Edward G. Biester III
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
30 South 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4196
USA
Phone: +1 215 979 1162
Fax: +1 215 689 1435
Email: EGBiester@duanemorris.com

Edward G. Biester III is co-chair of Duane Morris' Antitrust and Competition Practice Group and a member of Duane Morris' Trial Practice Group, representing businesses, financial institutions and other entities in transactions, and antitrust, commercial, corporate and securities, class action and intellectual property litigation and arbitration. He represents clients in litigation, transactions, and counseling on compliance with antitrust, trade regulation and competition laws, providing advice to manufacturers, distributors and service providers on distribution issues, Robinson-Patman Act issues, and antitrust aspects of joint ventures, competitor collaboration and transactions, including compliance with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and its rules, regulations and interpretations. He has assisted financial institutions with bank merger transactions in which antitrust screens have been exceeded or the Department of Justice has opened an investigation and with various issues in connection with Purchase and Assumption of assets and liabilities of failed banks through FDIC receiverships. He provides advice to intellectual property owners on antitrust aspects of licensing and tying issues and interpretation of 1995 DOJ/FTC Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property, advice to healthcare industry clients on antitrust compliance and interpretation of 1996 DOJ/FTC Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy on Health Care, and advice to insurance industry clients on antitrust compliance and aspects of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, and other exemptions and immunities. His litigation experience includes actions alleging violations of the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, state antitrust and unfair competition statutes and common law, as well as claims under the federal securities laws, the Patent Act, the Lanham Act, the Copyright Act, the Bankruptcy Act, the UCC, class actions and multi-district litigation.

Mr. Biester is an active member of the Antitrust Law Section of the American Bar Association, currently serving as a vice chair of its Public Education and Oral History Committee (2008 to present), and having served as a vice chair if its Teleseminars Committee (2006-2008), and having served as a vice chair of its Intellectual Property Committee (2003-2006) and as a member of the editorial board of Antitrust magazine (2001-2003). He is also a contributor to the Antitrust Section's Antitrust Law Developments (Sixth) (2007), Intellectual Property and Antitrust Handbook (2007), and Bank Mergers and Acquisitions Handbook (2006). In the Philadelphia Bar Association, Mr. Biester has served as the chair of the Federal Courts Committee (2007) and the chair of the Business Litigation Committee (2000). He serves as a Commerce Program Judge Pro Tempore for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas' Commerce Case Management Program.

Mr. Biester served a judicial clerkship to the Hon. Donald W. VanArtsdalen of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is a 1984 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was an executive editor of The University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and is a graduate of Wesleyan University.

