Robert K. Magovern

Member

: Washington, D.C.
1200 19th Street, NW
3rd Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036
P: (202) 463-2539
TF: (800) 540-1355
F: (202) 912-4830

Robert K. Magovern

Robert's practice focuses on counseling U.S. and foreign companies and trade associations on a variety of domestic and international antitrust and trade regulation issues. Robert regularly represents clients before federal agencies in Washington, D.C., as well as foreign governments and international organizations.

Robert advises clients on a wide range of antitrust and competition policy matters, with an emphasis on companies involved in joint ventures, teaming arrangements, and other cooperative activities. His counseling work includes providing advice to enterprises in multiple industries on issues relating to competitor communications, information sharing agreements, benchmarking activities, competitive pricing and distribution, bid rigging, refusals to deal, trade association compliance, and U.S. and international pre-merger clearance. Robert has developed corporate and association antitrust compliance programs, and has represented businesses involved in civil and criminal government antitrust investigations.

Robert has particular experience dealing with the unique intersection of the antitrust laws and global shipping regulations. In particular, he currently represents ocean common carriers, marine terminals, and their cooperative arrangements, including vessel sharing alliances, commercial discussion agreements, maritime labor agreements, and numerous other joint ventures before the Federal Maritime Commission and the Department of Justice. In this capacity, Robert has served as maritime and antitrust counsel on several cross-border transactions, handling pre-merger filings, competitive analyses, and confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements. Robert has successfully represented clients before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a multi-agency group with the statutory authority to review and block proposed US investments by non-US sources. Post transaction, he advises clients with regard to ongoing competitive communications, evaluating new initiatives from an antitrust and shipping regulatory perspective, and designing antitrust compliance policies and practices. For several years, Robert has worked closely and successfully with maritime clients and local trade organizations to educate foreign governments about how major trading nations structure global antitrust and competition laws for the maritime industry to promote competition, operational efficiency, and international consistency.

He has also assisted clients with security issues, including mitigation of foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI), and compliance with industrial security rules administered by the Defense Security Service. He also has experience in matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and U.S. economic sanctions regulations.

As part of his regulatory compliance practice, Robert also serves as counsel to Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies and its clients. In this capacity, he advises commercial and political entities on federal regulatory, administrative, and public procurement issues. He counsels companies on government and private contracting issues, including formation, interpretation, and disputes. He has represented clients in pursuing and defending bid protests, resolving disputes between prime contractors and subcontractors, and assisting clients with government contracts compliance work. He also has extensive experience in all phases of federal administrative practice, and has litigated multiple cases in federal court involving agency regulations and rulemakings under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Robert earned his undergraduate degree from Boston University in 2001 and his law degree from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in 2004.

Experience

Represented a marine terminal operator in an action against the Port of Oakland in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, whose decision against the immunity of the Port of Oakland permits marine terminal operators to pursue civil complaints at the Federal Maritime Commission.

Represented Pilot Air Freight Corp., a private air freight logistics, package forwarding, and delivery company, in connection with the sale of a controlling interest in the company to ATL Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corp. The transaction required a complex reorganization of Pilot and its subsidiaries and drew on the experience of the firm's corporate, employee benefits, real estate, intellectual property, tax, and aviation regulatory attorneys.

The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) sustained a protest brought by Cozen O'Connor challenging technical restrictions in a U.S. Forest Service solicitation for aerial firefighting services. The procurement, structured as a “call when needed” basic ordering agreement, restricted offers to aircraft with a maximum tank size of 5,000 gallons. The restriction would have disqualified Global SuperTanker’s converted 747 aircraft, which has a tank capacity of 19,200 gallons. In sustaining the protest, GAO adopted the arguments advanced by Cozen O’Connor that the tank size restriction was unduly restrictive, detrimental to competition, and was not reasonably necessary to meet the Forest Service’s needs to fight wildfires. In addition to awarding costs incurred in pursuit of the protest, GAO’s decision establishes a clear limit on agency discretion to impose technical restrictions in solicitations. Global SuperTanker Services, LLC, B-414987 et al., 2017 CPD ¶ 345 (Comp. Gen. Nov. 6, 2017).

News

Two Practice Areas and Eight Attorneys Named to the Legal 500 United States

June 19, 2017

The Legal 500 United States recommended Cozen O’Connor’s Shipping and Aviation practices and named Mark Atwood, Geoffrey Ferrer, Bruce Ficken, Mark Fink, David Heffernan, Jeffrey Lawrence, Robert Magovern, and Anne Mickey to its 2017 list.

11 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys Recognized as Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

May 15, 2017

Selection to Super Lawyers is based on peer nominations and evaluations are combined with independent research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Eleven Cozen O'Connor Attorneys Recognized as Washington, D.C., Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

April 27, 2015

Washington, D.C., April 27, 2015 – The 2015 Washington, D.C., edition of Super Lawyers Magazine, published by Thomson Reuters, has named 11 Cozen O’Connor attorneys to its annual list of Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.

Nine Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Recognized as Washington, D.C., Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

May 01, 2014

Washington, D.C., May 1, 2014 – The 2014 Washington, D.C., edition of Super Lawyers Magazine, published by Thomson Reuters, has named nine Cozen O’Connor attorneys to its list of Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.

Malaysian Block Exemption for Liner Shipping Agreements; Read the Fine Print to Ensure Compliance [Transportation & Logistics Newsletter]

August 13, 2014

Cooperative agreements among liner shipping companies have existed in most trades for more than 100 years. Most major trading nations in Asia and the Pacific Rim have recognized the importance of these agreements to both the shipping industry and national economies. To the extent that these countries have competition laws that could restrict such agreements, many have found after careful study that these agreements should be afforded an exemption from those competition laws for economic, public policy and international comity reasons.

Just in Time for the Big Game: FTC Super Bowl Advertising Decision Highlights Importance of Antitrust and Consumer Protection Compliance Programs [Antitrust Law Alert]

January 26, 2012

The hype surrounding Super Bowl advertisements has triggered government scrutiny. Just in time for the 2012 Super Bowl early next month, the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Division of Advertising Practices issued a closing letter involving Super Bowl advertising practices employed during the 2011 Super Bowl. The November 16, 2011 FTC opinion highlights why all companies should have internal antitrust and consumer protection compliance programs in place.

From the Experts: Super Bowl Ads Meet Corporate Compliance [Corporate Counsel]

January 24, 2012

Melissa Maxman, co-chair of Cozen O'Connor's Antitrust Practice Group, and Robert Magovern, a member of the Business Law Department, discuss the Federal Trade Commission's Super Bowl Advertising decision, examining practices from 2011's big game, and highlights the importance of antitrust and consumer protection compliance programs.

Fall 2011 [Business Law Observer]

October 01, 2011

Fall 2011 - Business Law Observer - We welcome your inquiries on these topics and any other questions you may have, and trust that we can provide you with the counsel you need to steer clear of the impediments to successfully running your business.

Bid Rigging In The Crosshairs [Construction Today]

April 01, 2011

Bid Rigging In The Crosshairs - Construction Today -

State of Connecticut and Guy Carpenter Settle Landmark Antitrust Case for $4.25M: What's Next for the Reinsurance Industry? [Antitrust Alert!]

February 25, 2011

On January 31, 2011, one of the world’s largest reinsurance brokers, Guy Carpenter & Co. LLC, and its former affiliated reinsurer agreed to pay $4.25 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the Connecticut attorney general alleging these companies engaged in a series of conspiracies to create closed reinsurance markets and drive up reinsurance costs. This settlement, which concludes an investigation and landmark litigation that spanned more than three years,