Rick Leveridge has been practicing law for over 40 years. His affiliation with Gilbert started in 1997 when he and the founders of Gilbert LLP were partners at the national law firm of Dickstein Shapiro LLP.  Rick rejoined Gilbert as a partner in 2018.  Since that time, he has led a number of litigation teams, including those representing the States of Delaware and Ohio and a number of Indian Tribes against certain manufacturers, distributors and dispensers of opioids.  He is also representing the governmental opioids claimants as co-plaintiffs in the Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Adversary Proceeding involving coverage for opioids claims under the Debtors’ insurance policies.  Similarly, Rick and Gilbert are lead counsel to the statutory trust created by the plan of reorganization in the Mallinckrodt bankruptcy proceedings for the benefit of individuals and entities harmed by Mallinckrodt’s role in creating, perpetuating, and contributing to the nationwide opioid crisis in an insurance coverage action in Missouri state court to recover proceeds for compensating opioids claimants.

In addition, Rick leads Gilbert’s antitrust litigation practice and is actively involved as co-lead counsel for the class of plaintiffs in In re Credit Default Swaps Auctions Litigation (D.N.M.).

Over the years, Rick’s litigation practice has encompassed cases involving a wide range of subject matters, including cases related to the aviation, agribusiness, corrugated paper, chemical, computer, credit card, banking, energy, and construction industries. He has represented clients in federal and state courts throughout the country. Rick and his litigation teams have recovered more than $3.5 billion for clients.

Rick focuses his practice on serving corporate clients who suffered business injuries as a result of illegal price-fixing cartels in the United States and abroad. Notable cases where Rick took a lead position on behalf of his corporate clients include: In re Vitamins; In re Linerboard; In re Urethanes Antitrust Litigation; Federal Home Loan Mortgage v. Bank of America, et al. (LIBOR); and In re Citric Acid. Rick’s antitrust experience also includes a defense-side practice.

• In State of Delaware ex rel. Kathleen Jennings v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al., Rick lead the State of Delaware’s litigation of claims against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and a chain retailer, seeking relief for their roles in causing and fueling the opioid crisis and its devasting effects on the people of Delaware.
• In In re Credit Default Swaps Auctions Litigation, Rick represents a putative class of institutional investors as court-appointed co-lead counsel in an antitrust and market manipulation class action against 10 Wall Street banks and other companies that are alleged to have colluded with one another to manipulate a credit default swap industry benchmark.
• In Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. v. AIG Specialty Insurance Company, et al., Rick represents governmental claimants in their pursuit, as co-Plaintiffs, of insurance coverage from Purdue’s insurers with the goal of applying this important asset to abate the opioid crisis nationwide.
• In Opioid Master Disbursement Trust II v. Ace American Ins. Co. et al, Rick represents the plaintiff Trust in its pursuit of insurance coverage and proceeds to assist the trust in addressing the claims of those harmed by the nationwide opioid crisis.

Past representative matters include:

• Represented Tyson Foods, GNC, Kraft Foods, and more than 125 other large purchasers of bulk vitamins in a variety of industries in litigation against vitamin manufacturers accused of participating in a global price-fixing cartel. Also served as liaison counsel on behalf of more than 60 other direct-action plaintiffs in the litigation. Representation resulted in recoveries of over $2 billion for the client group.
• Represented major purchasers of polyurethane chemicals in price fixing litigation in Kansas and New Jersey. Case settled after five weeks of trial in federal court in New Jersey. Total client recoveries were approximately $500 million.
• Represented Procter & Gamble, Anheuser-Busch, Coke, PepsiCo, and other large purchasers of corrugated material against linerboard manufacturers accused of participating in a conspiracy to restrict supply and increase prices of linerboard and corrugated products. Recovered approximately $200 million for the client group.
• Successfully represented Procter & Gamble, Quaker Oats, and other purchasers of citric acid in a price fixing antitrust action against Archer Daniels Midland and other manufactures.
• American Express v. Visa: Served as counsel for Visa International, Inc. in defending cases brought by American Express and Discover for alleged antitrust violations arising from Visa’s loyalty rules.
• Served as lead counsel, on behalf of a religious organization, in pro bono action brought under Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and successfully obtained an order enjoining Elkton, Maryland from interfering with the religious organization’s religious freedoms and permitting the organization to use its property as a worship center and a daytime shelter for the homeless.

• 1981 — J.D., Georgetown University Law Center
  • cum laude
• 1978 — B.A., Providence College
  • magna cum laude

• District of Columbia
• New York
• U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
• U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

• Benchmark Litigation: The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys, October 2014-2015
• Best Lawyers in America, 2014-2024
• Washington, DC Super Lawyers, 2013-2024