In the latest episode of our “Fierce Competition” podcast, Skadden attorneys Bill Batchelor, Karen Lent and Vikram Pandit highlight differences — and similarities — in the handling of recent antitrust issues related to...more
On January 25, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an inquiry scrutinizing the investments and partnerships of Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon relating to growing artificial intelligence startups Open AI and...more
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) released the final 2023 Merger Guidelines (the Guidelines). While the final version of the Guidelines reflects...more
12/22/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Vertical Mergers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a draft of proposed new merger guidelines today, 18 months after FTC Chair Lina Khan and Assistant Attorney General...more
Key Points - U.S. antitrust regulators at the DOJ and FTC embarked on a joint review of merger enforcement by soliciting public input on modernizing federal merger guidelines. While public comments ran the gamut from...more
7/13/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
As the Biden Administration enters its second year, the White House and antitrust enforcers at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continue to focus on the intersection between antitrust and...more
On June 28, 2021, Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted Facebook’s motions to dismiss two parallel antitrust complaints filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a group...more
7/12/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Instagram ,
Laches ,
Monopolization ,
Sherman Act ,
Social Media ,
The Clayton Act ,
WhatsApp
More than four years after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly released the Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals in 2016 (Antitrust Guidance), the DOJ has...more
2/22/2021
/ Antitrust Conspiracies ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Indictments ,
No-Poaching ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage-Fixing
On August 31, 2020, the Delaware Chancery Court issued an opinion in litigation between Anthem and Cigna related to the contract in their terminated merger. In its sprawling 306-page opinion, the court detailed a “corporate...more
9/19/2020
/ Anthem Insurance ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Breach of Contract ,
CIGNA ,
Condition Precedent ,
Contract Termination ,
Contract Terms ,
Credibility ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Merger Agreements ,
Mergers ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Popular ,
Reasonable Efforts Clauses ,
Termination Rights
Following their January publication of Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines (draft guidelines) for public comment, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) (collectively, the agencies) issued final...more
Federal district courts around the country continue to grapple with how to analyze “no-poach” agreements — whereby two or more companies agree not to hire or recruit each other’s workers — under the antitrust laws. Beginning...more
5/2/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Defense Contracts ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Hub-and-Spoke Conspiracy ,
No-Poaching ,
Per Se Rule ,
Popular ,
Restraint of Trade ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Sherman Act ,
Standard of Review
On April 22, 2020, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals vacated and remanded an order certifying a class of direct purchaser plaintiffs in In re: Lamictal Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litigation, holding that the district court...more
4/30/2020
/ Antitrust Injuries ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Class Certification ,
Delays ,
Direct Purchasers ,
FRCP 23 ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Manufacturers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Predominance Requirement ,
Remand ,
Reverse Payment Settlement Agreements ,
Vacated ,
Wholesale
Although courthouse activity has slowed over the past month due to COVID-19 social distancing efforts, federal courts continue to conduct business, even if remotely. Many judges have utilized this time to finalize decisions...more
4/7/2020
/ Antitrust Conspiracies ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Standing ,
Failure To State A Claim ,
Federal Pleading Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Defendants ,
FRCP 12(b)(2) ,
Libor ,
Motion to Amend ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Sherman Act ,
Standing
The outbreak of coronavirus/COVID-19 has caused numerous companies and event organizers to postpone, reschedule or even cancel public events. Due to regulations and advisories from governments and public health organizations...more
The question is no longer whether the volatility created by the COVID-19 pandemic will deepen the difficulties businesses and other institutions face in the coming months, but by how much and in what ways. In the past few...more
3/21/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Audits ,
Board of Directors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Court Closures ,
Debt-Equity ,
Energy Projects ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
IRS ,
Liquidity ,
Mergers ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Stock Repurchases
As anticipated, on January 10, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the Agencies) released Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines (Draft Guidelines), marking the first update...more
1/22/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Comment ,
Sensitive Business Information ,
Supply Chain ,
Transparency ,
Vertical Mergers
In September, Georgetown University Law Center hosted its 13th Annual Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium and Fordham University School of Law hosted its 46th Annual International Antitrust Law and Policy Conference. Each...more
10/15/2019
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Ascertainable Class ,
Big Tech ,
Binding Arbitration ,
Class Action ,
Digital Currency ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRCP 23 ,
Innovative Technology ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Public Policy ,
Unbundling
Antitrust treatment of no-poach agreements continues to evolve as private cases progress, state attorneys general ramp up enforcement efforts and federal regulators further contemplate the legality of no-poach agreements....more
Legal battles over the antitrust treatment of no-poach agreements continue to escalate with new district court decisions and new pronouncements from two “titans” of antitrust policy, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the...more
6/10/2019
/ AAI ,
American Antitrust Institute ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dominos ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Hub-and-Spoke Conspiracy ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
No-Poaching ,
Per Se Rule ,
Quick Look Analysis ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Sherman Act ,
Vertical Restraints
On May 13, 2019, in a 5-4 decision in Apple Inc. v. Pepper, the U.S. Supreme Court held that consumers of iPhone apps are direct purchasers of Apple and therefore have standing to sue the company for alleged monopolization of...more
5/15/2019
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Apple Inc v Pepper ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Direct Purchasers ,
Dismissals ,
Internet Retailers ,
iPhone ,
Mobile Apps ,
Monopolization ,
Private Right of Action ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Sherman Act ,
The Clayton Act
In early February 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its intent to file statements of interest in multiple ongoing private lawsuits to clarify how “no-poach” agreements should be evaluated under the federal...more
3/19/2019
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Venture ,
No-Poaching ,
Railways ,
Regulatory Oversight
Evolving antitrust treatment of so-called “no-poach” agreements continues to offer important guidance for company counsel and human resources professionals. Over the past two years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has...more
2/12/2019
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Horizontal Restraint ,
Hub-and-Spoke Conspiracy ,
No-Poaching ,
Pleading Standards ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Sherman Act ,
Universities
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it will hold a series of public hearings examining whether changes in the economy, evolving business practices, new technologies or international developments might...more
11/26/2018
/ Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Event Tickets ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
GAO ,
Internet Retailers ,
Public Comment ,
Public Hearing ,
Sports ,
Ticket Pricing
On October 26, 2018, Justice Gerald W. Connolly of the New York Supreme Court for Albany County ruled in White v. Cuomo (Index No. 5861-16) that New York’s 2016 authorization of fantasy sports violated the state constitution....more
In recent weeks, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has continued to expand his efforts to eradicate the use of no-poach agreements by employers. The targets of his investigation are companies that have included...more
10/18/2018
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Former Employee ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
No-Poaching ,
Sherman Act ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Labor Laws