Section Chief
Office: 614-466-4328
Email: Beth.Finnerty@OhioAGO.gov
Beth has been with the Ohio Attorney General’s Antitrust Section for 30 years, and was appointed as Section Chief in early 2023. Prior to that, Beth was Assistant Section Chief for over 9 years. Beth was also Deputy Chief Counsel where her primary responsibilities focused on managing and evaluating contingency-fee outside counsel in complex litigation. In addition to her antitrust responsibilities, Beth served for many years as Chair of the Ohio Attorney General’s Professional Development Program and was a member of the Office’s eDiscovery Task Force. Throughout her career, Beth has worked on numerous multistate actions and remains active in the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). She has been the Co-Chair of the NAAG Multistate Antitrust Task Force Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group since 2002 and as the Vice Chair of Training and Education since 2001. In addition to working on multistate issues through NAAG, Beth has been the lead attorney for the State of Ohio for numerous generic drug investigations.
Notable cases
- Lead antitrust attorney for the State of Ohio on State of Ohio, ex. rel. Betty D. Montgomery v. Philip Morris, Inc.; United States v. Oracle; Colorado v. Warner Chilcott Holdings Company III, Ltd.
- Lead Assistant Attorney General on BWC v. MDL Capital Management
- Lead antitrust attorney for the State of Ohio and member of the multistate trial team and negotiation team on United States v. Microsoft Corp.
- Attorney for Ohio’s broker litigation in State of Ohio v. AIG Inc., et al, which resulted in a recovery of over $30 million.
Education and Bar Admissions
- The Ohio State University College of Law, J.D. 1991.
- Wittenberg University, B.A. cum laude, 1988. Major: Economics
- Admitted to practice in Ohio, Federal District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of Ohio
Recent Presentations/Publications
- Speaker, The Basics of Antitrust Law – A Few Small Tips to Help You Avoid Big Problems, Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, Spring 2016
- Moderator, Hospital Mergers 101, National Association of Attorneys General Antitrust Litigation Training, San Fransisco, Ca, Fall 2016
- Moderator, OMG - We’re Going to Trial! Bringing a Single State Antitrust Action, National Association of Attorneys General Antitrust Litigation Training, Little Rock, AK Fall 2015
- Moderator, E-Discovery- Useful Tool, Not Vexing Problem, National Association of Attorneys General Antitrust Litigation Training, Phoenix, AZ, Fall 2012
- Speaker, Single Federal Court v. Multiple State Courts, National Association of Attorneys General Antitrust Litigation Training, New Orleans, La, Fall 2011
- Moderator, Ask the Expert, Preparing for and Trying an Antitrust Case, National Association of Attorneys General Antitrust Litigation Training , New Orleans, LA, Fall 2011
- Moderator, Negotiations Workshop, Charles Craver, professor, George Washington University School of Law, National Association of Attorneys General Antitrust Litigation Training, Columbus, Ohio, Fall 2010
- Speaker, Ethical Issues in Public Practice- a Dialogue, National Association of Attorneys General Antitrust Litigation Training, Columbus, Ohio, Fall 2010
- Speaker, Antitrust Federalism: Enhancing the Federal State Relationship, Issues in Federal/State Litigation; Settlement and Remedies, presentation to federal and state antitrust enforcers at Columbia Law School, New York, New York, October 7, 2009
- Speaker, Working with the Plaintiff’s Antitrust Bar and Managing Outside Counsel, presentation at, National Association of Attorneys General Antitrust Litigation Training, Salt Lake, Utah September 24, 2008
- Speaker, Master the Antitrust Basics, Series Lesson X: State Antitrust Enforcement, presentation to the American Bar Association Section on Young Lawyers’ Division, the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law, the New York State Bar Association and state enforcers, teleseminar, June 20, 2007.
- Speaker, Cert. Denial in FTC v. Schering: The Legislative and Enforcement Aftermath, presentation to the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law Health Care, Federal Civil Enforcement and Intellectual Property Committees and The ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education, teleseminar, December 12, 2006.
