Ho T. Derek

Derek T. Ho

Education

  • Harvard Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 2001
    • Treasurer, Harvard Law Review, 2000-2001
    • Finalist, Ames Moot Court competition
  • Yale University, M.A., 1998
  • Harvard College, B.A., magna cum laude, 1996
    • Phi Beta Kappa

Clerkships

  • Law Clerk, Justice David H. Souter, U.S. Supreme Court, 2002-2003
  • Law Clerk, Judge Michael Boudin, U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit, 2001-2002

Admitted

  • 2002, New York
  • 2002, Massachusetts
  • 2004, District of Columbia
  • 2009, Supreme Court of the United States

Derek T. Ho is an accomplished first-chair trial and appellate lawyer with more than two decades of experience in high-stakes litigation. He has achieved billions of dollars in jury verdicts, judgments, and settlements for his clients. Among many other accolades, he is ranked in General Commercial Litigation by Chambers & Partners USA, where he was described as an “extraordinary lawyer,” a “great leader on complex matters,” and “an incredibly deep thinker who is also able to connect with people from all walks of life.” National Law Journal shortlisted him for Plaintiff Attorney of the Year in its 2026 Elite Trial Lawyers honors.

While maintaining a broad commercial litigation practice, Derek has particularly deep experience in antitrust litigation, complex litigation (class actions and MDL proceedings), the law of litigation finance, and False Claims Act litigation. In addition to securing substantial victories for his clients, his cases have established important legal precedents in those areas.  

Derek has been lead counsel in dozens of appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, all of the federal circuits (except the specialized Federal Circuit), and several state appellate courts. Prior to joining Kellogg Hansen, he clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and for Justice David H. Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Derek maintains an active pro bono practice. He serves on the Board of Trustees of The Roxbury Latin School and on the Board of Directors of the Lawyers’ Committee on Civil Rights Under Law and the American Constitution Society.

