Craig A. Benson

A partner in the Litigation Department, Craig Benson focuses his practice on trial work in the areas of product liability, antitrust, intellectual property and major commercial disputes. Craig’s experience has involved representing clients before federal and state courts, regulatory agencies, and arbitrators, in industries including financial services, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, electronics, automotive, chemicals, oil and gas, tobacco, and hospitality.

Experience

Craig's trials and major cases have included representing:

• Philip Morris USA, an Altria company, in the company's first "Lights" class action to reach a jury. The plaintiffs claimed they were entitled to billions of dollars of damages for purchasing and smoking Marlboro Lights. A mistrial resulted in no liability for Philip Morris USA.
• Genentech Inc. in a two-and-a-half week federal jury trial, against allegations of fraud, unfair trade practices, and unjust enrichment, and a damages claim of some $1.16 billion. The jury returned a defense verdict after one day of deliberations.
• Major biotechnology and chemical companies in critical patent litigations, including disputes concerning Genentech's intellectual property covering innovative treatments for cancer and eye disease, and lawsuits relating to infringement of BASF's patents for a leading insecticide.
• Sharp Corporation in four federal lawsuits relating to allegations of price-fixing.
• Several financial institutions in substantial commercial litigation matters, including the representation of Citibank and Zurich Alternative Asset Management in an arbitration over real estate valuation, and a financial services company in an employment arbitration with its former CEO.
• LodgeNet before the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division in connection with its acquisition of On-Command.
• Time Warner Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc. before the Federal Trade Commission in connection with their acquisition of assets of Adelphia Communications Corp.
• American Skiing Company in connection with a contract dispute and motion for preliminary injunction in state court.
• MasterCard in connection with federal antitrust claims regarding bank issuance of credit cards.
• ExxonMobil in connection with international tort claims in federal litigation.
• Silver Point Capital, provider of debtor-in-possession financing in a contested bankruptcy proceeding relating to collective bargaining agreements.

On a pro bono basis, Craig has represented clients seeking political asylum before the United States Immigration Court, clients seeking disability benefits, and he has worked with an area nonprofit providing legal assistance to persons living with HIV. Craig was also part of the Paul, Weiss team that represented Edie Windsor in the historic litigation that resulted in the Supreme Court declaring the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

Craig was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as articles editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He co-authored Custodial Interrogation, Twenty-Eighth Annual Review of Criminal Procedure, 87 Geo. L.J. 1683 (1999). Craig also has served as a member of the editorial board of the Antitrust Practitioner, a publication of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law's Civil Practice and Procedure Committee. Craig was named a Rising Star by Washington DC Super Lawyers in 2013.

Craig is the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Levine Music, one of the nation's leading community music schools.

Practices

• Litigation
• Antitrust
• IP Litigation: Patent & Other Scientific
• Product Liability
  

Education

• J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 2000
  magna cum laude
• B.A., Miami University
  summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa

Clerkship

• Hon. Mary A. McLaughlin, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Bar Admissions

• New York
• District of Columbia
• Maryland

See Library Tab for articles, publications and presentations by Craig Benson