- Speaker, Antitrust Issues in Medicaid Fraud Releases, Presentation to National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NAMFCU), Boston, Massachusetts ,September 12, 2005
- Litigation Roundtable Participant, Presidential Pharmaceutical Summit, January 26, 2005, Chicago, Illinois
- Speaker, State Enforcement Efforts in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Presentation to the American Bar Association, January 14, 2003
- Speaker, Current Antitrust, Medicaid Fraud and Consumer Protection Litigation Involving Pharmaceutical Pricing Issues, Pharmaceutical Pricing Task Force Staff Meeting, , Columbus, Ohio, August 22-23, 2002
- Speaker, Pharmaceutical Issues Facing the Attorneys General in the New Millennium, Presentation to the National Association of Attorneys General, Summer Meeting, Farmington, Pennsylvania , June 21, 2002
Additional Professional Activities and Awards
- Simon B. Karas Award, 2013
- Ohio Attorney Generals’ Office, Teamwork Award, 2015
- Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Teamwork Award, 2011
- Attorney Jim Petro Innovation and Excellence Award, 2004
- Ohio Attorney General’s Professionalism Award, 2002
- Co-Chair, National Association of Attorneys General Multistate Antitrust Task Force Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group, 2002-present
- Coordinator, National Association of Attorneys General Pharmaceutical Pricing Task Force
- Vice Chair of Training & Education, National Association of Attorneys General Multistate Antitrust Task Force, 2001-present
- Ohio Attorney General’s Professional Development Program; Chair, 2005-2015;
- Ohio Attorney General’s eDiscovery Task Force, 2009-2011
- Ohio Attorney General’s Special Litigation Group; Chair, 2007-2008
- Ohio Attorney General’s Class Action Advisory Committee
- Volunteer, Ohio Attorney General’s Pro Bono Program
- Member, Ohio Health Care Board Subcommittee on Antitrust of Property, Plant & Equipment Committee
Assistant Section Chief
Office number: 614-466-4328
Email: Edward.Olszewski@OhioAGO.gov
Edward has worked for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office since 2007. He is Assistant Section Chief in the Antitrust Section where he is responsible for investigating and litigating cases involving antitrust violations. He has worked on several high-profile cases, including serving on the trial team in The State of Texas, et al., v. Penguin Group Inc., et al., where Apple was found to have violated antitrust laws by participating in a conspiracy with the major publishers of eBooks. Edward was also part of the litigation and trial team in State of Ohio v. Cargill et. al. regarding antitrust violations in the market for road salt in Ohio that settled on the eve of trial and returned over $9 million to Ohio public entities.
Edward has expertise in dealing with electronic discovery in large complex cases and utilizing the most advanced discovery tools to manage cases that sometimes involve terabytes of data. Additionally he is part of the Ohio Attorney General’s eDiscovery team and previously served on the Office's Public Records Task Force.
Bar Admissions
- State of Ohio (2007)
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
Education
- The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, J.D., 2007
- Technology Editor, Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal
- The College of William and Mary, B.A., Government, 2004
Awards and Memberships
- Member of the OSBA and ABA. Former Chair of OSBA Antitrust Section 2020-22; Vice chair 2019-2020; Treasurer 2018-2019
- Recipient of Ohio Attorney General’s 2015 Teamwork Award
Senior Assistant Attorney General
Office number: 216-787-4543
Fax number: 866-413-7033
Email: Thomas.Allen@OhioAGO.gov
Tom Allen is a Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Section. Tom worked in the Economic Crimes Unit of the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office from 2003 to 2021. His cases while in Franklin County focused on racketeering, trademark counterfeiting, securities fraud, identity fraud, employee thefts, and other fraud related offenses.
Bar and Court Admissions
- State of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
Education
- Capital University Law School, J.D., 1997
- Ohio State University, Economics, 1993
Principal Assistant Attorney General
Office number: 216-787-4484
Fax number: 866-503-2011
Email: Thomas.Collin@OhioAGO.gov
Tom is Principal Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Section. Before joining the Attorney General’s Office in July 2023, he was in private practice in Cleveland.
Tom is a member of the Ohio Bar and is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio. He has been admitted to practice before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits and the U.S. Supreme Court and admitted pro hac vice in multiple United States District Courts and in state trial and appellate courts outside of Ohio.
