Sarah R. LaFreniere
Partner
I hold a Bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from McMaster University, where I graduated summa cum laude. My legal education includes J.D. degrees from both American University Washington College of Law (summa cum laude) and the University of Ottawa. My practice focuses on antitrust litigation.
Site I Frequent
NYTimes.com
Favorite Sports
Hockey, Skiing
Perfect Vacation
Backcountry Ski Trip
Favorite Animal
Giant Sea Turtle
Curriculum Vitae
SARAH LaFRENIERE is a Partner at Edelson PC and a member of the firm’s antitrust team.
Sarah specializes in cartel prosecution and complex price-fixing litigation. Her practice extends to advocating for small businesses facing unilateral conduct claims, where she helps companies challenge exclusionary tying arrangements, restrictive exclusive dealing contracts, and other anticompetitive exercises of monopoly power.
Before joining Edelson PC, Sarah served as a Partner at an international claimants’ litigation firm, representing diverse clients including technology startups, non-profit organizations, financial institutions, and consumers. Sarah clerked for Judge Victor J. Wolski at the United States Court of Federal Claims.
- PHHHOTO Inc., v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (F/K/A Facebook, Inc.), 1:21-cv-06159 (E.D.N.Y.) – Sarah represented PHHHOTO Inc., an upstart photo app that alleges Facebook engaged in an anticompetitive course of conduct to force PHHHOTO out of business.
- In re Diisocyanates Antitrust Litigation, 2:18-mc-1001 (W.D. Pa.) – Sarah represented a class of manufacturers in claims against major industrial suppliers for conspiring to artificially inflate prices of the chemicals methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and toluene diisocyanate (TDI).
- In re Foreign Exchange Benchmarks Rates Antitrust Litigation, 1:13-cv-07789 (S.D.N.Y.) – Sarah represented market participants in the foreign exchange market against international banks alleged to have fixed the price of foreign exchange instruments.
- 2301 M Cinema LLC d/b/a West End Cinema et al v. Silver Cinemas Acquisition Co. et al., 1:17-cv-01990 (D.D.C.) – Sarah represented art house cinemas in a successful settlement against a nationwide theater chain for monopolizing the market for specialty films.
- Commonwealth of Virginia, ex. rel. Joshua Harman, v. Trinity Industries, Inc.,et al., CL13000698-00 (Va. Cir. Ct.) – Sarah represented a whistleblower who brought claims on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia alleging fraudulent sales of guardrail end terminals in violation of the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act.
- VW “Clean Diesel” Litigation – Sarah represented European consumers seeking damages from Volkswagen AG in relation to that company’s massive “clean-diesel” fraud. Sarah had been at the forefront of litigation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782, obtaining evidence through U.S. discovery mechanisms European consumers to use in their litigation abroad.
- National Law Journal: Rising Star, Elite Trial Lawyers, 2022
- Best Lawyers: One to Watch, Antitrust Law, Litigation – Antitrust, 2020–present
- Super Lawyers: Rising Star, Washington DC, 2020–present
- Law 360: Rising Star, Competition Law, 2019
- American Antitrust Institute: Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement by a Young Lawyer, 2018
- Recipient of the Mussey Prize for the Highest Scholastic Average in the Final Year of Study by the American University Washington College of Law
- “Under the Umbrella: Antitrust Damages,” ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting, March 2023
- “Current Developments in Class Actions,” The Knowledge Group, May 2023
- “Ephemeral Messaging: Addressing eDiscovery Risks in Civil Litigation,” Innovative Driven, May 2022
- “JeopTARdy!,” ABA National Institute on Class Actions, April 2022
- “Anatomy of an Antitrust Case: Class Certification,” ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Civil Practice and Procedure Committee, May 2022
- “Discovery Nuts and Bolts Series,” ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Civil Practice and Procedure Committee, June 2021
- “Private Antitrust Enforcement/Damages Claims Globally,” June 2020
- “The State of Leniency,” GCR Live 4th Annual Cartel Conference, March 2019
- “Seventh Circuit Reminds Practitioners, Article III Standing and Antitrust Standing are Distinct,” Lexology, May 20, 2022
- “Personal Jurisdiction in Federal Class Actions: Three New Rulings but Little Clarity,” Lexology, May 20, 2020
- “What the Canadian Air Cargo Decision May Mean for Possible U.S. Claimants,” Lexology, Mar. 5, 2019
- “Inconsistent Case Law on 28 U.S.C. § 1782 Continues to Confuse Litigants and District Courts,” Lexology, Nov. 28, 2018
- “The Volkswagen Scandal: Catalyst For Class Action Change?,” Law360, Feb. 27, 2018
- “Two Years After Campbell-Ewald, Defendants Face Uphill Battle “Picking Off” Named Plaintiffs,” Lexology, Feb. 21, 2018
- “Product hopping by a pharmaceutical company “likely” violated the antitrust laws,” Lexology, Oct. 13, 2015
- Washington
- New York
- District of Columbia
- Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, Second Circuit
- Eastern District of Michigan