Jeremy Heep is a partner in the Philadelphia office of Pepper Hamilton LLP. He is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.
Mr. Heep’s practice covers the full range of commercial litigation, with particular emphasis on antitrust and international matters. His record is one of winning cases for his clients. He recently has spent seven weeks in court successfully trying high profile, high stakes cases. He tried to a jury over five weeks a Sherman Act claim in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging nearly $100 million in damages and fees, and he tried to the court over two weeks a breach of contract class action in Arapaho County, Colorado, alleging nearly $1 billion in damages. Mr. Heep has been described in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as "impressive trial counsel."
Mr. Heep’s practice also includes providing advice on antitrust issues, including pricing and distribution. He has been described in The Legal 500 as a “respected practitioner” who provides “thoughtful and thorough analysis of legal issues.”
The following are representative engagements in which Mr. Heep has participated:
- 2010 full defense verdict in multi-week bench trial in class action in Arapaho County, Colorado alleging nearly $1 billion in damages in alleged breach of contract case – Advantek Pro, Inc. v. ADT Services, Inc., No. 04-CV-587
- representation of the plaintiff corporation in a Sherman Act Section 2 monopolization claim in which the jury awarded $65 million (after trebling) – LePage’s Inc. v. 3M Co., 324 F.3d 141(3d Cir. 2003) (en banc)
- 2009 full defense verdict following five-week jury trial for a major truck manufacturer in claims alleging price fixing and other violations of the Sherman Act, Toledo Mack v. Mack Trucks, Inc., No. 02-CV-04373 (E.D. Pa.)
- 2009 dismissal on summary judgment of 12 of 14 counts asserted against a national telemarketing company, including Lanham Act, false advertising, and breach of contract, followed by eve of trial dismissal as a matter of law of remaining two counts, resulting in dismissal of entire case; Medallion Products v. McAlister, N.D. Ill., No. 06-2597
- 2006 full defense verdict following four-week jury trial for a major truck manufacturer in claims alleging violations of the Robinson-Patman Act, the Sherman Act and state laws, and awarded $11.3 million on counterclaims, later reduced to $1.6 million – Toledo Mack v. Mack Trucks, Inc., No. 02-CV-04373 (E.D. Pa.) (Sherman Act claims retried in 2009)
- successful termination of independent truck dealership following 2004 two-week bench trial for misappropriation of trade secrets – Mack Trucks, Inc. v. Motor Vehicle Dealers Board, 05AP-768 (Ct. App. Ohio)
- a major international yeast manufacturer’s acquisition of a competitor’s business in the United States – successful negotiation with regulatory authorities on merger clearance
- representation of a high-end sports apparel manufacturer in the creation and implementation of a national distribution policy and related litigation
- design and implementation of a three-day antitrust training program for a multinational manufacturer based in France with operations in 60 countries, that included strategies for avoiding allegations of price fixing and other antitrust violations
- representation of a French-based multinational company in a dispute over joint venture operations in India
- representation of international chemical manufacturer in a price-fixing class action
- successful negotiation with criminal authorities in connection with a mail fraud investigation for the alleged doctoring of laboratory records, resulting in decision not to prosecute
- the defense of a high-tech company’s officers and directors in a 10b-5 class action claim – partial grant of motion to dismiss – In re U.S. Interactive, Inc. Securities Litig., 2002 WL 1971252 (E.D.Pa. 2002).
Mr. Heep is the co-chair of the Mexican-American Bar Association’s antitrust committee, the co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s International Law Committee, and a board member of the French-American Chamber of Commerce (Philadelphia Chapter). He also serves as the secretary for Philadelphia’s Juvenile Justice Alliance.
Before joining Pepper, Mr. Heep was a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where he argued and briefed a number of cases in the Third, Sixth and Ninth Circuits. Representative successes included:
- Centerior Service Company v. Acme Scrap Iron & Metal Corp., 153 F.3d 344 (6th Cir. 1998)
- The Pinal Creek Group v. Newmont Mining Corp., 118 F.3d 1298 (9th Cir. 1997).
While at DOJ, he headed a negotiating team for one year in the U.S. Senate on Endangered Species Act legislation, counseled client agencies on the impact of new legislation and helped the department to develop positions on new legislation.
After leaving DOJ, Mr. Heep spent two and a half years in central Africa, managing a technical assistance program and providing expert advice on constitutional and electoral law reform as the director of the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) program in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mr. Heep also has served in the U.S. Peace Corps, as a high school teacher and environmental education volunteer, as a spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program and as an elections supervisor in Bosnia.
He has written a number of articles on democratic reform, corporate officer responsibility and the impact of legislation on the economy.
Mr. Heep is fluent in French.
