{"id":491,"date":"2026-05-23T05:06:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=491"},"modified":"2026-05-23T05:06:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:06:05","slug":"paramount-assembles-legal-team-to-defend-warner-bros-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=491","title":{"rendered":"Paramount Assembles Legal Team to Defend Warner Bros. Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tJeffrey Kessler, a heavyweight in antitrust litigation who most recently secured a landmark win for states suing Live Nation, will defend Paramount\u2018s $110 billion megadeal for Warner Bros. Discovery.<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe studio doesn\u2019t expect legal challenges from the Justice Department, state prosecutors or foreign regulators, though Kessler would lead the studio\u2019s defense if any are filed, according to a person familiar with the situation. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe addition of Kessler bolsters Paramount\u2019s formidable legal team, led by Makan Delrahim, Trump\u2019s former assistant attorney general for antitrust. Also representing the studio: David Gelfand, ex-deputy assistant attorney general for litigation in the antitrust division under former President Barack Obama, and lawyers at Latham & Watkins and Cravath, Swaine & Moore who have been seeking regulatory approval of the deal. <\/p>\n

\n\tOn Friday, a federal judge accepted Kessler\u2019s application to represent the studio in a lawsuit filed by consumers challenging merger. The case is the opening salvo over the purchase that will reshape Hollywood.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a statement, Kessler called the complaint \u201cbaseless\u201d and said it \u201cresorts to political scaremongering that is both inaccurate and irrelevant to the antitrust analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat we do learn from the complaint is that there is no credible antitrust case to be brought against the Paramount\/Warner Bros. merger,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u201cIn my many years of practice championing competition and the interests of consumers, athletes, and workers, I have rarely seen such a weak case seeking to block a transaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tKessler, co-executive chair of Winston & Strawn, is known for taking on plaintiff-side work. He won in 2019 a first-of-its-kind antitrust lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association on behalf of student-athletes. The decision cracked open the door for them to profit off of their name, image and likeness, a seismic shift in college sports.<\/p>\n

\n\tLast year, Kessler was brought in to represent a coalition of more than 30 states that objected to a last-minute settlement between the Justice Department and Live Nation. The case ended with a jury concluding that the company operated as a monopoly in violation of federal and state antitrust laws.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn 2023, he also secured dismissal of an antitrust lawsuit brought by Garth Drabinsky against Actors\u2019 Equity Association after the Broadway producer was placed on the union\u2019s \u201cDo Not Work\u201d list.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe lawsuit filed by Paramount subscribers last month claimed that the studio\u2019s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery will substantially reduce competition in streaming, news and theatrical distribution in violation of antitrust laws. Lawyers for the consumers on Wednesday moved for a preliminary injunction to block the deal.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlso representing Paramount in the case: Winston & Strawn partners Jeanifer Parsigian, Conor Reidy, Kevin Goldstein and Matt Huppert, all of whom have deep experience in antitrust litigation.<\/p>\n

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Jeffrey Kessler will work alongside former federal prosecutors Makan Delrahim and David Gelfand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[115],"class_list":["post-491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-paramount"],"yoast_head":"\nParamount Assembles Legal Team to Defend Warner Bros. Deal - US Property Moves<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=491\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paramount Assembles Legal Team to Defend Warner Bros. 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