Tom has been active in the leadership of the Antitrust Law Section of the American Bar Association and has served as co-chair of its International Committee and chair of its Joint Conduct Committee. He has written or edited books on antitrust, including Ohio Business Competition Law (Lawyers Cooperative Publishing 1994) and Antitrust Law and Economics of Product Distribution (American Bar Ass’n 2006).
While in private practice, Tom was listed in Best Lawyers in America for antitrust law and commercial litigation and in Chambers USA as a leading antitrust litigator in Ohio. He was listed in Who’s Who Legal: Competition, a publication of Global Competition Review, as a leading competition lawyer.
Tom has a B.A. from the University of Minnesota (1970); an A.M. from Harvard University (1972); and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center (1974). Before beginning private practice, he clerked for the Honorable Myron H. Bright on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Principal Assistant Attorney General
Office number: 614-387-1285
Fax number: 866-803-9971
Email: Jennifer.Croskey@OhioAGO.gov
Jennifer joined the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in 2009 and the Antitrust Section in 2020. Prior to joining Antitrust, Jennifer represented state departments and agencies served by the Executive Agencies Section. For the Antitrust Section, Jennifer leads the Tobacco Enforcement Unit, which works with Ohio Department of Taxation in enforcing Ohio laws governing tobacco product manufacturers necessitated by the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. The Tobacco Enforcement Unit is also responsible for enforcing the Master Settlement Agreement and representing the Ohio Department of Health for matters relating to Ohio’s indoor smoking ban. Jennifer also assists in investigating and litigating cases involving antitrust violations.
Earlier in her career, Jennifer was an attorney in private practice with a law firm and an assistant prosecutor.
Bar Admissions
- State of Ohio (2000)
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Education
- The Ohio State University College of Law, J.D. 2000.
- The University of Toledo, B.A., 1996. Major: Political Science and Spanish
Representative Cases
- Ohio History Connection v. Mounbuilders Country Club, Licking County Common Pleas Court, Case No. 18 CV 1284
- Kinlin v. Kline, 749 F.3d 573 (6th Cir. 2014)
- Liberty Coins, LLC v. Goodman, 748 F.3d 682 (6th Cir. 2014)
- The Hartley Company, et al. v. JF Acquisition, LLC, d/b/a Jones & Frank, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Case No. 15-cv-00094
- Fenway Financial, LLC dba Commission Express v. Greater Columbus Realty, LLC dba Keller Williams and Dept. of Commerce, Ohio Court of Appeals Tenth District, Case No. 12 AP 291
- City of Akron v. Ohio Department of Insurance, et al.
Ohio Court of Appeals Tenth District, Case Nos. 13AP-473, 483, 484, 486, 495, 496
Supreme Court of Ohio, Case No. 2014-0738, 144 Ohio St.3d 56, 2015-Ohio-2926
Professional Activities and Awards
- Ohio Attorney General’s Excellence in Legal Writing Award, 2019
- Ohio Attorney General’s Excellence in Legal Writing Award, 2017
- Ohio Attorney Generals’ Office, Teamwork Award, 2015
- Ohio Attorney General’s Excellence in Legal Writing Award, 2011
- Ohio Attorney General’s Special Litigation Group, Member, 2009-2011
Assistant Attorney General
Antitrust Section, Tobacco Unit
Office number: 614-466-4328
Direct number: 614-466-9628
Fax number: 866-818-6922
Email: Christopher.Gawronski@OhioAGO.gov
Chris Gawronski is an Assistant Attorney General in the Tobacco Unit of the Ohio Attorney General’s Antitrust Section. Since joining the office in early 2022, Chris is responsible for enforcement of rules governing certain tobacco manufacturers who sell cigarettes in Ohio.
Chris brings a varied professional background to the Attorney General’s office. He has experience in systems and process development, including the development of specialized regulatory regimes, as well as an extensive background of editing legal and other professional texts. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s office, Chris was a solo practice attorney specializing in transactional and compliance work for small businesses. He has also worked in international law providing representation before various human rights mechanisms of the United Nations in Geneva. Before joining the legal profession, Chris worked as a regional planner and regulation drafter in the transportation field in the United States and abroad.
