Why did Winston & Strawn reportedly extend offers to most of Howrey’s remaining partners instead of simply completing a formal merger? One thing complicating consideration of any such union is a multidistrict litigation related to the dairy industry in which the firms are involved on opposite sides.
The case, which sees Howrey serving as lead counsel to 4,000 dairy farm plaintiffs and Winston on the defense side for an industry trade group called the Southern Marketing Agency, is part of a series of similar civil suits filed around the country over alleged price-fixing and illegal monopolization and monopsonization–controlling the market at the buyer, rather than seller level–in the milk industry.
