Litigation

On October 31, 2024, Sterling Check Corp. announced the closing of its acquisition by First Advantage Corporation, with a transaction value of approximately $2.2 billion. Sterling and First Advantage are both global providers of technology‑enabled background and identity verification services. As publicly announced, the companies entered a merger agreement on February 29, 2024, and received second requests from the Department of Justice on May 28, 2024. The parties announced the satisfaction of regulatory closing conditions on October 29, 2024. Cravath represented Sterling on all antitrust matters in connection with the transaction.

On October 15, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed an inter partes review (“IPR”) decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) in favor of Cravath client ADT Inc., invalidating all claims of a patent at issue in litigation brought by Vivint, Inc.

On October 7, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California entered a post‑trial order in favor of Cravath client Epic Games imposing a nationwide three‑year permanent injunction against Google. The injunction, which follows Epic’s jury trial win against Google last year, prohibits Google from paying competitors not to compete and requires Google to distribute alternative app stores on the Google Play Store and provide alternative app stores with access to the Google Play Store’s catalog of apps.

On August 8, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) granted asylum to two Cravath pro bono clients, a gay couple from Russia who suffered violence and persecution based on their sexual orientation.

On September 13, 2024, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a putative class action antitrust lawsuit brought by Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System, a public pension fund for Oklahoma firefighters, against five banks and their United States affiliates, including Cravath client Morgan Stanley and co‑defendants Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, HSBC and RBC.

On December 11, 2024, Cravath’s antitrust practice was ranked among the “Elite” in Global Competition Review’s 2025 edition of GCR 100, a guide to the world’s leading competition law and economics practices. This is the thirteenth consecutive year the Firm has been ranked in the highest tier among New York Firms by GCR. The publication highlighted Cravath’s “bountiful antitrust work,” including its role representing clients Epic Games in litigation against Google and Apple; Meta in putative class action and individual antitrust litigation; and Amgen in a successful defense against an FTC challenge to its $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics.

On December 10, 2024, Cravath was recognized by the Financial Times in connection with its annual “North America Innovative Lawyers” report, which showcases “the most innovative work and legal services that lawyers have developed for their clients in North America.” In the “Dispute Resolution” category, the Firm received “Highly Commended” honors for its representation of Epic Games in securing a unanimous jury verdict, on all counts, in its antitrust lawsuit against Google.

On November 12, 2024, Cravath partner Rachel Skaistis was profiled in Lawdragon’s “Lawyer Limelight” series alongside her sister Hannah Ross, who is a partner at a different New York-based law firm. In the joint Q&A, Rachel and Hannah discussed their parallel paths to partnership and reflected on their individual practices in securities law. Describing what she is proudest of in her work, Rachel said: “I have had the privilege of working with such amazing lawyers, and I’ve gotten to learn from so many litigation styles. But it is nice to get to a point where you feel like you have found a style of practicing and advising your clients that is true to who you are.” The sisters also spoke about the mentors and role models, including each other, who helped shape their careers as female litigators.

On December 2, 2024, Law360 published an article written by Cravath of counsel Megan Y. Lew entitled “Implementing Human Rights Due Diligence.” The article, co‑authored by associate Cristina M. Urquidi, explores the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security’s recent addition and subsequent removal of a Canadian technology company from the Entity List due to human rights concerns, reviews the related importance of conducting human rights due diligence for non‑U.S. companies and highlights ways in which companies can implement these procedures.

Cravath partner Noah J. Phillips participated in “Reading Signs and Installing Guardrails: A Roadmap for the FTC,” an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on November 21, 2024, in Washington, D.C. The event convened Chamber members with competition and consumer protection policy priorities to discuss the future of the Federal Trade Commission, including how its composition, mission and focus are likely to change. Noah was featured in a fireside chat entitled “The Road Ahead.”