Representative Matters

• Assisted several banks with transition issues in Purchase & Assumption and Loss Share Agreements in acquisitions out of FDIC receiverships.
• Arbitration of dispute relating to supply agreement (AAA 2009).
• Represented individual corporate plaintiff in In re Hydrogen Peroxide Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1682 (E.D. Pa.)
• Represented utility company in litigation over indemnities in connection with sale of water and sewer facilities, Aqua America, Inc. v. Duquesne Light Holdings, Inc., May Term 2007, No. 2504 (Phila. CCP)
• Represented manufacturer and seller of LCD products in class actions alleging price-fixing regarding TFT-LCD panels, In re TFT-LCD Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1827, Master File No. M07-1827 SI (N.D. Cal.)
• Represented leading life insurance company in class action asserting antitrust, RICO and ERISA violations relating to contingent commissions, In re Employee Benefits Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1663, No. 05-cv-1079 (D.N.J.)
• Represented leading credit card issuer in defense of antitrust action seeking billions of dollars of damages in connection with Visa and MasterCard rules and policies regarding member issuance on competing networks, American Express Travel Related Services, Inc. v. Visa U.S.A., Inc., No. 04-CV-08967-BSJ-DFE (S.D.N.Y.)
• Represented major aluminum company in U.S. antitrust review and HSR and antitrust compliance in world-wide joint venture in soft alloy aluminum.
• Represented leading manufacturer and distributor of power washers in action brought by competitor and former OEM contractor alleging antitrust violations and misappropriation of trade secrets, Ramteq, Inc. v. Alfred Karcher, Inc., 05-cv-03224 (S.D. Tex.)
• Represented major regional bank in antitrust aspects of acquisition of bank with over $1 billion in deposits and with branches in several overlapping markets in which bank merger antitrust screens were exceeded.
• Numerous bank merger transactions and branch acquisitions cleared through the Department of Justice and bank regulatory agencies in matters where competition screens triggered substantive review or investigations.
• Obtained summary judgment in favor of distributor defendant in action alleging group boycott relating to limited distribution policies for hair care products. Cosmetic Gallery, Inc. v. Schoeneman Corp., 01-cv-04896-RBK-AMD (D.N.J.)
• Represented state insurance guarantee association in insurance insolvency proceedings. In re Reliance Insurance Co.; In re Legion Insurance Co.; In re Villanova Insurance Co.
• Obtained dismissal of antitrust claims relating to state settlement of tobacco litigation, Mariana v. Fisher, 01 CV 2070 (M.D. Pa.)
• Represented corporation in arbitration proceedings and negotiation of co-founder separation from technology company, including issues relating to shareholders agreement and trade secret and corporate opportunity issues.
• Represented agent of senior lenders on appeal successfully supporting confirmation of reorganization plan over objections of subordinated noteholder in bankruptcy of supermarket chain, In re PWS Holding Corp., Bruno's Inc. et al., Appeal No. 00-5042 (3d Cir. 2000)
• Represented plaintiff in know-how licensing and trade secret dispute relating to technology for design, engineering and manufacture of transit buses using fiber-reinforced composites, North American Bus Industries, Rt. v. TPI Composites, Inc., No. 00-CV-9535 (S.D.N.Y.)
• Represented defendant in action asserting design patent infringement, fraud and contract claims relating to consumer hair band products, New L&N Sales v. Venator, 00-CV-745 (E.D. Pa.)
• Represented publisher in copyright infringement and Lanham Act 43(a) false advertising action and counterclaims alleging trademark infringement, false advertising, tortious interference with contract and antitrust violations, Hearst Business Publishing, Inc. v. W.G. Nichols, Inc., 99 CV10164 (DC) (S.D.N.Y.)
• Represented plaintiff law school asserting antitrust claims relating to accreditation of law schools, Massachusetts School of Law at Andover, Inc. v. American Bar Association, et al., C.A. No. 93-6206 (E.D. Pa.)
• Represented group of condominium owners in litigation over condominium management and finances, Breslow v. BDGP, Inc., Trading as Claybar Development, L.P., et al., July Term 1998, No. 1048 (Phil. C.C.P.)
• Obtained summary judgment in favor of defendant on securities fraud class action claims relating to forward-looking statements on earnings set forth in various press releases and SEC filings, In re Goodyear Securities Litigation (E.D. Pa.), affirmed on appeal (3d Cir.)
• Represented foreign government-owned lender, owners and asset manager of resort hotel and condominium project in the United States Virgin Islands in dispute with branded manager of hotel over hotel management contract and termination of manager resulting in several favorable rulings from the District Court and the Third Circuit and a confidential settlement, Government Guarantee Fund of the Republic of Finland, et al. v. Hyatt Corporation, Civil Nos. 1995-49-M and 1995-68-M (D.V.I. -- Div. St. Thomas & St. John) and Appeal No. 96-7288 (3d Cir.)
• Represented defendant bank in defense of claims alleging fraud, tortious interference and breach of fiduciary duty against lender that refinanced hotel and condominium project, as well as claims that lender disbursed funds from accounts without proper authority and violated the antitying provisions of the Bank Holding Company Act, Saastopankkien Keskus-Osake-Pankki (Skopbank), et al. v. Great Cruz Bay Development Company, Inc., et al., Civil No. 1991-355 (D.V.I.), Mourraille, Inc. v. Saastopankkien Keskus-Osake-Pankki (Skopbank), et al., Civil No. 1991-395 (D.V.I.) and Appeal Nos. 95-7168, 95-7169, 95-7180, 95-7181 (3d Cir.)
• Defended preliminary injunction hearing in patent infringement suit regarding cellular alarm systems manufactured by our client and the opposing party's patents on the interface between cellular and conventional wired telephone systems, Telular Corp. v. Versus Technology, Inc., C.A. No. 93-7568 (N.D. Ill.)
• Represented defendant in trade secret litigation relating to ownership of intellectual property rights for processes for paper pulping, Repap, Inc. v. Kaymyr, Inc., C.A. No. 92-CV-5701 (E.D. Pa.)
• Represented defendant in patent infringement and Lanham Act claims and counterclaim plaintiff in antitrust claims relating to sanitary napkins, ICD Industries, Inc. and Confab Corp. v. Procter & Gamble Co., C.A. No. 90-1837 & 90-1862 (E.D. Pa.)
• Represented insurance rating bureau in mandamus action seeking to obtain ruling from Insurance Commissioner on workers compensation rate filing, Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau v. Insurance Commissioner, No. 333 M.D. 1992 (Pa. Commonwealth Ct.)
• Represented major automobile insurance company in successfully challenging constitutionality of provision of rate rollback statute effecting retroactive disallowance of deemed rate, and defense of claims asserted by state insurance commissioner alleging that several major auto insurer's responses to rate rollback legislation constituted unfair competition Foster, Insurance Commissioner v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., et al., No. 192 M.D. 1990 (Pa. Commonwealth Ct.), State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., et al. v. Constance E. Foster, Insurance Commissioner, No. 652 C.D. 1990 (Pa. Commonwealth Ct.); In re State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., Docket No. R90-08-44 (Pa. Ins. Dept.)
• Represented exchange seat owner and clearing agent in injunction proceeding in federal court and arbitration proceedings before the Chicago Board Options Exchange and Philadelphia Stock Exchange in dispute over trades cleared in the October 1987 market crash and relating to the lease of certain seats on those exchanges, Bear, Stearns & Co. v. Lakshmi Securities Corp., et al., (CBOE), (PHLX).
• Represented defendant in securities fraud class action relating to IPO for domestic cruise company, In re American Cruise Lines Securities Litigation, (D. Conn.)
• Defense of claims of alleged conspiracy to monopolize and attempted monopolization of offshore drilling industry and financing, Penrod Drilling Co., et al. v. Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., et al., (N.D. Tex.)
• Post-judgment interest on antitrust judgment in light of amendment to federal post-judgment interest statute, Bonjorno v. Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., et al., (E.D. Pa.), (3d Cir.), (S. Ct.)