Representative Experience

  • Lead trial counsel in a major antitrust win, in which a federal jury awarded $147.4 million to Innovative Health after finding that Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Biosense Webster illegally tied provision of clinical support services to purchase of its heart catheters and monopolized the markets in its catheters through various anticompetitive means. Innovative Health LLC v. Biosense Webster Inc., No. 8:19-cv-01984 (C.D. Cal.).
  • Served as co-lead MDL counsel and class counsel and reached a $630 million settlement in an antitrust case against CDK Global over its alleged conspiracy with Reynolds & Reynolds to restrict access to auto dealer data. Kellogg Hansen independently developed the legal theories and evidence over eight years, without relying on prior government or private litigation. The class settlement returned 82% of damages to class members—an exceptionally high recovery rate in antitrust class actions. Loop LLC v. CDK Global, LLC, No. 3:24-cv-00571 (W.D. Wis.).
  • Lead trial and appellate counsel in an antitrust monopolization case brought by wholesale electric company NTE Carolinas against Duke Energy. Obtained reversal by the Fourth Circuit of the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Duke, in a decision that creates an important precedent on multiple important principles of U.S. antitrust law. Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC v. NTE Carolinas II, LLC, 93 F.4th 276 (4th Cir. 2024). Kellogg Hansen served as lead trial counsel on remand and the case settled on the eve of trial.
  • Lead counsel for several opt-out plaintiffs representing billions of dollars in purchases in In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, No. 1:16-cv-08637 (N.D. Ill. filed Sept. 2, 2016), In re Pork Antitrust Litigation, No. 0:18-cv-01776 (D. Minn. filed June 28, 2018), In re Cattle and Beef Antitrust Litigation, No. 0:22-md-03031 (D. Minn. filed June 3, 2022), In re Turkey Antitrust Litigation, No. 1:19-cv-08318 (N.D. Ill. filed Dec. 19, 2019). The cases are ongoing.
  • Represent former shareholders of Argentina’s national oil company, YPF, in lawsuit against the Argentine Republic for breach of corporate bylaws. After a multi-day trial, the district court recently rendered a $16.1 billion judgment for his clients. The case is ongoing. Petersen Energía Inversora v. Argentine Republic, No. 15-cv-2739 (S.D.N.Y.); Eton Park Capital Management, L.P. v. Argentine Republic, No. 16-cv-8569 (S.D.N.Y.).
  • Represent litigation finance company Burford Capital in international arbitration dispute with Sysco Corporation.  After a multi-day evidentiary hearing, the arbitral panel issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Burford, and the parties then settled.  Glaz LLC, et al. v. Sysco Corp., No. 225609 (London Ct. Int’l Arb.).
  • Represent large national restaurant chain and purchasing cooperative in antitrust matters arising from bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct among suppliers of broiler chickens.
  • Represent Viamedia Corporation in an antitrust suit alleging unlawful tying and exclusive dealing in the local cable advertising representation market.  The case is ongoing. Viamedia Inc. v. Comcast Corp., No. 16-cv-05486 (N.D. Ill.).
  • Represented Arizona Automobile Dealers Association in successfully defending constitutional challenge to Arizona consumer protection and competition law.  After multi-day evidentiary hearing, the district court held the statute constitutional, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed.  CDK Global LLC, et al. v. Brnovich, No. CV-19-04849 (D. Ariz.); CDK Global, LLC v. Brnovich, 16 F.4th 1266 (9th Cir. 2021).
  • Represented Hillsborough County (Florida) taxpayers in successfully invalidating unconstitutional transportation surtax and obtaining more than half a billion dollars in tax refunds through subsequent settlement. Emerson v. Hillsborough County, et al., Nos. SC19-1250, SC19-1343 (Fla. S. Ct. 2021).
  • Obtained jury verdict and then reinstatement on appeal of more than $250 million judgment in False Claims Act litigation involving fraudulent upcoding at Florida skilled nursing facilities. United States ex rel. Ruckh v. Salus Rehabilitation, LLC, 963 F.3d 1089 (11th Cir. 2020).
  • Obtained complete dismissal of plaintiffs’ class-action claims against telecommunications carrier and successfully defended dismissal on appeal.  Stuart v. Global Tel*Link Corp., 956 F.3d 555 (8th Cir. 2020).
  • Established the principle that communications between a litigant and a litigation funder are protected by the attorney-client privilege and/or work-product doctrine.  Among other cases, see Design With Friends, Inc. v. Target Corp., No. 1:21-cv-01376-SB (D. Del. Sept. 27, 2024) (Bibas, J., sitting by designation); In re Dealer Mgmt. Sys. Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 2817, Dkt. 1113 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 17, 2020); Viamedia, Inc. v. Comcast Corp., No. 16-C-5486, 2017 WL 2834535 (N.D. Ill. 2017);  In re International Oil Trading Co., 548 B.R. 825 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2016); Charge Injection Techs., Inc. v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co., No. 07C-12-134-JRJ, 2015 WL 1540520 (Del. Super. Ct. Mar. 31, 2015); Devon IT, Inc. v. IBM Corp., No. CIV.A. 10-2899, 2012 WL 4748160 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 27, 2012).
  • Successfully defended against allegations that litigation funding arrangements violate state-law champerty and maintenance doctrines.  Charge Injection Techs., Inc. v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co., No. 07C-12-134-JRJ, 2016 WL 937400 (Del. Super. Ct. Mar. 9, 2016).
  • At the Supreme Court, helped secure victories in important cases involving antitrust law, including Ohio v. American Express Co., 138 S. Ct. 2274 (2018), and American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, 570 U.S. 228 (2013), class-action law Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, 577 U.S. 442 (2016), and Amgen, Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans, 568 U.S. 455 (2013), and False Claims Act law Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, 579 U.S. 176 (2016).

