December 8, 1993
3801 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Apt. 136
Washington, DC 20008
Ms. Anne K. Bingaman
Director
Antitrust Division
U.S. Department of Justice
10th & Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
RE: Antitrust Inquiry - Dallas Law Firms - Summer Associate Salary Fixing
Dear Ms. Bingaman:
This letter is intended to inform the Department of Justice of information that is of possible ancillary importance to the above-referenced inquiry.
Mr. Dennis M. Race, an attorney manager of the Washington office of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, and chairman of the firm's associate hiring committee, filed fabricated evidence with the District of Columbia Department of Human Rights (DOHR), in violation of D.C. Code Section 1-2529, in connection with that agency's investigation of unlawful termination matter Freedman v. Akin, Gump, Hauer & Feld, DOHR Docket No, 92-087-P(N). An appeal in this matter is currently pending before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Docket No 93-AA-1342 (See enclosed Petition for Review).
Also, the Department of Justice may be aware that in the year 1989 Akin Gump was engaged in (unsuccessful) negotiations with the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges that were directed at a merger of the two firms. Such merger negotiations suggest something about the cooperative relationship between the respective managements of the two law firms.
Sincerely,
Gary Freedman
I vaguely recall that the DOJ investigation did not disclose any wrongdoing by Akin Gump.
ReplyDeleteU.S. Department of Justice
ReplyDeleteAntitrust Division
GK:JBJ
60-0
December 15, 1993
Gary Freedman
3801 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Apt. 136
Washington, D.C. 20008
Re: Information concerning two law firms
Dear Mr. Freedman:
Your recent letter to Anne Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division, has been referred to me for response. In your letter, you state that the attorney manager of Akin, Gump Strauss, Hauer & Feld filed fabricated evidence with the District of Columbia Department of Human Rights in connections with the investigation of an unlawful termination matter. You also state that Akin, Gump was engaged in merger negotiations with Weil, Gotshal & Manges in 1989, suggesting a possible cooperative relationship between those two firms. This information, you state, is of "possible ancillary importance" to an antitrust investigation of Dallas law firms' salary practices.
We appreciate you forwarding this information. These facts do not appear to be relevant to any ongoing investigation by the Antitrust Division, nor do they raise antitrust concerns on their own. Thank you, however, for your efforts and for your interest in the antitrust law.
Sincerely,
Jon B. Jacobs
Attorney