John Peirce has litigation and counseling experience in domestic and foreign antitrust and trade regulation law, class actions, complex commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution. His antitrust experience encompasses civil trials and appellate work, merger regulation, and administrative practice, with particular emphasis on regulated industries (electric power, natural gas, insurance, health care, and financial services). He represents electric utilities and utility organizations in connection with federal and state restructuring. He represents a multibillion dollar consumer products company on a wide range of consumer protection and competition issues, and has designed and enforced that firm’s innovative and successful distributor arbitration and dispute resolution program. Mr. Peirce is active in the leadership of the American Bar Association Section of Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law. In 2000 he was appointed vice-chair of the Antitrust Committee of the ABA Section of Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law and in 2002 chair of the Website Committee of that Section. He is a frequent speaker and writer on antitrust issues affecting regulated industries.

Select Representations

• Represented the principal defendant as lead counsel in four related complex cases (over 50 plaintiffs; antitrust, RICO, fraud and breach of contract allegations; multiple intervenors and cross-claimants) in federal and state courts in Houston, Texas. Defendants removed one case, filed federal declaratory judgment complaints in two others (one in bankruptcy court), successfully consolidated all three federal cases, and successfully enforced a contested arbitration agreement as to all plaintiffs in the federal and state actions. Morrison v. Amway Corp., 49 F. Supp. 2d 49 (S.D. Tex. 1998), motions for reconsideration denied, 1998 U.S. Dist. (S.D. Tex. Dec. 8, 1998); Griffith v. Amway Corp., No. 98-17491 (129th Dist., Harris County, Tex.). Mr. Peirce continued as lead defense counsel in a three-week arbitration hearing in January 2004 and obtained a favorable award, the terms of which are confidential.
• Counsel to New England Power Pool ("NEPOOL") on antitrust and market power issues before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in an ongoing restructuring docket. He advised on complex market power issues and supervised economic witnesses and their filed testimony, and worked closely with NEPOOL committees and state regulators in designing a comprehensive plan for monitoring, deterring and mitigating the potential abuse of market power in competitive New England wholesale electricity markets. The monitoring and mitigation proposal had support from all sectors of the industry and was approved by the FERC.
• Represented the principal defendant in a nationwide antitrust and RICO class action filed on behalf of a class of 2.7 million current and former distributors. After two years’ litigation the case was settled on largely non-cash basis highly favorable to defendants. Hanrahan v. Britt, 174 F.R.D. 356 (E.D. Pa. 1997).

Bar and Court Admissions

District of Columbia, 1980

United States Supreme Court

United States Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth and Federal Circuits

United States District Court for the District of Columbia

United States Court of International Trade

Education

Cornell University, J.D., cum laude, 1980

Yale University, B.A., 1975

Publications

• Contributing author to Antitrust Law Developments (Fourth) 1998 Supplement and 1999 Supplement (ABA Section of Antitrust Law 1999, 2000)
• Ray S. Bolze, John C. Peirce and Linda L. Walsh, "Antitrust Law Regulation: A New Focus For a Competitive Energy Industry," 21 Energy L.J. 79, 2000

Speeches and Seminars

• Chair of antitrust workshop on market power and antitrust in electric markets, "Making Sense of the Market," FT Energy program, New York, June 5, 2000
• Moderator, "Antitrust Issues in the Deregulated Electricity Industry," Program at ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting, April 5, 2000, Washington, D.C.
• "Antitrust Issues in Today’s Energy Market" speech to Houston Chapter of Energy Bar Association, Jan. 28, 2000
• Panelist, "Dealing With Antitrust Issues in Today’s Electric and Gas Markets," Howrey & Simon, Washington D.C. Sept. 23, 1999
• "Generation ‘Mix,’ Market Power and Generation Portfolio Planning," presentation in "The Impact of Market Power in Competitive Energy Markets" program, Infocast, July 15, 1999
• "Recognizing and Managing Antitrust Risks, Conference Workshop at "Wholesale Power in the West" (IBC), Nov. 11-13, 1998, Las Vegas, Nev.
• Chair, "Emerging Competition Issues in U.S.-Canadian Cross Border Electric and Gas Markets" Program, ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Annual Meeting, Aug. 4, 1998, Toronto, Ont.
• Wrote course materials and developed program for "Electric/Gas Antitrust Issues" Mock Trial program, ABA Section of Public Utility Law, Annual Meeting, Aug. 4, 1998, Toronto, Ont.
• "Network Transactions; Power Pools and Power Exchanges; Independent System Operators; Issues Involving Reliability Councils" at "Telecommunications and Electric Mergers and Acquisitions" Conference (PLI) July 13-14, 1998, New York, N.Y.
• "Antitrust Compliance for Utilities and Marketers," Presentation at "Winning With Retail Competition" (Pub. Util. Reports, Inc. Annual Conf.), June 22-23, 1998, Arlington, V.A.
• Chair, "Real-Life Antitrust Problems in the Electric and Gas Industry," Program at ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting, April 1, 1998, Washington, D.C.
• "Antitrust Considerations in the New Regulatory Environment," Presentation at "Electrical Utility Mergers, Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances" Conference (Law Seminars Int’l), Sept. 11-12, 1997, Portland, Ore.
• Co-Chair and Panelist, "Power Struggle, Antitrust and the Changing Rules of Electric Competition" Conference, ABA Sections of Antitrust and Public Utility Law, Sept. 19-20, 1996, Chicago, Ill.

Professional Affiliations

• ABA Section of Antitrust Law – Chair, Fuel and Energy Industry Committee, 1997-2000
• ABA Section of Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law – Vice-Chair, Antitrust Committee, 2000-
• ABA Section of Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law – Chair, Website Committee, 2002-
• Federal Energy Bar Association