The UK antitrust authority, the CMA, has recently published a guide for employers on how to avoid breaching UK antitrust law in labour markets. This publication signals the UK's intent to ratchet up antitrust scrutiny of...more
3/20/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United States
Prior to the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act—which was signed into US law on December 29, 2022 as part of the omnibus spending bill—the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) had the power to transfer and...more
On October 19, 2022, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice announced that seven directors resigned from five different US public company boards of directors following DOJ concerns that their roles violated...more
10/21/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Entities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Section 8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
The Clayton Act
In February 2022, the US District Court for the Eastern District of California held that California Assembly Bill 824—which established a first-of-its kind presumption that certain pharmaceutical patent settlements are...more
The focus on using the antitrust laws to target labor markets has been gaining momentum for years, but the close of 2021 saw the trend hit overdrive with antitrust attacks on perceived harm to workers coming from all corners...more
1/11/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Classification ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Indictments ,
Mergers ,
Misclassification ,
No-Poaching ,
Sherman Act ,
Vertical Mergers ,
Wage-Fixing
In a speech on 22 October 2021, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager revealed that the European Commission was planning a series of dawn raids for the months to come. She highlighted that the European Commission is...more
On Friday, July 9, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14036, Promoting Competition in the American Economy, which includes—among 72 initiatives aimed at enhancing competition in the US—a directive encouraging the...more
Citing concerns about growing consolidation, reduced competition, and increasing prices, President Biden issued on July 9, 2021 a sweeping Executive Order containing 72 initiatives to address competition concerns in a number...more
The new Executive Order includes 72 initiatives instructing more than a dozen federal agencies to consider adopting rules intended to enhance competition.
A new Executive Order signed by President Biden includes 72...more
The Korean-War era Defense Production Act ("DPA")1 has already loomed large in the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent press reports suggest that it may be invoked even more broadly in the coming weeks and...more
Competition regulators have shown their ability to act quickly and decisively in order to help allay the worst impacts of the coronavirus outbreak. Could these responses provide a template for achieving environmental and...more
9/22/2020
/ Collaboration ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Consumers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Policies ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Germany ,
Grocery Stores ,
Health Care Providers ,
Netherlands ,
No-Action Letters ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Public Safety ,
Sustainability ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United Nations
On April 4, 2020, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice issued its first Business Review Letter under the DOJ-FTC joint expedited COVID-19 competitor collaboration review procedures, blessing several medical...more
4/23/2020
/ Absolute Immunity ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Business Review Letters ,
Collaboration ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Research ,
Medical Supplies ,
No-Action Letters ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ("CARES") Act provides no modifications to, or relief from, the US antitrust laws (specifically, the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1-38; Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 12-27; and...more