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Peter Leckman
Peter Leckman

Education

  • University of California, Berkeley School of Law, J.D., Order of the Coif, 2004
  • Wesleyan University, Phi Beta Kappa, 1999

Admissions

  • California
  • Pennsylvania
  • District of Columbia (inactive)
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of California
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of California
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
  • United States District Court for the Central District of California
  • United States District Court for the District of Colorado

Peter Leckman, a partner at the firm, is an experienced antitrust and consumer protection class action attorney. He is a leading specialist in the civil use of the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act to hold accountable institutions that commit or enable fraud.

His antitrust work has recently focused on the application of the antitrust laws to sports broadcasting. He is one of the principal attorneys representing consumers challenging the National Football League’s restrictive broadcast practices. Previously, Peter represented consumers challenging the broadcasting practices of Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, which resulted in settlements providing hundreds of millions of dollars in savings to consumers, as well as important changes to sports broadcasting markets. For this work, Peter (together with fellow partners Ned Diver and Howard Langer) received the American Antitrust Institute’s “Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice” award.

In addition to his work at the firm, Peter is an elected member of the American Law Institute and a member of the adjunct faculty of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he teaches antitrust and racketeering law. Peter also serves on the Public Interest Law Center’s Board of Directors.

Before joining the firm, Peter worked as an attorney at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP and Altshuler Berzon LLP in San Francisco, California. In 2005, Peter clerked for the Honorable Diane P. Wood of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Representative Cases

    • National Football League’s Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation, 933 F.3d 1136, 1146 (9th Cir. 2019), alleging that the NFL’s broadcast practices violate the nation’s antitrust laws by raising the prices that consumers must pay to access games outside the few aired in that consumer’s local market.
    • Laumann v. Nat’l Hockey League, 105 F. Supp. 3d 384, 389 (S.D.N.Y. 2015), a pair of lawsuits alleging that the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball had each illegally divided their respective markets, increasing prices and limiting consumer access to professional baseball and hockey telecasts.
    • Fields v. City of Philadelphia, 862 F.3d 353 (3d Cir. 2017), confirming that the First Amendment right of access to information encompasses the right to record police officers conducting official police activity in public places.

Publications/Presentations

    • Recognizing and Handling Potential Conflicts of Interest in the Prosecution and Settlement of Employment Class Action Lawsuits, National Employment Lawyers Association (June 2010) (with Eve Cervantez)
    • Wage & Hour Laws, A State-by-State Survey, McGillivary, Ed., Montana & Idaho chapters, 2008-2010
    • “Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.: Discovery Rule May Limit Impact,” Labor & Employment Bulletin, Vol. 2007, No. 7 (July 2007)
    • “Dagher: An Admirable Exercise in Restraint,” Competition: The Journal of Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Fall/Winter 2006) (with Joshua P. Davis and Joseph R. Saveri)
    • “Holding Customers Who Assist Securities Fraud Accountable Under State Law,” Securities Litig. Rep., Vol. 3, No. 5 (May 2006) (with James M. Finberg)
    • “Assessing Open-Market Damages in California and Federal Court,” Securities Litig. Rep., Vol. 3, No. 2 (with Daniel Reid)

Awards/Memberships

    • Adjunct Teaching Award, University of Pennsylvania Law School
    • Member, American Law Institute
    • Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement Award 2016, American Antitrust Institute
    • Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers, 2017-present
    • Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2012-2016
    • American Inns of Court, 2013-2015
    • Harry S. Truman Fellow
    • Eagle Scout

Public Interest

Peter has an active pro bono practice focusing on election law and civil rights. He routinely co-counsels with the American Civil Liberties Union and other local non-profits. He partnered with the ACLU of Philadelphia and other local firms in a series of lawsuits that confirmed the First Amendment right to film police conduct. Peter also has an active interest in the Middle East, having spent several years living in the region and working to improve children’s rights and welfare.