On August 20, 2024, a Texas federal court judge issued an order halting the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) non-compete rule, preventing it from taking effect on September 4, 2024. The order, issued by Judge Ada Brown, held...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
Private Equity (PE) has been a popular and frequent target of the Biden Administration’s recent antitrust enforcement efforts. Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice Antitrust Division...more
6/5/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
FTCA Section 13(b) ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Monopolization ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Private Equity
By a vote of 3-2, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) passed the final version of its much-talked-about non-compete rule. The final rule hews closely to the proposed rule, effectively banning all existing or future non-compete...more
4/25/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
There are five crucial areas of focus that will impact mergers, acquisitions and corporate governance going forward:
New Hart Scott Rodino (HSR) rules are expected in weeks, not months....more
4/24/2024
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Private Equity ,
Remedies
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued final merger guidelines which significantly overhaul how the agencies determine whether potential transactions violate...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) started off 2023 with a bang. On January 5, the FTC proposed a new rule that would effectively ban most non-compete agreements, making them an unfair and unlawful method of competition under...more
1/10/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair Competition
Since 2009, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has faced numerous lawsuits from student-athletes alleging that it unlawfully restrained trade by rules on compensating student-athletes....more
Last week, in a 6-3 opinion delivered by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the U.S. Supreme Court settled a long-running question about the scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (CFAA). In Van Buren v. United States, the...more
Two core principles of American criminal liability are: (1) a crime does not occur unless the accused has both criminal intent (mens rea) and commits a criminal act (actus reus); and (2) the intent and the act must occur at...more
4/9/2019
/ Corporate Officers ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Safety ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Negligence ,
Park Doctrine ,
Proposed Legislation ,
White Collar Crimes
On Friday, March 16, 2018, the DC Circuit issued its long-awaited opinion in ACA International v. FCC, No. 15-2011, a case challenging the Federal Communications Commission's interpretation of the robocalling provisions of...more
In this internet age, "smart" children’s products—those that collect, transmit or store electronic data—are on the rise. By some estimates, the smart toy market will reach $11.3 billion in sales by 2020. Manufacturers of...more
10/23/2017
/ COPPA ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Internet ,
Internet of Things ,
Mobile Apps ,
Mobile Health Apps ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Smart Devices ,
State and Local Government ,
Websites
Earlier this month, the Kansas Supreme Court issued an opinion in Gannon v. Kansas holding that the state’s current system of funding public education was inadequate under the state's constitution. The Court relied primarily...more
In September, we discussed several new trends in jurisdiction, including an opinion—Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of San Francisco County—in which the California Supreme Court held that hundreds of non-California...more
The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission jointly issued an Antitrust Guidance for Human Resources Professionals on October 20, 2016. The DOJ and FTC’s guidance follows several highly publicized...more
11/1/2016
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
New Guidance ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Wage-Fixing
As every manufacturer, distributor, advertiser, or retailer of consumer products likely knows, the location where a lawsuit is brought can have a large impact on the ultimate resolution of the matter. Whether because of...more
On Thursday, Aug. 4, the FCC granted organizations representing schools and utilities significant relief from liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act—a law that subjects callers to substantial penalties if they...more
8/15/2016
/ ATDS ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Educational Institutions ,
FCC ,
Mobile Devices ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Text Messages ,
Utilities Sector