The Suit Magazine

Doing the right thing has always been more important to Baker than taking the politically correct and expeditious tack.
The seeds of his legal were planted early on.  “After attending Harvard Law School and taking a course on anti-trust law with Donald Turner, I was made the head of the Anti-Trust Department at the Department of Justice,” he said with a chuckle.  “I was working on anti-trust cases. From 1966-72, I was the number three person in the agency, the Deputy Attorney General.”
“In 1976, I was appointed to head the Anti-trust Division of the DOJ. I was the only career anti-trust lawyer to become that division’s head,” he continued. “That was in the Ford administration, after Richard Nixon had resigned in disgrace.  Watergate made them want a professional, a non-partisan.  Ford liked me and asked me to stay.  The nomination breezed through a Democratic Senate.”
Towards the end of the Ford administration, he made a controversial decision.  “The Depression-era Robinson-Patman Act, which made it illegal to discriminate in price, was making it harder for the buyers at department stores to press for discounts,” he explained.  “It was a general restraint on price competition.”  Baker opposed it, but Ford did not agree with his position and he was asked to leave.
From 1983 to 1988, Baker worked in a pro bono capacity with a group of young lawyers representing a number of striking indigent workers.  “The FTC said that it was a boycott with a bad competitive effect.  I argued that it was a matter of free speech; under their theory that it produced a bad competitive effect, the FTC would have sued the Boston Tea Party, who actually represented tea merchants!” he joked.
In 1994, Baker started his own firm with his current partner Todd Miller.  “I’m an arbitrator,” he said, “And I know the anti-trust angle.  Todd handles the cases at other levels.”
Baker seems to have a knack for taking on cases that involve large issues. In a current case, he’s defending Qantas Airlines against the Cooperative Dairy Farmers of America. For Baker, this is a landmark case; a decision in his favor could set a precedent in support of anti-trust law. “The co-op is suing Qantas over fuel surcharges,” he explained. “The co-op has some anti-trust exemptions, and they’re pressing for more.” Baker laments that the current administration has incentive to side with the co-op. For them, “this is an opportunity to cut back on anti-trust laws for the ‘greater good.’” But if Baker can get a ruling in Qantas’ favor, it could stop large trusts like the co-op from taking unfair advantage of the market.
As an adjunct professor at George Washington Law School, Baker receives numerous requests for advice from his students.  “Think about yourself, your strengths, what you like,” he tells them. “It’s [a profession] of long days and nights, so you have to like it."  When he is asked what makes him a great attorney, he says, “I don’t hand off.  I don’t have a fiduciary duty to a big firm.  I provide a lawyer who is a team player.”

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