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.
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.
Mr. Wegener advises clients with respect to the full range of antitrust, trade regulation and competition law implications of their business activities, including product distribution and marketing, advertising and promotions, mergers and acquisitions, consumer protection, intellectual property, pricing, strategic counseling and litigation. 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.
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 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
Selected Publications & Presentations
- Faculty Member, “Product Distribution and Marketing” Conference, American Law Institute-American Bar Association, Chicago, June 2-4, 2010
- “Change You Should Believe In? New
- “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
- “Product Placement & Government Regulation: FCC vs. FTC,” PMA’s 30th Annual Promotion Marketing Conference, Chicago, Illinois, November 20-21, 2008
- “Marketing and Distribution in a Mean Economy,” FredNEWS: Antitrust Litigation, April 2008
- “Understanding The Obesity 'Epidemic' – Litigation, Self-Regulation & Government Enforcement,” FredNEWS: Food, Drug & Medical Device Regulation, March 2008
- “M & A Antitrust Issues,” reprinted by New York University’s Stern School of Business as part of the course materials for the school’s Mergers & Acquisitions course, Spring 2008
- ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Frequently Asked Antitrust Questions (2004) (Contributing Author)
Honors & Distinctions
- Managing Editor, Nebraska Law Review
- Pi Sigma Alpha
- Pi Epsilon Pi