Joshua Lipton is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He maintains a broad-based antitrust and consumer protection practice, including litigation in state and federal courts, merger and acquisition investigations, civil and criminal antitrust and consumer protection investigations by government authorities, and antitrust counseling.
Josh has been listed as a leading antitrust lawyer in a number of publications, including Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Practical Law Company’s Competition: The Law and Leading Lawyers Worldwide, and Super Lawyers in its Antitrust Litigation and Mergers & Acquisitions categories. Lawdragon named him to its 500 Leading Litigators in America (2023-2025), featuring “attorneys who excel representing principally corporations and other organizations in litigating claims." He was recognized by Who’s Who Legal Competition in 2023 and 2024, and has also been ranked as a “Client Service All-Star” by BTI Consulting.
Josh’s representative matters include:
- FTC v. Novant and Community Health Systems (W.D.N.C. 2024). Member of trial team representing CHS that secured district court order rejecting the FTC’s attempt to enjoin Novant’s acquisition of two suburban Charlotte hospitals from CHS.
- ExxonMobil / Pioneer Natural Resources (2024). Represented Pioneer in securing FTC clearance for ExxonMobil’s $64.5 billion acquisiton of Pioneer, which created the largest oil and gas producer in the Permian Basin.
- OJ Commerce, LLC v. KidKraft, Inc. (S.D. Fla., 11th Cir. 2022). Led the team that secured summary judgment on behalf of KidKraft and MidOcean Partners, and a unanimous affirmance by the Eleventh Circuit, on monopolization and unfair competition claims brought by a disgruntled former distributor.
- Maderazo v. Baptist Health Systems et al. (W.D. Tex. 2019). Defended Tenet Healthcare in class action alleging that three hospital systems in San Antonio conspired to suppress nurses’ wages. The court excluded the opinions of the plaintiffs’ class certification expert relating to antitrust impact and denied the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification.
- Tronox / Cristal (FTC 2019). Represented Tronox in securing FTC clearance for Tronox’s acquisition of Cristal, a rival manufacturer or Titanium Dioxide. Negotiated a merger remedy that resolved competition concerns in the U.S., prompting the FTC to lift an injunction and clear the transaction to close on a global basis.
- AT&T / Time Warner (D.D.C. 2018). Member of the trial team that defeated the DOJ’s challenge to AT&T’s $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner.
- In re: Aetna UCR Litigation (D.N.J. 2018). Defended Aetna in a multidistrict class action asserting claims under antitrust, RICO, ERISA, and state consumer protection laws based on allegations that Aetna systematically underpaid benefits for visits to out-of-network providers by using a supposedly rigged database of provider charges. In 2018, the court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. Shortly afterward, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their claims with prejudice.
- Marriott / Starwood. Lead global antitrust counsel for Marriott International in its $13.8 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which is the largest transaction in the history of the hotel industry. Secured unconditional clearance from authorities representing 44 countries on five continents.
- Leegin Creative Leather Prods., Inc. v. PSKS, Inc., 551 U.S. 877 (2007). Authored the briefs to the Supreme Court on behalf of Leegin in this landmark case in which the Supreme Court overturned the century-old per se rule against resale price maintenance.
Josh received his law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan School of Law in 1998, where he graduated first in his class and was a member of the Michigan Law Review. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Amherst College in 1994. Josh is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.
Capabilities
- Antitrust and Competition
- Betting and Gaming
- Class Actions
- Fashion, Retail, and Consumer Products
- Life Sciences
- Trials
Credentials
Education:
- University of Michigan - 1998 Juris Doctor
- Amherst College - 1994 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- District of Columbia Bar