Steven E. Bizar is a first chair trial lawyer well regarded for his success in the defense of antitrust class action and Section 1 Sherman act cases and his trial of complex commercial disputes in court and before arbitrators. His more than two decades of experience span a diverse range of antitrust and trade regulation, contracts and business torts, government investigations, insurance and reinsurance, securities and corporate governance matters. Mr. Bizar regularly represents multinational and domestic companies, partnerships, and individuals, including officers and directors, on issues arising across a broad spectrum of industries, including chemicals, financial services, construction materials, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, wholesale distribution, gaming, technology, and telecommunications.
Mr. Bizar advises clients around the globe on complex business disputes and litigates high-profile trial and appellate matters in federal and state courts and before arbitral tribunals. He has appeared in courts across the United States handling a wide variety of litigation matters, including the trial defense of multidistrict class actions, “bet-the-company” lawsuits, and contract and tort disputes arising from clients' commercial activities. Mr. Bizar also has significant appellate experience and has secured wins in the areas of class certification, antitrust, securities fraud pleading standards, full faith and credit/res judicata and forum non conveniens. Mr. Bizar has handled international arbitrations through to award under the procedural rules of leading arbitral institutions, including the AAA-ICDR and ICC. He also represents clients in connection with government antitrust and securities fraud investigations and in enforcement and other proceedings before agencies and self-regulatory organizations.
Noted as “one of the go-to lawyers for antitrust defense” Mr. Bizar is repeatedly ranked for antitrust (Band 1) and commercial litigation (Band 2) by Chambers USA. Mr. Bizar is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American Bar Foundation, both invitation-only honorary organizations that select legal professionals who have demonstrated outstanding skill and ability as well as a dedication to advancing justice within their own communities and promoting the rule of law internationally. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers in Philadelphia and Global Competition Review's Who's Who for antitrust law and is regularly nominated for the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and the Corporate Counsel Super Lawyers lists. In 2015, the National Law Journal recognized Mr. Bizar as a “Mergers & Acquisitions and Antitrust Trailblazer” and he was also included in the exclusive BTI Consulting 2015 and 2009 “Client Service All-Star” lists, which named a select group of litigators nationwide based solely on direct client feedback.
Mr. Bizar is a frequent author and commentator regarding antitrust litigation in the chemicals, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and vitamin industries. He has been featured in Bloomberg, Global Competition Review, Law360, Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, Reuters, The Chicago Tribune, The Legal Intelligencer, The National Law Journal, and other prominent legal publications as well as on the regional television program Law Journal TV.
In the community, Mr. Bizar currently serves as President of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Philadelphia legal community whose mission is to ensure that the underprivileged have equal access to justice and publicly available services. A former chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Federal Courts and State Civil Rules Committees, Mr. Bizar also serves as an investigative team member for the Commission on the Selection and Retention of Judges, which evaluates candidates for the state bench.
Prior to joining Dechert, Mr. Bizar served as an executive shareholder and litigation shareholder at another national law firm, where he focused on business disputes and class action defense, including at trial, of antitrust, securities fraud, and complex commercial cases.
