Steven F. Benz

Steven Benz is our exclusively recommended Competition Law expert in Washington, DC on the Advisory Excellence website. If you need assistance in this area, please contact Steven directly using the contact details above.

Steven represents corporations as plaintiffs in antitrust, unfair competition, class action, and complex commercial cases in federal and state courts in the United States and in matters relating to the abuse of dominance and cartels in the European Union. He has more than twenty-five years of litigation experience and has served as counsel of record in more than 140 litigated cases, trials, and appeals. Mr. Benz is a frequent speaker at conferences on competition law and complex civil litigation topics. In 2017 he was honoured with the “Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice” award by the American Antitrust Institute.

As a partner at the firm, Mr. Benz has prosecuted leading-edge cases involving in part the intersection of competition law and intellectual property rights, including monopolisation, price fixing, and class actions under federal and state law; direct and indirect purchaser claims under state antitrust and unfair competition laws; and breach of contract, fraudulent transfer and deceptive trade practices litigation.

Mr. Benz currently represents Veeva Systems Inc. in antitrust claims against IQVIA Incorporated and IMS Software Services Ltd. in the United States District Courts for the District of New Jersey and Northern California. IQVIA Inc., et al. v. Veeva Systems Inc. (No. 2:17- cv-00177) (D.N.J.) and Veeva Systems Inc. v. IQVIA Inc., et al. (No. 3:19-cv-041371) (N.D. Cal.). Veeva is alleging that IQVIA has abused monopoly power as the dominant provider of data products for life sciences companies to prevent the parties’ mutual companies from using Veeva data products and MDM, CRM, and commercial data warehouse software solutions. Veeva is seeking injunctive relief and monetary damages exceeding $200 million.

Mr. Benz was also co-lead counsel and represented the Dial Corporation, Henkel Consumer Goods, Inc., Kraft Heinz Foods Company, H.J. Heinz Company, L.P., Foster Poultry Farms, Smithfield Foods, Inc., HP Hood, LLC, and BEF Foods, Inc. in The Dial Corporation, et al. v. News Corporation, et al. (No. 13-CV-06802) (S.D.N.Y), a Sherman Act monopolisation case involving third-party in-store promotions. In 2016, on the first day of trial, he secured a settlement of $250 million and significant injunctive relief for his clients and the certified class of 699 CPG (consumer product goods) companies. In approving the settlement, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York lauded Steve as being among the “finest antitrust lawyers in the nation,” saying that the settlement “represents an outstanding result.” The American Antitrust Institute recognised this settlement as an “outstanding litigation achievement in private law practice.”