Vanessa G. Jacobsen is the Managing Partner of Eimer Stahl LLP’s Chicago office and co-chairs the firm’s Antitrust Group. Vanessa has experience in a wide variety of antitrust litigation, investigation, compliance, and counseling matters. She has prosecuted and defended antitrust, competition and unfair trade practice claims, including complaints regarding exclusionary business practices. She also has represented clients in antitrust investigations by the United States Department of Justice. Vanessa has developed and implemented robust compliance programs, including forensic audits, risk assessments, policy drafting, and employee training, covering a wide range of antitrust and competition issues – e.g., price fixing, competitor collaboration and information exchange, market intelligence practices, MSRP and other RPM policies, product allocation, price gauging and Robinson-Patman violations.

Vanessa has been recognized by several prominent publications for antitrust litigation, including Chambers USA, Leading Lawyers, Best Lawyers, and Super Lawyers. She also was named one of Chicago’s Notable Women Lawyers by Crain’s Chicago Business. Vanessa served as a member of Competition Law360’s Editorial Advisory Board and was appointed to serve on the Antitrust Subcommittee of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. She also is a member of the Antitrust and Litigation sections and the Business Torts Litigation and Class Action committees of the American Bar Association. Vanessa regularly speaks on the topics of antitrust law, contracts, and data and e-discovery issues.

Experience

Case Experience

  • Pro Music Rights, LLC v. Apple Inc., et al., U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, No. 3:20-cv-00309: Successfully defended Apple Inc. against antitrust and unfair trade practices lawsuit alleging conspiracy to exclude performance rights organization from market for musical works licensing.

  • In re Crop Inputs Antitrust Litig., U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, MDL No. 2993: Defending antitrust class action alleging conspiracy to block electronic stales platforms from Crop Inputs market.
  • In re Interior Molded Doors Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Nos. 3:18-cv-00718 and 00850: Direct and indirect purchaser class action antitrust lawsuits against manufacturers of interior molded doors.
  • Jones v. Micron Technology, Inc., et al.U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, 4:18-cv-02518 (and related cases): Direct and indirect purchaser class action antitrust lawsuits against manufacturers of dynamic random access memory (DRAM).
  • Frost v. LG Corporation, et al., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, 5:16-cv-05206: Class action antitrust lawsuit involving anti-poaching agreement allegations.
  • In re Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, MDL 2420: Direct and indirect class and direct action antitrust lawsuits against manufacturers of lithium ion battery cells and related products.
  • In re Optical Disk Drive Products Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, MDL 2143: Direct and indirect class and direct action antitrust lawsuits against manufacturers of optical disk drives and related products.
  • In re Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, MDL 2002: Direct and indirect class and direct action antitrust and unfair competition lawsuits relating to the egg industry.
  • Kleen Products LLC, et al. v. International Paper Company, et al., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Case No. 1:10-cv-05711: Class action lawsuit against containerboard manufacturers.

Recognitions

Honors & Recognitions

Chambers USA

  • Antitrust - Illinois
  • “Vanessa Jacobsen frequently acts in a range of complex antitrust lawsuits, often with an international dimension. She represents technology companies, food producers and manufacturers against claims of conspiracy, monopolization and price-fixing. One client says: ‘She is exceptionally bright, but her biggest asset is being able to talk through complicated issues with the business. She has a keen ability to connect with all levels of the organization, from new hires to the senior executives.'"

Best Lawyers

  • Litigation - Antitrust

Leading Lawyers

  • Antitrust Law
  • Commercial Litigation

Lawdragon

  • 500 Leading Litigators in America

Super Lawyers

  • Antitrust Litigation

International Advisory Experts

  • 2022 Antitrust Law Award – Illinois

Crain's

  • Chicago's Notable Women Lawyers 2018

Martindale-Hubbell®

  • AV® Preeminent™

News

Speaking Engagements

  • International Arbitration 101
    May 25, 2023
  • What In-House Lawyers Need to Know About the Federal Trade Commission's Current Initiatives, Ranging From a Non-Compete Ban to Merger Enforcement Practices
    Chicago, IL, May 19, 2023
  • The Future of Non-Compete Agreements and Ways to Adapt
    April 26, 2023
  • You Have Been Threatened with a Product Defect Case, Now What?
    Seoul, South Korea, September 2022
  • Big Tech & Beyond: Antitrust in the Biden Era
    June 10, 2021
  • Effective Legal Writing and Recent Supreme Court Decisions
    Seoul, South Korea, October 4, 2018
  • Preparing Witnesses for Deposition
    Seoul, South Korea, October 4, 2018
  • U.S. Data Preservation Issues
    April 17, 2018
  • Navigating Commercial Terms under US Law
    Seoul, South Korea, September 26, 2017
  • Information Sharing and Private Antitrust Class Actions
    Hsinchu and Taipei, Taiwan, September 21-22, 2017
  • Illinois, December 15, 2016
  • Antitrust Red Flags, Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo, and Enforcing Arbitration Clauses
    May 11, 2016
  • Developing Relationships Inside Your Firm or Organization
    ABA, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, webinar, February 3, 2016
  • Antitrust Update
    01.27.2016
  • Identifying and Mitigating Antitrust "Red Flags" in Business Transactions
    The Knowledge Group, webinar, December 1, 2015
  • Supreme Court Update
    Chicago, Illinois, 09.25.2015
  • Class Action Supreme Court Update
    Seoul, South Korea, 07.10.2013
  • Recent Developments in Discovery
    Seoul, South Korea, 07.10.2013
  • Commercial Issues Roundtable:  Commercial Contract Provisions
    01.13.2011
  • Electronic Discovery Update: Preservation and Process
    01.27.2010
  • Antitrust Update:  The New Administration and Recent Developments in the Law
    12.15.2009
  • Electronically Stored Information:  Discovery Under the Federal Rules
    01.10.2008

What Clients Say

What Clients Say

  • "Ms. Jacobsen is able to reduce complex issues to their essentials. She has exceptional abilities to draft lucid and persuasive pleadings and remains very calm under pressure. She is unfailingly courteous and a pleasure to deal with. She is a valuable resource for in-house corporate counsel."
  • "Vanessa is a fantastic litigator and a tremendous writer. She took the lead for us in "bet-the-company" litigation and delivered the results that we desperately needed."

J.D., DePaul University College of Law, 1997

  • with honors
  • Order of the Coif
  • Editor, DePaul Law Review

B.A., Valparaiso University, 1994

  • magna cum laude

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • Illinois Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
Jump to Page

By using this site, you agree to our updated Terms of Use.