Francis O. Scarpulla

Francis O. Scarpulla, Senior Partner at the Law Offices of Francis O. Scarpulla in San Francisco, was named Antitrust Law Expert of the Year in California, US at the 2024 Corporate INTL Global Awards. One of the longest-serving members of the San Francisco antitrust bar, he has spent his career litigating complex antitrust and unfair competition cases, principally on behalf of plaintiffs, and is recognised nationally as a leader in the field.

Scarpulla graduated from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, formerly Hastings, in 1967, and has practised since that year. Upon graduation he joined the Law Offices of Joseph L. Alioto as an associate, taking responsibility for the preparation of complex civil antitrust cases. In November 1970 he formed his own firm and continued to prosecute complex civil litigation, establishing the plaintiff-side antitrust practice that has defined his career. From June 2006 he served as a senior partner at Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason, leading that firm's antitrust practice, before returning to his original firm in March 2015.

Over more than five decades Scarpulla has participated in numerous federal antitrust class actions that have helped shape both state and federal law. He has repeatedly been appointed as lead or co-lead counsel for indirect-purchaser plaintiffs in major federal class actions, roles that have produced substantial settlements on behalf of the consumers and businesses he represents. He is recognised as a Band 1 plaintiffs' antitrust attorney by Chambers & Partners USA and is among the most highly rated antitrust litigators in San Francisco, having recovered significant sums for consumers over the course of his career.

Antitrust and competition litigation is among the most intellectually and procedurally demanding areas of commercial law. Cases often involve complex economic evidence, extensive discovery and multi-party class proceedings, and can span years from filing to resolution. Success requires both a sophisticated grasp of the substantive law of monopolisation, price-fixing and unfair competition and the practical stamina to manage large, hard-fought cases against well-resourced defendants. Scarpulla's long record of appointments to leadership positions in such litigation reflects the confidence courts and co-counsel place in his judgement.

As a boutique practitioner, Scarpulla combines the focus and continuity of a lawyer who has concentrated on a single field with the credibility of a long and distinguished record. His work advancing the interests of indirect-purchaser plaintiffs has contributed to the development of the law in an area central to the protection of consumers and competitive markets.

The Antitrust Law Expert of the Year in California, US award recognises Francis O. Scarpulla's standing as one of the state's foremost antitrust litigators and the sustained contribution he has made to competition enforcement on behalf of plaintiffs over a career spanning more than half a century.