Achievements

  • American Antitrust Institute – Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Practice
    • 2025 – Innovative Health LLC v. Biosense Webster Inc., No. 8:19-cv-01984 (C.D. Cal.)
  • Best Lawyers in America®
    • Litigation – Appellate
  • Bloomberg Law – Unrivaled Litigators
    • Loop LLC v. CDK Global, LLC, No. 3:24-cv-00571 (W.D. Wis.)
  • Chambers USA – General Commercial Litigation
    • “Derek is an extraordinary lawyer. He is a great leader on complex matters and exercises great judgment. He is incredibly smart and hardworking.”
    • “Derek is a tremendous lawyer. He has a way of picking a word that just fits. It’s the right tone and tenor, and it strikes the ear correctly.”
    • “Kellogg has very strong first chair trial attorneys and a deep bench.”
  • Global Competition Review – Litigator of the Week
    • 2017 – Obtained a rare preliminary injunction in a federal antitrust case
  • Judicial Notice – Ruling of the Week
    • 2025 – Innovative Health LLC v. Biosense Webster Inc., No. 8:19-cv-01984 (C.D. Cal.)
    • 2025 – Loop LLC v. CDK Global, LLC, No. 3:24-cv-00571 (W.D. Wis.)
    • 2023 – Petersen Energía Inversora v. Argentine Republic, No. 15-cv-2739 (S.D.N.Y.); Eton Park Capital Management, L.P. v. Argentine Republic, No. 16-cv-8569 (S.D.N.Y.)
  • Law360 – Legal Lions
    • 2025 – Innovative Health LLC v. Biosense Webster Inc., No. 8:19-cv-01984 (C.D. Cal.)
    • 2025 – Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC v. NTE Carolinas II, LLC, 93 F.4th 276 (4th Cir. 2024)
    • 2023 – Petersen Energía Inversora v. Argentine Republic, No. 15-cv-2739 (S.D.N.Y.); Eton Park Capital Management, L.P. v. Argentine Republic, No. 16-cv-8569 (S.D.N.Y.)
  • Law.com – Litigator of the Week
    • 2025 – Innovative Health LLC v. Biosense Webster Inc., No. 8:19-cv-01984 (C.D. Cal.)
    • 2025 – Loop LLC v. CDK Global, LLC, No. 3:24-cv-00571 (W.D. Wis.)
    • 2024 – Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC v. NTE Carolinas II, LLC, 93 F.4th 276 (4th Cir. 2024)
    • 2023 – Petersen Energía Inversora v. Argentine Republic, No. 15-cv-2739 (S.D.N.Y.); Eton Park Capital Management, L.P. v. Argentine Republic, No. 16-cv-8569 (S.D.N.Y.)
  • Lawdragon – 500 Leading Litigators in America
  • The National Law Journal – Elite Trial Lawyers
    • 2026 – Winner– Innovative Health LLC v. Biosense Webster Inc., No. 8:19-cv-01984 (C.D. Cal.)
    • 2026– Finalist– Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC v. NTE Carolinas II, LLC, 93 F.4th 276 (4th Cir. 2024)
    • 2025 – Winner – Loop LLC v. CDK Global, LLC, No. 3:24-cv-00571 (W.D. Wis.)
    • 2024 – Finalist – Petersen Energía Inversora v. Argentine Republic, No. 15-cv-2739 (S.D.N.Y.); Eton Park Capital Management, L.P. v. Argentine Republic, No. 16-cv-8569 (S.D.N.Y.)
  • The National Law Journal – Winning Litigators
    • 2026 – Finalist– Innovative Health LLC v. Biosense Webster Inc., No. 8:19-cv-01984 (C.D. Cal.).
    • 2024 – Finalist– Petersen Energía Inversora v. Argentine Republic, No. 15-cv-2739 (S.D.N.Y.); Eton Park Capital Management, L.P. v. Argentine Republic, No. 16-cv-8569 (S.D.N.Y.)
  • TopVerdict – Top 10 Verdicts in California
    • 2025 – Innovative Health LLC v. Biosense Webster Inc., No. 8:19-cv-01984 (C.D. Cal.)

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