Bar Admissions
- United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, 2020
- Supreme Court of Ohio, 2018
Education
- Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, J.D., 2018
- Editor in Chief, Ohio State Law Journal
- University of British Columbia, M.A., 2000
- University of Toledo, B.A. with honors, magna cum laude, 1994
Honors and Memberships
- Order of the Coif
- Member of the Columbus Bar, Ohio State Bar, and American Society of International Law
Assistant Attorney General Antitrust Section
Section number: 614-644-3071
Fax number: 614-995-0266
Email: Mark.Kittel@OhioAGO.gov
Mark Kittel serves as an Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. He joined the office in February, 2020. Mark has investigated cases of alleged contract bid-rigging with government and quasi-government entities, investigated anticompetitive conduct in the healthcare and high-tech industries, conducted discovery in complex litigation matters, and worked with other departments to draft settlements in lieu of litigation with parties accused of hoarding COVID-related products and supplies.
Before joining the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Mark began practicing law as a patent and intellectual property attorney in Albany, NY and Columbus. He worked for a year and a half in solo practice in Coshocton County, assisting local businesses and working with several residents in domestic and family disputes.
Bar and Court Admissions
- State of Ohio (2016)
- State of New York (2014)
Education
- Albany Law School, summa cum laude, J.D., 2013
- University of California, Berkeley, B.A., Astrophysics, 1993
Assistant Attorney General
Office number: 614-466-4328
Email: Sarah.Mader@OhioAGO.gov
Sarah Mader is an Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Her work focuses on investigating and litigating antitrust violations in various industries affecting Ohioans. During law school, Sarah worked as a legal intern with the Ohio Department of Public Safety and as an extern in the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Dispute Resolution Section. She was also a volunteer mediator with the Franklin County Municipal Court
Before law school, Sarah worked with Houston-area startups in the rail technology logistics, canine immunotherapy, and digital archiving markets.
Bar and Court Admissions
- State of Ohio (2022)
- United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio (2023)
Education
- The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, J.D., cum laude (2022)
- Ohio State Law Journal, Managing Editor
- Brigham Young University, B.S., Management (2016)
Assistant Attorney General
Phone number: 614-466-4328
Fax number: 844-291-7949
Email: Derek.Whiddon@OhioAGO.gov
Derek Whiddon serves as an Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. In the Antitrust Section, Derek helps investigate alleged anticompetitive conduct, litigates complex antitrust cases involving state and federal antitrust laws, conducts research on state and federal antitrust law for the Antitrust Section and client agencies of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, and participates in the education efforts of the Ohio Attorney General’s Partnership for Competitive Purchasing.
Derek previously worked in the Antitrust Section as a college intern from 2017-2018. During law school, Derek worked as an intern in the Criminal Division of the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office before re-joining the Antitrust Section as a law clerk in March 2021.
Bar and Court Admissions
- State of Ohio (2021)
- United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio (2022)
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2022)
Education
- The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, J.D. (2021)
- The Ohio State University, B.A., summa cum laude, Economics and Political Science (2018)
Assistant Attorney General
Office number: 614-466-4328
Direct number: 844-466-9543
Email: Trey.Mehrer@OhioAGO.gov
Trey is an Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. At the Attorney General’s Office, Trey’s work focuses on investigating potentially anticompetitive conduct that impacts Ohio consumers and markets, litigating complex antitrust cases in federal and state courts, and researching antitrust law and complex civil litigation.
During law school, Trey interned and externed in the private arena accumulating experience from all ends of the legal spectrum. In his free time, Trey volunteers as a board member for a non-profit organization geared toward providing aid and support to individuals wanting to overcome addiction.
Bar and Court Admissions
- State of Ohio (2023)
- United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio (2024)
Education
- The University of Dayton School of Law, J.D., cum laude (2023)
- The University of Dayton Law Review, Executive Publication Editor
- DePauw University, B.A., Psychology and Religious Studies (2020)
Publications
- Freedom of Speech in the Age of Information and Misinformation, 48 Univ. of Dayton L. Rev. 66 (2022)