Professional Activities

• Commerce Program Judge Pro Tempore, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, 2000-present
• American Bar Association (ABA) Antitrust Law Section
  - Vice Chair Public Education and Oral History Committee, 2008-present
  - Vice Chair Teleseminars Committee, 2006-2008
  - Vice Chair Intellectual Property Committee, 2003-2006
  - Editorial Board, Antitrust Magazine, 2001-2003
• Philadelphia Bar Association
  - Chair, Federal Courts Committee, 2007
  - Chair, Business Litigation Committee, 2000
  -- Co-Chair, Commerce Program Pro Tem Judge Subcommittee, 2005-2009
  -- Chair, Commerce Court Subcommittee, 1998
• University of Pennsylvania Law School Inn of the American Inns of Court
  - Barrister, 1994-1995
• Law360 Editorial Advisory Board
  - Competition Section, 2010

Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• Supreme Court of the United States
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Education

• University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., 1984
• Wesleyan University, B.A., 1980

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 1994-present
  - Associate, 1986-1993
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, PA, Judicial Clerk, Honorable Donald W. VanArtsdalen, 1984-1986

Honors and Awards

• Listed in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, 2006-2013
• Recipient of the Philadelphia Bar Association's Wells Fargo Fidelity Award, 2010
• Listed in Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition, Antitrust Litigation, 2009 and 2010
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Selected Publications

