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Josh Mahoney

Partner

Overview

Josh Mahoney represents clients in high-stakes cases, including antitrust, class actions and a range of complex commercial disputes. His recent engagements include companies and individuals in health care, transportation, aviation, private equity, real estate, and food and agriculture. As part of his national trial and litigation practice, Josh also regularly advises clients on state and federal regulatory issues arising from state DOIs, federal insurance and health care laws, FAA Grant Assurances, and DOJ and FTC enforcement policies.

Josh brings great energy and dynamic skills to his practice. He takes pride in working with clients and case teams from the first day of engagement to develop winning case strategies. Josh and his teams have won significant victories in federal and state courts around the country in recent years, including at trial and on appeal.

Representative Antitrust Matters

  • Lead counsel for two university schools defending antitrust claims brought by college students against national private universities for alleged conspiracy involving financial aid determinations.
  • Co-lead counsel for national real estate brokerage company defending competitor lawsuit alleging group boycott and price fixing claims relating to multiple listing service (MLS) sites.
  • Co-lead counsel for eight affiliated dental health insurance plans in pending consolidated class actions brought by dental providers across the country challenging certain business practices and agreements as anticompetitive under the Sherman Antitrust Act.
  • Co-lead counsel for national real estate brokerage company and related affiliates in multiple pending large-scale antitrust actions involving rules promulgated by the National Association of Realtors.
  • Counsel for pork-processing company in antitrust action alleging anticompetitive conspiracy among pork producers to reduce nationwide pork supplies.
  • Counsel for national construction company in parallel criminal and civil proceedings brought by federal, state and local authorities stemming from allegations of improprieties related to a large-scale public construction project. Matter settled favorably while avoiding litigation or disbarment proceedings.
  • Counsel for national auto insurer in multidistrict litigation proceedings involving lawsuits brought by autobody repair shops accusing insurers of conspiring to suppress reimbursement rates for collision repairs. Obtained favorable dismissal of bellwether claims in the MDL, which was affirmed on appeal by the Eleventh Circuit in en banc proceedings.

Representative Commercial & State Dispute Matters

  • Lead counsel for financial services company as plaintiff in lawsuit against former wealth advisory and company for alleged breaches of nonsolicitation agreement and tortious interference.
  • Lead counsel for property manager defending pending fair housing class action claims in federal court based on alleged voucher benefit discrimination.
  • Co-lead counsel for quasi-public entity providing commuter rail service in Illinois state court lawsuit suing property manager for breach of contract.
  • Co-lead counsel for national health care provider in invasion-of-privacy and hostile work environment claims brought by putative class of current and former employees of client clinic. Obtained favorable settlement after winning denial of class certification.
  • Counsel for global pharmaceutical company in trade secret misappropriation case involving allegations of theft of commercial information. Won complete defense verdict on all claims at summary judgment.
  • Counsel for publicly traded major chemical company in dispute involving more than $1 billion in engineering and construction cost defects and overruns at multiple plants. Investigated and prepared board report and litigated matter in private arbitration before reaching successful resolution of all claims.
  • Counsel for consumer electronics and technology company as plaintiff in fraud and breach-of-contract case with third-party logistics provider. Case settled favorably after court denied summary judgment to defendant on fraud claims.

At his prior firm, Josh also was trial co-counsel for the State of Georgia in a rare “original jurisdiction” water rights dispute with the State of Florida that twice reached the U.S. Supreme Court. The five-week bench trial resulted in two different Special Master decisions rejecting Florida’s claim seeking an equitable apportionment of the water flowing from Georgia into Florida. Final victory was achieved in April 2021 after the Supreme Court overruled Florida’s objections to the second Special Master’s report.

Prior Experience

Josh started his career as a judicial clerk for the Hon. Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer of the Northern District of Illinois and the Hon. Michael J. Melloy of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. He practiced commercial litigation at another international firm in Chicago before joining Faegre Drinker.

Josh played Division I football for the University of Northern Iowa and led his team and the conference in tackles his junior and senior seasons. He received two Academic All-America and All-Missouri Valley Conference selections at linebacker. Following his senior year, he was named an Academic Heisman finalist and received the NCAA Walter Byers Award, which is the NCAA’s highest academic honor awarded annually to one student-athlete in any sport and division of play.

Related Industries

Credentials

Bar Admissions

Illinois

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

Clerkships

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Hon. Rebecca Pallmeyer, 2014-2015
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Hon. Michael J. Melloy, 2013-2014

Education

University of Chicago Law School
J.D. with honors (2013)

University of Northern Iowa
B.A. in Economics and English, summa cum laude (2009)

Insights & Events

Other Perspectives

Firm Blog Contributions

  • LaborSphere – a resource providing coverage and insights on breaking cases, recently enacted legislation and a broad range of labor issues

Leadership & Community

Pro Bono

  • National Veterans Legal Services Program

Professional Associations

  • American Bar Association  Antitrust Law Section
    • Young Lawyer Representative (YLR) ; Spring Meeting Committee, 2021-23         
    • Joint Conduct Committee; A Quick Look Newsletter, Editorial Board, 2022-23

Civic Activities

  • LINK Unlimited Mentorship Program — Mentor
  • Center for Conflict Resolution — Auxiliary Board
  • National Football Foundation — Voting Member, College Football Hall of Fame

Honors

  • Best Lawyers® — “Ones to Watch,” Commercial Litigation, 2025
  • Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP — Business Litigation Group, Jeff Roberts "Spirited" Service Award, 2023
  • Faegre Baker Daniels — Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2019
Awards Methodology
No aspect of these recognitions has been approved by the highest court of any state.