more humane, family friendly lifestyle.  We expect that they will want to work hard, indeed our compensation system rewards that, but they won’t be tied up in traffic -- of course unless they’re going to court to try a case or visiting a client’s facilities.”

“If you drive value to your clients and to your employees, you have a blueprint for business success, and I think the firm will do that.”

According to Hays Gorey, Zastrow has a broad range of experience in all aspects of antitrust law.  “From the criminal violations to the most complex civil analysis spanning products, markets and enforcement jurisdictions, we couldn’t be more pleased to have Bob’s mind and extensive experience fully engaged in our mission.”

Bradford Geyer stated: “From the beginning of our discussions, Bob shared with us some of the recurring frustrations he experienced as corporate counsel and he was emphatic that we had to build those sensitivities into our operations.  Prevent; if it can’t be prevented, then neutralize and mitigate through comprehensive knowledge of disclosure programs (both mandatory and voluntary), if things have deteriorated to where these measures are not an option, litigate hard and urgently pursue results.”

GeyerGorey LLP is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices at 1776 I Street, NW, Suite 900 (202-644-8732).  The firm also has an office in Philadelphia, at Liberty One, Suite 1750, One Liberty Plaza (215-375-7935).

For more information regarding GeyerGorey LLP, please visit http://geyergorey.com.