Hafenbrack  Joshua

Joshua Hafenbrack

Education

  • Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., summa cum laude, 2013
    • Order of the Coif
    • Senior Articles Editor and Senior Board, The Georgetown Law Journal
  • University of Charleston, B.A., cum laude, 2003

Clerkships

  • Law Clerk, Judge M. Margaret McKeown, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2014-2015

Government Service

  • Senior Litigation Counsel (previously Trial Attorney), U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, 2020-2024

Admitted

  • 2013, Maryland
  • 2015, District of Columbia
  • 2016, Illinois

Joshua Hafenbrack represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex civil litigation and antitrust cases. 

Before rejoining Kellogg Hansen in 2024, Josh was Senior Litigation Counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  In that role, he served as a member of the litigation and trial team in the United States v. Google search monopolization case.  United States v. Google, No. 1:20-cv-03010 (D.D.C.).  He examined and cross-examined key expert and fact witnesses and argued evidentiary and other motions.  While at DOJ, Josh also helped lead merger and conduct antitrust investigations in a variety of industries, including the sports and media industries.

Before joining DOJ’s Antitrust Division, Josh was an associate at Kellogg Hansen, where he focused on complex commercial and antitrust litigation.  Josh helped build and litigate the antitrust conspiracy case against the two leading providers of auto dealer software management systems.  In re Dealer Management Systems Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2817 (N.D. Ill.).

Josh clerked for the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  He earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where he graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the George P. Mickum III Prize for the highest first-year GPA.  Before law school, Josh was a newspaper journalist, covering politics and public affairs in Florida and West Virginia.

Representative Experience

  • Represented the United States in the United States v. Google Section 2 monopolization case, which culminated in a 10-week trial in Fall 2023.  United States v. Google, No. 1:20-cv-03010 (D.D.C.).
  • Represented the plaintiffs in a major antitrust MDL against the two leading providers of auto dealer software management systems, CDK Global, LLC and The Reynolds & Reynolds Company.  In re Dealer Management Systems Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2817 (N.D. Ill.).
  • Represented the Arizona Automobile Dealers Association and the State of Arizona in successfully defending the constitutionality of a state law protecting auto dealers’ control over their data.  Helped defend the law at a preliminary-injunction hearing, where he cross-examined the key corporate witness, and on appeal in the Ninth Circuit.  CDK Global v. Brnovich, No. 2019-cv-04849 (D. Ariz.).
  • Briefed and argued an appeal in the Ninth Circuit concerning a question of first impression in the prisoner civil rights context.  The panel unanimously ruled for the client and ordered a new trial based on an improper jury instruction.  Hoard v. Hartman, 904 F.3d 780 (9th Cir. 2018).

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