Steve Cernak is partner at Bona Law, based in Detroit. He served as in-house antitrust attorney at General Motors for more than 20 years, ultimately responsible for global antitrust compliance, merger reviews and litigation. As a result, Steve Cernak has experience tackling the toughest antitrust issues, and explaining them to everyone in an organization from the CEO to workers in the factories. After leaving GM, he spent seven years at Schiff Hardin’s Ann Arbor office, serving clients both inside and outside the automotive community. As he did at Schiff Hardin, Steve Cernak now assists clients big and small on a wide array of competition and consumer protection matters, including compliance programs; joint efforts with competitors; pricing strategies and programs; and merger reviews and filings. Steve Cernak has served in the leadership of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association for more than 20 years, and is currently the Section Chief Marketing Officer. That position keeps him connected to the global community and up-to-date on developments. Steve is a prolific writer for The Antitrust Lawyer Blog, WoltersKluwer’s AntitrustConnect Blog and various Law360, Lexis and Westlaw publications. The second edition of his textbook of antitrust summaries and materials, Antitrust Simulations, was published in 2019 by West Academic. He updates his Antitrust in Distribution and Franchising annually for publication in the LexisNexis Antitrust Law & Strategy Series. Steve is also a frequent commenter on antitrust developments, both on social and mainstream media. Steve is a regular teacher at both the University of Michigan Law School and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School Corporate & Finance LLM program at Western Michigan University. He also taught for three years at Wayne State University Law School.
2022 Awards
2021 Awards
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Invited to Your First Trade Association Meeting Here Are Important Antitrust TipsSteven Cernak, The Antitrust Attorney Blog, 9 July 2020
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What happens if Congress overrides the classic antitrust platform market case of American ExpressWashington Legal Foundation & The Antitrust Attorney, Steven Cernak, February 12, 2021
2020 Awards
Distinctions
Nominee, 2022 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, Digital
Nominee, 2021 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, Unilateral Conduct
Nominee, 2021 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, Concerted Practices
Nominee, 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, General Antitrust
Nominee, 2019 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, Unilateral Conduct
Nominee, 2018 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, Mergers
Nominee, 2017 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, Intellectual Property
Nominee, 2016 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, General Antitrust
Nominee, 2015 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, General Antitrust
Nominee, 2014 Antitrust Writing Awards: Business, Dominance






