Karen M. Lent

In recognition of her work, Ms. Lent has been:

• named to Global Competition Review’s Women in Antitrust list, recognized as a Sports and Entertainment Trailblazer by The National Law Journal and honored as one of Crain’s Notable Women in the Business of Sports
• repeatedly recognized in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and The Best Lawyers in America, as well as one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America and as a Star by Benchmark Litigation
• honored as a Competition/Antitrust MVP and Sports MVP by Law360 and named to W@Competition’s 40 in Their 40s list of notable women competition professionals
• named to SportsBusiness Journal’s Forty Under Forty list and one of its Power Players in Sports Law
• recognized as a Distinguished Leader by the New York Law Journal, for which she also authors a monthly column on antitrust matters

In the antitrust litigation area, Ms. Lent has handled litigations involving price fixing, group boycotts, monopolization, other restraints of trade and class actions. These representations include Mowi ASA in class actions alleging price-fixing of farm-raised Atlantic salmon; Postmates in a class action alleging price-fixing and anticompetitive conduct regarding online meal delivery platforms; Intuitive Surgical in litigations alleging monopolization regarding surgical robots and related instruments; and LVMH Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton in litigation regarding its proposed acquisition of Tiffany & Co. She also has represented Citibank in class actions alleging price-fixing and/or group boycotts with respect to U.S.-de-nominated supranational, sub-sovereign and agency bonds, VIX products, U.S. treasury bonds, and odd lots of U.S. corporate bonds.

Other representations include, among others, Sprint Corporation in connection with antitrust challenges to its acquisition by T-Mobile; Teva Pharmaceuticals in class actions alleging anticompetitive reverse payment settlements regarding branded drugs Lidoderm and Actos; The Vitol Group in class actions alleging price-fixing and market manipulation of North Brent Sea Crude Oil; a company in connection with an investigation into “no-poach” agreements; five New York law schools in a case alleging they and Barbri engaged in a group boycott of a competing bar review course; Anheuser-Busch InBev in connection with an antitrust challenge to its acquisition of Modelo; Pfizer Inc. in a class action alleging monopolization with respect to the drug Neurontin; International Paper Company in a class action alleging price-fixing; and IASIS Healthcare in an antitrust action challenging a series of exclusive contracts.

Ms. Lent has extensive experience counseling professional sports leagues and teams on a variety of antitrust and sports law matters, including the NBA, NFL, MLS, NHL and NCAA. These representations include the NCAA in litigation brought by student-athletes challenging its eligibility rules; the NFL in litigation brought by photographers alleging violations of intellectual property and antitrust laws; the NFL in a class action brought by retired players alleging negligence in administering prescription painkillers; and the NCAA, NBA, NFL, NHL and the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball in their suit against the state of New Jersey to prevent the authorization and licensing of gambling on the sports leagues’ athletic events. Ms. Lent also represented the NBA in connection with the league’s imposition of discipline upon Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling; and the NBA and four of its teams in a litigation brought by the Spirits of St. Louis regarding the Spirits’ right to receive a portion of the teams’ television revenues.

She also advised the NBA and its member teams in connection with its most recent labor dispute and lockout and has successfully arbitrated several disputes involving disability insurance coverage for NBA players. Ms. Lent represented the NHL in connection with the Phoenix Coyotes’ attempt to relocate the team, out of bankruptcy, over the league’s objection. She also has provided advice on various issues to Madison Square Garden, the PGA Tour and Collegiate Licensing Corporation.

Ms. Lent actively works on pro bono matters, and received the Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Publico Award in 2009 and 2011 for her successful representation of a disabled senior citizen whose landlord illegally overcharged her monthly rent for several years.