Kate E. Gehl

Kate Gehl is an antitrust and competition lawyer who provides strategic counsel to clients in the areas of antitrust litigation and investigations, including civil and criminal enforcement. With a reputation for practical advice, Kate routinely counsels clients across numerous industries on business matters related to antitrust and competition.

Kate primarily works with companies in the technology, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, and health care sectors. Kate is a seasoned litigator with over a decade of experience handling high-stakes cases. She listens to her clients’ needs and obtains a full understanding of their business, which provides results. Kate’s time as a former federal judicial clerk also makes her uniquely qualified to provide insightful strategic advice on litigation strategy, with an inside perspective.

In addition to her antitrust investigation and litigation practice, Kate regularly provides antitrust guidance related to intellectual property licensing, including licensing practices related to standard essential patents and patent pools, participation in trade associations, industry organizations and standard setting organizations, product distribution and supply chain logistics, e-commerce, joint ventures and commercial agreements, collaborations with competitors, and general antitrust compliance. Kate has particular experience litigating antitrust issues that arise in the context of patent infringement litigation or other disputes involving intellectual property.

Parallel to her antitrust litigation practice, Kate maintains a practice representing businesses in complex commercial litigation. She has significant experience in complex electronic discovery and has worked with experts to develop reports and testimony, and she has written briefs and motions at all stages of litigation in federal and state courts across the country.

Education

• University of Minnesota Law School (J.D., magna cum laude)
• The University of Wisconsin – Madison (B.A., with distinction)

Publications

Kate regularly publishes and speaks on antitrust and compliance issues. The following represents a sampling of her work:

• Co-presenter, “Fundamentals of Antitrust” for the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Summer Series (June 14, 2022)
• Author, “USPTO, NIST, and DOJ Antitrust Division Withdraw SEP Injunction Policy Statement,” Innovative Technology Insights (June 14, 2022)
• Author, “Biden’s DOJ Signals Return to Pre-Trump Administration Standard Essential Patent Policies,” Foley Insights (October 12, 2021)
• Co-author, “Legal Implications of Blockchain in Supply Chain Series: What’s Law Got to Do With It?” Blockchain in Supply Chain Blog (October 7, 2021)
• Co-author, “A Divided FTC Approves Omnibus Resolutions to Step Up Enforcement Actions and Votes to Withdraw the 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines,” Foley Insights (September 24, 2021)
• Co-author, “President Biden’s Executive Order on Competition Could Mean Broad Changes Across a Range of Industries,” Foley Insights (July 14, 2021)
• Co-author, “Biden’s Executive Order on Competition Could Spell Changes for the Pharmaceutical Industry,” PharmaPatents Blog (July 6, 2021)
• Co-presenter, “Fundamentals – Intellectual Property,” for the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Virtual Spring Meeting (May 11, 2020)
• Co-presenter, “Antitrust Update” for the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Corporate Counseling Committee (February 24, 2020)
• Co-presenter, “Ripped from the Headlines – Antitrust News You Can Use” (December 14, 2020)
• Co-presenter, “Antitrust Counseling for Trade Associations,” (December 9, 2020)
• Co-author, “DOJ and USPTO Revise 2013 Policy Statement on Remedies for Standard Essential Patents,” Foley Insights (March 31, 2020)
• Co-presenter, ““What Every Lawyer Should Know About the Intersection of Antitrust and Intellectual Property Rights” (December 10, 2019)
• Co-Author, “DOJ and FTC Signal Shifts in Antitrust Enforcement of Essential Patent Disputes,” Foley Insights (October 10, 2018)
• Co-Author, “DOJ and FTC issue Updated Antitrust Guidelines on the Licensing of Intellectual Property,” Foley Insights (January 20, 2017)
• Editor, “Indirect Purchaser Litigation Handbook,” ABA Publications (2015)
• Co-author, State Antitrust Practice and Statutes, Fifth Edition (Wisconsin Law Chapter), ABA Publications (2014) 
• Presenter, Annual Law of Product Distribution & Franchise Seminars (various antitrust topics)

Recognition

• Wisconsin Super Lawyers – Rising Stars® list (2019)

Admissions

• Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
• United States Court of Appeals for the Third, Seventh and Eighth Circuits

Professional Memberships

• Current vice chair of the ABA Antitrust Law Section Intellectual Property Committee; actively involved in local bar activities in the State of Wisconsin, the Eastern District of Milwaukee and the Seventh Circuit.

Community Engagment

• Pro bono representation through the Milwaukee Justice Center and with the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association’s Federal Legal Assistance Program.
• Pro bono efforts assisting those who seek vacatur relief for crimes committed as a result of their exploitation as human trafficking victims.