Antitrust Boutique Bona Law Adds Two Prominent Biglaw Antitrust Attorneys to its Team

Bona Law is pleased to announce Jim Lerner and Pat Pascarella have joined the firm as partners. Jim will be based at the firm's New York office while Pat will launch the firm's newest office in Dallas, Texas.

Pat joins Bona Law from Kilpatrick Townsend. His experience ranges from antitrust litigation and counseling to representing clients before enforcement and regulatory agencies in the United States as well as Mexico, Colombia, and Europe. In addition to his law firm experience, Pat also served with the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division in Washington DC and was AT&T's chief in-house antitrust counsel for over a decade.

Pat has represented clients in numerous landmark antitrust cases including Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, Pacific Bell v. linkLine, and United States v. Microsoft. He has defended some of the largest mergers in U.S. history, and more recently helped an international telecommunications company convince the Mexican antitrust authority to revoke a previously levied billion-dollar fine for alleged abuse of dominance. Pat has advised or represented clients in a vast array of industries including telecom, technology, media and content, platforms and e-commerce, cyber-security, manufacturing, sports, government contractors, pharmaceuticals, weapons, and ice cream.

"Pat's background-as a partner in a Global Competition Review 100 antitrust practice, as a government enforcer, and as in-house antitrust counsel, coupled with his in-depth knowledge of the antitrust laws-makes him a unique asset to our clients," said Jarod Bona, CEO of Bona Law. "We are excited that he has agreed to join us."

"As a one-time customer for legal services, I think smaller and more nimble boutique firms are the wave of the future for antitrust," said Pat Pascarella. "Bona Law's capabilities, agility, and energy levels will help reshape the marketplace for antitrust services. I am very pleased to have been asked to become part of that."

Jim Lerner joins Bona Law from Winston & Strawn. Jim has three decades of experience as a global antitrust counselor and litigator and has represented clients before regulatory and enforcement agencies in numerous high-profile U.S.and international criminal and civil cartel investigations, including those in the EU, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Taiwan, and Korea, and involving products such as lysine, food flavor enhancers (MSG and nucleotides), carbon fiber, impact modifiers and processing aids, vitamins, cathode ray tubes, computer components and automobile parts. He also has defended numerous clients in major multi-jurisdiction antitrust class actions.

Jim likewise has significant experience in the review and defense of mergers and acquisitions, representing clients before the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice In a wide array of industries including telecommunications, online services, broadcasting, consumer and industrial electronics, textiles, financial services, cosmetics, steel, oilfield services, and building and construction materials. He has counseled clients in these industries and others in essentially all areas of antitrust and competition law-in the United States and internationally.

Read Law360's article about Pat and Jim's move here.