Introduction

Richard Wegener, a resident shareholder in the Minneapolis office of Fredrikson & Byron, practices Antitrust and Trade Regulation law. Before returning to private practice in 1989, he served as Division Counsel to the United States Food Group of The Pillsbury Company and Assistant to the General Counsel for Antitrust and Trade Regulation matters.

With over thirty years of experience in both antitrust counseling and litigation, he advises clients in all aspects of antitrust law including product distribution and marketing, advertising and promotions, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, consumer protection, intellectual property, and pricing. He is a member of the prestigious Advisory Board to the Bureau of National Affairs’ Antitrust & Trade Regulation Report, the nation’s leading weekly antitrust news publication. A recognized expert in vertical restraints and price discrimination law, he served as a member of the ABA Antitrust Section’s Special Task Force on the FTC’s Guides for Advertising Allowances and Other Merchandising Payments and Services.

He has represented clients before the Federal Trade Commission, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and state and foreign antitrust authorities, and has litigated a wide range of issues in federal and state courts. He has advised clients in industries including, for example, agriculture, food and beverages, computer hardware and software, consumer products, medical products, retail and wholesale, and a host of manufacturing and service industries.

Dick has extensive experience advising clients in merger transactions, and is consulted frequently on Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification matters. He has coordinated the successful clearance of numerous U.S., European, and other premerger filings of complex cross-border transactions.

He has written numerous articles on antitrust issues and is a frequent speaker at CLE seminars and programs, including those sponsored by the Antitrust Law Section of the American Bar Association, the National Competition Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, the American Bar Association - American Law Institute (ALI-ABA), the American Corporate Counsel Association and the Promotion Marketing Association. Based on a survey of practicing attorneys, he is listed as both a “Super Lawyer” in Antitrust Litigation and a “Leading Attorney” in Antitrust and Trade Regulation law.

Education

• University of Nebraska College of Law, J.D., 1973
• University of Nebraska, B.A., 1970

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota, 1981
• Nebraska, 1973

Practice Areas

• Antitrust and Trade Regulation
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Food, Drug & Medical Device Regulation
• Commercial Law

Selected Publications & Presentations

• “FTC Issues Increased Hart-Scott-Rodino Filing Thresholds,” FredALERT: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, January 30, 2012
• Speaker, “Antitrust Internal Audits on Pricing, Distribution Practices, Competitor Collaborations and More,” Strafford webinar, December 13, 2011
• “Your Antitrust Compliance Wardrobe: SOX Are ‘In,’ Vests Are ‘Out,’” FredALERT: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, August 10, 2011
• “June Decision Highlights Differences Between U.S. & Canadian Refusal to Deal Law,” FredALERT: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, July 8, 2011
• “Recent Events Suggest Greater Consideration of Non-HSR Reportable Transactions is Warranted,” FredALERT: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, March 29, 2011
• “Hart-Scott-Rodino Filing Thresholds Increased to $66 Million,” FredALERT: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, February 16, 2011
• “Recent Price Discrimination Cases Are Instructive,” FredALERT: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, December 10, 2010
• Speaker, Vertical Restraints, Dealer Terminations and Consolidation, Distribution Litigation, Distribution Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions, 25th Annual Advanced ALI-ABA Product Distribution and Marketing Course of Study, Chicago, Illinois, June 2-4, 2010
• “Change You Should Believe In? New U.S. Merger Guidelines Downgrade Market Definition,” FredALERT: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, April 30, 2010
• “Smaller U.S. Mergers Will be Scrutinized Due to Decreased Hart-Scott-Rodino Filing Thresholds,” FredALERT: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, January 27, 2010
• “The Robinson-Patman Act: The Allowances & Services Provisions,” FredNEWS: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, September 2009
• “The Robinson-Patman Act: Background & Jurisdictional Requirements,” FredNEWS: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, August 2009
• “Price Discrimination is Back: Feesers, Inc. v. Michael Foods, Inc. and Sodexho, Inc.,” FredNEWS: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, July 2009
• “Dual Distribution, “Price-Squeeze” & Section 2 After linkLine,” FredNEWS: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, April 2009
• Speaker, Vertical Restraints, Dealer Terminations and Consolidation, and Distribution Litigation and Negotiation, Distribution Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions, 24th Annual Advanced ALI-ABA Product Distribution and Marketing Course of Study, Charleston, South Carolina, March 18-20, 2009
• “FDA’s New Guidance on Safe Production of Foods Containing Peanut-Derived Ingredients Lacks Substance; Underscores Agency’s Inadequacy,” FredALERT: Food Law, March 16, 2009

Honors & Distinctions

• Managing Editor, Nebraska Law Review
• Pi Sigma Alpha
• Pi Epsilon Pi
• Minnesota Super Lawyer, Minnesota Super Lawyers magazine