• Co-author, "Antitrust Enforcement Agencies Propose Revised Horizontal Merger Guidelines," Duane Morris Alert, April 23, 2010
• Profiled by Law 360, June 30, 2009
• Co-author, "More Aggressive Antitrust Enforcement Ahead," Duane Morris Alert, May 13, 2009
• Contributor, Intellectual Property and Antitrust Handbook (American Bar Association, Antitrust Section), 2007
• Contributor, Antitrust Law Developments (Sixth) (American Bar Association, Antitrust Section), 2007
• Contributing Author, Bank Mergers and Acquisitions Handbook (American Bar Association, Antitrust Section), 2006
• Co-author, "Evaluating Antitrust Issues in the Settlement of Litigation," Antitrust and Intellectual Property, Vol. 6., No. 1 (Winter 2006)
• "Ground Rules and Hot Topics in Antitrust and Intellectual Property," New Jersey Lawyer, June 2004
• "An Overview of the IP-Antitrust Intersection: Reevaluating the 1995 Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property," Antitrust, Magazine of the American Bar Association's Section of Antitrust Law, Summer 2002
• "Finding Reason Through Extremes: From Nine No-No's to Patent 'Immunity'," Antitrust and Intellectual Property, American Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section, Intellectual Property Committee Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring 2002)
• "Agencies' Hearings Explore Antitrust and IP Interface," The Legal Intelligencer, May 2, 2002
• "On Failing to Disclose Rights in Standard-Setting Activity: Fraud or Antitrust Claims Are Often Asserted," The Legal Intelligencer, November 1, 2001
• "When Does Usefulness Trump Style: Supreme Court to Address Standard for Utility Patent Preclusion of Trade-Dress Protection," The Legal Intelligencer, July 6, 2000
• Co-author, Commerce Program Chapter, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Civil Practice Manual, Tenth Edition, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, June 2000
• "Antitrust Implications of Refusals to License Patents or Copyrights," The Legal Intelligencer, April 6, 2000.
• Co-author, "Business and Legal Strategies for Successful Alliances" (Presentation to Industrial Distribution Magazine for Inside Advice on Mergers and Acquisitions 2000), March 2000.
• "Overview of Intellectual Property Antitrust," Antitrust and Intellectual Property Newsletter, American Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section, Intellectual Property Committee Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1, March 2000.
• Co-author, "Selected Termination and Other Distribution and Antitrust Issues," presentation to BBSI, Inc., August 6, 1999.
• "The FTC and Enforcement Relating to The Internet and Online Privacy," The Legal Intelligencer, August 5, 1999.
• Co-author, "Personal Jurisdiction Based on Internet Contacts," VIBE Telecommunication and Information Technologies News, Summer 1999.
• Co-author, "IP Claims Based on Internet Contacts: Redefining Personal Jurisdiction in Age of Cyberspace," The Legal Intelligencer, June 3, 1999.
• "DOJ Approves Pooling of Patents Essential for Setting DVD Standards," The Legal Intelligencer, February 4, 1999.
• "Pair of Federal Circuit Decisions Allow Patent-Based Antitrust Claims," The Legal Intelligencer, December 3, 1998.
• "Intersection of IP and Antitrust--What Lessons Result From Appeals Court in Microsoft Case?," The Legal Intelligencer, July 2, 1998.

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Panelist, "Merger Update," Pennsylvania Bar Institute Program on Antitrust Law: Beyond the Basics, March 12, 2013
• Panelist, "How to Prepare and Try a Significant Case in the Commerce Case Management Program," Pennsylvania Bar Institute program, April 11, 2011
• Panelist, "Commerce Judges Pro Tempore," Philadelphia Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Institute program, June 17, 2008
• Panelist, "Handling Business Litigation in the Philadelphia Commerce Case Management Program," Pennsylvania Bar Institute program, December 6, 2007
• Panelist, Philadelphia Bar Association Bench-Bar Conference, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 30, 2006
• Course planner, annual Federal Bench-Bar conference, June 16, 2006
• Chair, "Navigating the IP/Antitrust Intersection," Panelist, Antitrust Issues in Patent Settlements, American Bar Association, Antitrust Section, Annual Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C., March 30, 2006
• Panelist, "Update on the Commerce Program," Philadelphia Bar Association's Bench-Bar Conference, November 2004
• "Handling the Emergency Business Case," seminar and panel discussion sponsored by the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, March 11, 2004
• Panelist, "Commerce Program Update," Philadelphia Bar Association, Bench-Bar Conference, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Nov. 5, 2004
• Panelist, "Overview of the Philadelphia Commerce Court," Philadelphia Bar Association State Bench-Bar Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 23, 2003
• Antitrust and IP Interface, Ins. Soc. of Phila CLE, June 12, 2002
• Faculty Member, Commerce Case Management Program of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 17, 2000.
• Faculty Member, "The Nuts & Bolts of the New Commerce Case Management Program in Philadelphia County," Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 13, 1999.
• Speaker, Litigation of Intellectual Property Claims and Legal Issues Involving the Internet, "Fundamentals of Pennsylvania Intellectual Property Law and Practice," National Business Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 29, 1999.