Denver (21-May-2010) - Faegre & Benson is pleased to announce that the American Bar Association's (ABA) Antitrust Section has named Faegre & Benson Partner John Shively co-chair of the newly-established Agriculture & Food Committee. This committee will focus on reporting, educating, and participating in accelerating antitrust developments within the agriculture and food sector.

Ian Conner of Hunton & Williams in Washington, D.C. has also been selected as co-chair and Les Locke of McGuireWoods in Chicago as Vice Chair.

This committee was formed to report, educate, and participate in the increase of antitrust developments addressed in the ongoing DOJ/USDA workshops launched by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in March 2010. The Committee will provide a venue for advancing the dialogue started by the workshops, including the antitrust issues surrounding:

• Seeds
• Farm Crops
• Livestock
• Meat Packing & Processing
• Dairy
• Food Processing & Distribution
• Retail Groceries

Shively has practiced at Faegre & Benson in Denver and Minneapolis for more than 30 years. He moved to Colorado from Minnesota in 1984 to establish Faegre & Benson's Denver office. Shively's practice focuses on antitrust litigation and counseling, and the litigation of other large, complex commercial actions including contract, distribution and franchise litigation, fraud, and product liability actions. His service on this committee is consistent with the firm's broad-based food, agriculture and biofuels practice, which includes over 100 lawyers.

Faegre & Benson's antitrust and trade regulation practice uses an interdisciplinary approach in handling antitrust and trade regulation matters. The firm's corporate and antitrust litigation attorneys work closely with agribusiness attorneys to deliver integrated client support in antitrust counseling, antitrust litigation, and government regulatory compliance, investigation and defense. The firm's antitrust clients include many of the world's largest agribusiness companies.