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Joshua Hafenbrack

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  • ph: 202.367.7820
  • fx: 202.326.7999
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Joshua Hafenbrack represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex civil litigation and antitrust cases.

Before rejoining Kellogg Hansen in 2024, Mr. Hafenbrack was Senior Litigation Counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. In that role, Mr. Hafenbrack served as a member of the litigation and trial team in the United States vs. Google search monopolization case. United States v. Google, 1:20-cv-03010 (D.D.C.). He examined and cross-examined key expert and fact witnesses and argued evidentiary and other motions. While at the DOJ, Mr. Hafenbrack also helped lead merger and conduct antitrust investigations in a variety of industries, including the sports and media industries.

Before joining the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, Mr. Hafenbrack was an associate at Kellogg Hansen, where he focused on complex commercial and antitrust litigation. Mr. Hafenbrack helped build and litigate the antitrust conspiracy case against the two leading providers of auto dealer software management systems. In re Dealer Mgmt. Sys. Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 2817 (N.D. Ill).

Mr. Hafenbrack clerked for the Judge M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where he graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the George P. Mickum III Prize for the highest first-year GPA. Before law school, Mr. Hafenbrack was a newspaper journalist, covering politics and public affairs in Florida and West Virginia.

Noteworthy Representations

  • Represented the United States in the United States v. Google Section 2 monopolization case, which culminated in a ten-week trial in fall 2023. United States v. Google, 1:20-cv-03010 (D.D.C.).
  • Represented the plaintiffs in a major antitrust MDL against the two leading providers of dealer software management systems, CDK Global, LLC, and The Reynolds & Reynolds Company. In re Dealer Management Systems Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2817 (N.D. Ill.).
  • Represented the Arizona Automobile Dealers Association and the State of Arizona in successfully defending the constitutionality of a state law protecting auto dealers’ control over their data. Mr. Hafenbrack helped defend the law at a preliminary injunction hearing, where he cross-examined the key corporate witness, and on appeal in the Ninth Circuit. CDK Global v. Brnovich, 2019-cv-04849 (D. Ariz.).
  • Briefed and argued an appeal in the Ninth Circuit concerning a question of first impression in the prisoner civil rights context. The panel unanimously ruled for Mr. Hafenbrack’s client and ordered a new trial based on an improper jury instruction. Hoard v. Hartman, 904 F.3d 780.

Education

Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., summa cum laude, 2013

  • Senior Articles Editor and Senior Board, The Georgetown Law Journal
  • Order of the Coif

University of Charleston, B.A., cum laude, 2003

Clerkship

Law Clerk, Judge M. Margaret McKeown, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2014-2015

Government Service

Senior Litigation Counsel (previously Trial Attorney), United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division, 2020-2024


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