Suzanne L. Wahl

Suzanne’s antitrust and competition practice combines litigation with day-to-day counseling. She has defended putative class actions and has particular experience with antitrust issues involving trade associations. Her litigation work spans jurisdictions across the country and includes disputes over trade association rules and alleged pay-for-delay agreements. Suzanne draws on that experience when advising clients about potential issues before they develop into litigation, while her ongoing work with business clients informs her approach when disputes arise.

Suzanne previously served as internal antitrust and competition counsel to a Fortune 20 company. In that role, she advised on benchmarking and information exchanges; vertical pricing matters, including resale price maintenance, minimum advertised price programs and Colgate programs; distribution issues; the Robinson-Patman Act; joint ventures; government petitioning; and merger review by the Department of Justice or Federal Trade Commission. She also managed ongoing projects and concerns and conducted training in a range of corporate settings.

She continues to advise clients across industries including agriculture, consumer products and hospitality. Her experience as both an internal adviser and a litigator gives her a perspective on the business concerns behind antitrust questions as well as the demands of litigation.

Suzanne is also a member of the firm’s eDiscovery and Litigation Readiness Group. She integrates eDiscovery into broader litigation strategy and manages large-scale collections and production of electronically stored information for clients.

• Representing a chicken processor in a multidistrict antitrust litigation and related state Attorney General actions in Washington, Alaska, and New Mexico.
• Defending a trade association in multiple putative class actions challenging association rules under the antitrust laws.
• Defending a generic pharmaceutical manufacturer in putative class action alleging a pay-for-delay agreement.
• Provided antitrust and competition counsel for a Fortune 20 company.
• Defeated class certification in Rock v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, a case that challenged scholarship rules under the antitrust laws.
• Represented the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the O’Bannon student-athlete¬ likeness litigation. Defeated class certification on a damages class, which resulted in the plaintiffs being deprived of claims that might have been worth billions of dollars.
• Represented Valassis Communications, Inc. in a competition case against News America Marketing. A jury trial resulted in a successful verdict, leading to Valassis receiving $500 million in cash and other favorable terms.
• Managed electronic discovery issues and large scale document productions in multiple matters.

• University of Michigan Law School, JD, cum laude, 2007
• Dartmouth College, AB, summa cum laude, 2004

• Michigan Bar

• US Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit
• US District Court, Northern District of Illinois
• US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
• US District Court, Western District of Michigan
• US District Court, Northern District of Ohio

• Michigan Rising Star, Michigan Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters (2012-2021)
• Michigan Women’s Edition Rising Star, Thomson Reuters (2015-2020)
• Outstanding New Lawyer, Washtenaw County Bar Association (2010)

• Antitrust Law Section, American Bar Association
  • Antitrust and Consumer Protection Daily Digest Committee, Chair
  • Antitrust Law Section, Books and Treatises Committee, Past Vice Chair
  • Trade, Sports and Professional Associations Committee, Past Young Lawyer Representative
• State Bar of Michigan
• Washtenaw County Bar Association (WCBA), New Lawyers Section, Past Co-president

Publications

• “Importing PeaceHealth To Tying: Collins v. Kodak,” Law360 (Apr. 7, 2015)
• “Changes Among FTC Members Means No New Initiatives Soon,” (co-author) Law360 (Apr. 18, 2013)
• “How Sports, Celebrities, and Videogames Reshape the Law of Publicity,” (co-author) Sports Litigation Alert (Dec. 28, 2012)
• “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla: Antitrust and Intellectual Property Rights—the Ultimate Counterweapon?”(co-author) Michigan Bar Journal (Dec. 2012)

Presentations

• “Fundamentals: Consumer Protection,” panelist, ABA Section of Antitrust Law, 2025 Spring Meeting, Washington, DC (Apr. 2, 2025)
• “Are the So-Called ‘Killer Acquisitions’ Getting a Bad Rap?” panelist, NERA Economic Consulting, San Francisco, Calif. (Sep. 12, 2019)
• “Joint Conduct 101: Sports & Professional Associations Program,” panelist, ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Joint Conduct Committee (Nov. 10, 2017)