George Sampson has 39 years of experience prosecuting complex antitrust cases on behalf of consumers and small businesses. Currently, George serves along with his colleague Michael Schrag on the court-appointed Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the In re Cattle and Beef Antitrust Litigation, where Plaintiffs allege that the four largest meat packing companies conspired to suppress the prices paid to cattle ranchers for fed cattle.
Prior to founding Sampson Dunlap LLP in 2015, George was for 20 years an antitrust partner at Seattle’s preeminent plaintiffs class action firm. There he served as co-lead counsel in In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 1030 (M.D. Fla.). As Trial Counsel he was principally responsible for all expert economic testimony. The case settled after five weeks of trial for a total recovery in excess of $90 million. George was also appointed co-lead counsel in In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation, 280 F.3d 124 (CA2, 2001) (affirming class certification), which settled on the eve of trial for $3 billion, at the time the largest antitrust class settlement ever achieved. Other notable cases include McDonough v. Toys R Us, 638 F. Supp 2d 461 (E.D. PA. 2009), a “hub-and-spoke” case against Toys R Us for forcing baby product manufacturers to raise prices at competing retailers. Again, George was principally responsible for all expert economic testimony. After extensive discovery and a two-day class certification hearing, the case settled for $35 million.
George began his career in antitrust enforcement in 1984, when he joined the New York Attorney General’s Antitrust Bureau. He served as an Assistant Attorney General for 10 years— the last two years (1992-1994) as Chief of the Antitrust Bureau. George was the lead trial attorney in a civil bid-rigging action in which he won the state’s first ever bid-rigging jury trial, recovering $7.8 million for the state (State of New York v. Hendrickson Bros., Inc., 840 F.2d 1065 (2d Cir. 1988).
At Sampson Dunlap LLP, George has continued his prosecution of antitrust class actions on behalf of consumers and employees. He served as Trial Counsel in In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 2626, 215 F.Supp.3d 1272 (M.D. Fla.), and was primarily responsible for the expert economic work in the case, including depositions and testimony at the two-day class certification hearing, August 1-2 2018. That hearing resulted in an order by the Hon. Harvey Schlesinger (M.D. Fla.) certifying a class of over 30 million contact lens wearers. The case ultimately settled in March 2023 on the eve of trial for a total recovery of $118 million.
- New York University School of Law, J.D.
- Cornell University, B.A. (Economics)
- New York and Washington
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second, Third, Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits
- United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the Western District of Washington, and the Northern District of California
- American Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section
- Washington Bar Association, Antitrust & Consumer Protection Section
- Member, Advisory Board, American Antitrust Institute
- Chief, Antitrust Bureau, New York Attorney General’s Office, 1992-1994