About Us

The firm’s principal attorney is William Markham. He is supported by his lead paralegal assistant, Laura Avila, who has worked with him since 2007. When appropriate, he is also supported by a second paralegal assistant, Ana Ruiz, who has worked with him since 2011. In larger cases, we can associate with other first-rate attorneys whose work we trust, and we have excellent, longstanding relationships with various providers of legal services. We thus have a lean, efficient operation, which permits us to offer alternative fee-arrangements and charge reasonable rates for superior legal services.

Mr. Markham earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1987. For the past thirty-seven years, he has litigated, tried, and appealed antitrust claims, business claims, and real estate claims in California. He has also provided antitrust counseling to several global firms and other law firms. In 1994, he taught a course in constitutional law at Lincoln Law School and has invoked core constitutional principles in several of his cases. He also taught a course in legal writing at UC-San Francisco Law School in 1990.

Mr. Markham received his initial training as an antitrust litigator at a leading global law firm (Coudert Brothers LLP), then established his own firm in 1990 so that he could learn to try cases at an early stage of his career. He tried many smaller matters as a young lawyer, eventually tried several substantial cases, and thus became a highly successful, accomplished trial lawyer. During the past fifteen years, he has also made and opposed several appeals and become a highly proficient appellate litigator.

Mr. Markham’s early experience trying cases in court transformed the way he litigates all of his cases. In each case, he tries to conceive of the possible claims or defenses that he might urge in favor of his client (which is what all business litigators do). He also makes a conscious effort to anticipate the closing argument that he can eventually make in support of his best claims or defenses at the conclusion of a full trial (which is what trial lawyers do). He organizes all work in each case with this overriding purpose in mind.[1]At a minimum, a closing argument must demonstrate how evidence admitted during trial establishes each required “element” of the plaintiff’s claims and also refutes any materially … Continue reading

For the past twenty years, Mr. Markham has limited his practice to his core areas of expertise, which are antitrust matters, complex business litigation, and certain kinds of real estate disputes. He has also preserved a strong proficiency in constitutional law, which he taught at Lincoln Law School in 1994.

Mr. Markham’s antitrust cases have included the following work:

Lead Attorney in Major Antitrust Competitor Suits. Mr. Markham has been the lead attorney for various substantial businesses that brought competitor suits against larger rivals, obtaining highly successful outcomes in several nationally important antitrust cases in which our firm was opposed by some of the best global law firms in the world.[2]In a competitor suit, a seller contends that a rival seller has employed predatory or exclusionary business practices against it in furtherance of a larger effort to restrain or monopolize an entire … Continue reading

Lead Attorney for Targets and Subjects of Criminal Antitrust Investigations. Mr. Markham has represented various companies and individuals in criminal antitrust investigations and prosecutions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, obtaining an outright exoneration of a large manufacturer of polypropylene products, antitrust amnesty for a maritime shipper, and lenient terms for an individual defendant in a bid-rigging case.

Antitrust Advisor to Global Firms, Start-Ups, and Others. Mr. Markham has provided antitrust counseling to the world’s largest manufacturer of LED products (Nichia Corporation), a global automobile manufacturer (Isuzu Motors), a global manufacturer of pulse oximetry equipment (Masimo Corporation), many other substantial companies, and other law firms.

Lead Attorney in Business Litigations and Real Estate Litigations. Mr. Markham has represented a wide variety of businesses and individuals in various kinds of business and real-estate litigation. He relishes the work and continues to accept these kinds of cases from time to time even as he has developed his antitrust practice.

We Can Organize Large Teams for Big Cases. For larger matters, we can associate on short notice with other highly qualified attorneys who are well-known to us. We have successfully done so on past occasion in major antitrust litigations and government investigations.

Innovative Billing Arrangements and Affordable Fees. By using flexible staffing and outside service-providers whose work we trust, we can litigate complex cases against leading global law firms and respond to full-fledged government investigations and prosecutions. We perform our work at the highest degree of proficiency while offering reasonable rates and alternative fee arrangements made possible by our flexible cost structure.

Our clients have included publicly held corporations (including global firms), private companies (large and small), start-ups, joint ventures, government entities, officers and directors, partners, investors, lenders, prominent individuals, and other individuals who have suffered harm from legal wrongs.

Our Dedication to Each Case That We Accept. Above all, we are dedicated to our work and professional excellence. We treat each matter as a unique challenge and always strive to obtain the best possible results for our clients in their most challenging and important legal matters.

On this site you will find Mr. Markham’s articles on the law and trial practice (some of which haver also been published in leading publications), as well as more specific information about our practice areas, methods, trial victories, large settlements, and successful outcomes in antitrust cases.

We welcome your inquiry and hope that we can assist you in your matter or refer you to another law firm that can do so.