Antitrust issues have cut deeply into the corporate landscape, and this year is shaping up for more of the same. Generative artificial intelligence, merger enforcement, and trial risks stand out as three of the most important...more
7/24/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Machine Learning ,
Mergers ,
Risk Mitigation
It is one of the hardest questions a company can face: after discovering criminal conduct inside your company, do you self-report to the government or not? The reality is that when faced with the question of self-reporting,...more
For companies in the energy and chemical sectors, the potential for antitrust scrutiny is an ever-present concern. The next round of enforcement inquiries is never further away than the next jump in commodity prices or the...more
1/15/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Collusion ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Divestiture ,
Energy Commissions ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Oversight Committee ,
Private Equity
It is one of the hardest questions a company can face: after discovering criminal conduct inside your company, do you self-report to the government or not? If you can quickly and quietly fix the problem, then you may be able...more
10/13/2023
/ Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Incentives ,
Internal Investigations ,
Safe Harbors ,
Self-Reporting ,
White Collar Crimes
An important federal appeals court has clarified a key principle of antitrust law in a way that potentially makes it more difficult for an employer to win a motion to dismiss, and thereby avoid expensive discovery, with...more
On April 28, 2023, U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden issued the latest blow to the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) efforts to criminally prosecute individuals who engage in “no-poach” agreements by granting the defendants’...more
Sharing competitively sensitive information can carry antitrust risks in certain situations. Recently, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice indicated that it will take an increased interest in challenging...more
2/24/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Healthcare ,
Information Sharing ,
Machine Learning ,
OIG ,
Sherman Act ,
The Clayton Act
Just days after securing its first Section 2 conviction in over 40 years in United States v. Zito on October 31, 2022,1 the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) again wielded its once-neglected ability to criminally enforce...more
On October 31, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) announced that the president of a Montana paving and asphalt contractor, Nathan Nephi Zito, had pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to...more
In a pair of unanimous decisions, the Federal Trade Commission this week issued consent orders resolving challenges to two acquisitions. Both enforcement actions focus on top priorities of the Biden antitrust enforcers...more
In the span of 24 hours, two closely-watched federal jury trials both ended in defeat last week for the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (“the Division”). The trials were considered bellwethers in gauging how the...more
On April 4, 2022, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division (the “Division”) announced important policy and practice changes to its leniency program (the “Leniency Program”) — the first substantive changes to the...more
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently signaled a possible shift in its antitrust merger review and remedies practice, moving away from a willingness to allow transactions to proceed through a divesture process....more
Antitrust activity increased significantly in 2021. This past year brought numerous changes in merger and non-merger enforcement policies and priorities that signal increased scrutiny in industry transactions. The “Biden...more
1/19/2022
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
AMG Capital Management LLC v FTC ,
Antitrust Division ,
Big Tech ,
Chemicals ,
Competition ,
Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2015 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Joe Biden ,
Market Manipulation ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
No-Poaching ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Pipelines ,
Price Inflation ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Transparency ,
Vertical Mergers ,
Warning Letters
On December 2, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it had filed an administrative complaint (the “Complaint”) to block Nvidia Corp.’s (“Nvidia”) $40 billion acquisition of U.K. chip design provider Arm...more
This Cartel primer, full document linked below, brings together our knowledge of cartel cases and distills it in an easily digestible and practical format. It discusses challenges targets face in responding to cartel...more
12/8/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Burden of Proof ,
Cartels ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Compelled Testimony ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Grand Juries ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Investigations ,
Monopolization ,
Raids ,
Sherman Act ,
The Clayton Act ,
Whistleblowers
On September 10, the newly-formed White House Competition Council (the “Council” or “Competition Council”) held its inaugural meeting, bringing together eight cabinet members and the leaders of seven independent agencies, to...more
9/30/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Drug Pricing ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Monopolization ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Unfair Competition
For many federal government contractors, their skilled and experienced workforce may be their most valuable asset. A recent “ice breaker” settlement of a class action lawsuit, however, demonstrates the wrong way to protect...more
9/23/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
No-Poaching
Corporate acquirers accustomed to government inertia in antitrust reform are navigating a sea change in Washington, according to Craig Seebald, a Washington, D.C.-based Partner and leader in the global Antitrust Group at...more
9/8/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Internet ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Monopolization ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process
With Lina Kahn the new chair of the FTC and Jonathan Kanter poised to helm DOJ’s Antitrust Division, are big changes afoot in antitrust enforcement? What role is fellow big tech critic and competition progressive Tim Wu, now...more
On July 20, 2021, President Biden nominated Jonathan Kanter, founder of the Kanter Law Group, to serve as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). Mr. Kanter is well known in...more
As has been well-publicized, on July 9, 2021, President Biden issued an “Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy” (the “EO” or “Order”).1 As the preamble articulates, the EO’s focus is to “promote the...more
7/19/2021
/ Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Joe Biden ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Popular ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Railroads ,
Sherman Act ,
Surface Transportation Board
On June 25, 2021, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (the “Division”) announced the first criminal antitrust prosecution and “international resolution obtained by the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF).”...more
As the Biden Administration gains its footing and key positions begin to be filled in the government, there promises to be a significant uptick in enforcement, especially in the areas of antitrust and white collar crime. In...more
In early January 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“the DOJ”) Antitrust Division (“the Division”) announced a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (“DPA”) with Argos USA LLC (“Argos” or “the Company”).1 While DPAs have been...more