In this episode of PE Pathways, Brandon Raphael, a partner from the firm’s Private Equity practice, is joined by fellow Partners Barbara Sicalides and Joe Farside from the firm's Antitrust practice group to discuss antitrust...more
In what may be a surprise to those who thought that restrictions on the use of noncompetes would go away with the change in administration, this week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that the agency will form a...more
3/4/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
As state legislatures introduce legislation expanding the reach of their antitrust laws and state attorneys general ramp up their use of antitrust investigations and litigation, the legal landscape continues to become more...more
2/28/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
California ,
Competition ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Healthcare ,
Jurisdiction ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair Competition
Practically on the eve of the inauguration, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ), jointly issued antitrust guidelines for business activities affecting workers. The FTC's...more
1/17/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ) announced a record-setting $5.6 million gun-jumping fine related to Verdun Oil Company II LLC’s acquisition of EP Energy LLC. Although...more
1/9/2025
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fines ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Oil & Gas
Within hours of each other, an Oregon federal district court followed by a Washington state court enjoined the $24.6 billion merger of the Kroger and Albertsons grocery chains. The Oregon court adopted the controversial 2023...more
At the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) open meeting this month, agency staff and commissioners discussed the recently launched " Merger Portal." The portal is available on the FTC's website and provides the public with an...more
A New York federal court’s recent decision to enjoin the merger of two fashion companies gave the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the 2023 Merger Guidelines a boost. Since the issuance of the draft merger guidelines in...more
After what is described as “intense negotiations” among the commissioners, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has unanimously approved a substantial overhaul to the rules governing the documents and information that must be...more
After what is described as “intense negotiations” among the commissioners, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has unanimously approved a substantial overhaul to the rules governing the documents and information that must be...more
Federal and state antitrust enforcers, as well as private plaintiffs, are actively investigating and challenging both the companies using pricing algorithms, and the software vendors or the data analytics firms providing the...more
6/14/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Analytics ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Reporting ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Popular ,
Pricing ,
Sherman Act ,
Software ,
State Attorneys General ,
Statutory Violations
A Texas federal court dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) lawsuit against private equity (PE) owner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (Welsh Carson), while allowing to proceed the agency’s challenge against U.S....more
6/12/2024
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
FTCA Section 13(b) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Monopolization ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Private Equity Firms
On May 9, Assistant Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Kanter announced that Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division has formed a Task Force on Healthcare Monopolies and Collusion (HCMC). The initiative will bring...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act notification thresholds. The HSR Act requires all persons contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions, which meet or exceed...more
1/26/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Statutory Violations ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Venture Capital
In June of 2022, McDonald’s obtained a judgment on the pleadings, ending antitrust litigation challenging the legality of the no-hire restraints it previously included in its franchise agreements. More than a year later, the...more
10/4/2023
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Former Employee ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Judgment on the Pleadings ,
McDonalds ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
No-Poaching ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sherman Act ,
Statutory Violations
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has focused on the potential harm that loyalty discounts and bundled prices could cause to competitors and their access to customers. A vendor offers a bundled discount when it...more
With the end of summer and fall right around the corner, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division is gearing up for several crucial displays of its criminal enforcement priorities across multiple...more
9/13/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Government Investigations ,
Monopolization ,
Price-Fixing ,
Sherman Act ,
White Collar Crimes
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division announced that they will hold three workshops regarding their jointly issued Draft Merger Guidelines. The first virtual workshop will be...more
8/30/2023
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly issued new draft Merger Guidelines on July 19. The draft Merger Guidelines were created with the goal "to better reflect how the agencies...more
8/4/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
NAICS ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
On April 3, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division (DOJ) filed a complaint against and settlement with Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision), alleging the company violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act....more
4/10/2023
/ Activision ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Contract Drafting ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
eSports ,
Final Judgment ,
Salary Caps ,
Sherman Act ,
Tax Liability ,
Video Games ,
Wage Withholding
Senate Proposal Opens the Door for More State Antitrust Lawsuits -
On July 14, the U.S. Senate advanced legislation that puts all businesses at risk of defending antitrust lawsuits across different jurisdictions...more
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act (the “State AG Venue Act”). This law puts all businesses at risk of defending antitrust lawsuits across different jurisdictions...more
As a sport, golf has rarely, if ever, been described as "cutting edge." But in the courtroom, golf may be at the forefront of the latest antitrust developments. In the coming months, the legal war unfolding in professional...more
The Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently secured its first criminal conviction for a labor-side violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act after VDA OC LLC (VDA) entered a guilty plea....more
On Tuesday, December 6, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division, announced the unsealing of criminal charges against 12 individuals in the Southern District of Texas as part of an 11-year price fixing and...more