At the mid-year point, 2024 is shaping up to be an eventful year in cartel enforcement. In the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Antitrust Division (Division) enjoyed two significant victories and finally...more
7/19/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bid Rigging ,
Canada ,
Canadian Competition Act ,
Cartels ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
FBI ,
France ,
Healthcare ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Mexican Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) ,
Monopolization ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Rental Property ,
UK
Judge Ada Brown in the Northern District of Texas has stayed the effective date of the FTC’s Non-Compete Rule and granted plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction against the Rule, effective July 3, 2024. The court found...more
On April 24, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) promulgated its final rule prohibiting non-competes for most workers in the United States (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule raises several issues, including...more
5/2/2024
/ Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Franchises ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Nonprofits ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Selling a Business ,
Unfair Competition
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (the “Commission”) voted to issue its final rule (the “Final Rule”) barring non-competes for most workers in the United States, with exceptions for non-competes entered into in...more
As anticipated, cartel enforcement is ramping up at the start of 2024 and investigations relating to artificial intelligence (AI) are taking center stage. Leadership of both the broader Department of Justice (DOJ) and the...more
4/4/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Preservation ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mexican Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing ,
Pricing ,
Software ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
In the latest development signaling California’s increasing efforts to police antitrust violations, on March 6, 2024, Senior Assistant Attorney General Paula Blizzard announced that the California Office of the Attorney...more
On January 26, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (the “Division”) announced that both agencies are updating language in critical documents for civil and criminal...more
The year 2023 ended with a bang in the cartel space, with a federal court of appeals upending what was long believed to be the scope of conduct that should be considered per se under the Sherman Act. The new year, 2024,...more
1/11/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Audio Recording ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
European Commission ,
Healthcare ,
Italy ,
Korea ,
No-Poaching ,
Per Se Rule ,
Popular ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Self-Reporting ,
Sherman Act ,
Turkey ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Wiretapping
The third quarter of 2023 was eventful for both domestic and international cartel enforcers.
In the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to revamp policies to sharpen its enforcement efforts. On...more
10/27/2023
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Collusion ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) ,
Fraud ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Mexican Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) ,
Military Contracts ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Safe Harbors ,
Self-Reporting ,
Sherman Act ,
World Cup
At this mid-point of 2023, and now several months on from the ABA’s Spring Antitrust conference, there have been several notable developments concerning cartel enforcement, as new leadership settles in at the U.S. Department...more
7/12/2023
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Collusion ,
Competition ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Military Contracts ,
No-Poaching ,
Olympics ,
Policy Statement ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Red Bull ,
Wage-Fixing ,
Whistleblowers
Antitrust practitioners from around the world gathered in Washington, D.C. the week of March 27, 2023, for a series of industry meetings, centered around the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section’s 71st Annual Spring...more
4/11/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Anti-Monopoly ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cartels ,
Collusion ,
Competition ,
Consent Decrees ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Mergers ,
Price-Fixing ,
Robinson-Patman Act ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage-Fixing
On February 2, 2023, the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, Doha Mekki, announced that the DOJ was withdrawing three policy statements outlining safe...more
On January 4, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced settlements with three companies for their use of employee non-compete restrictions in alleged violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. Specifically, the FTC...more
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a proposed rule broadly seeking to ban non-compete agreements with nearly all U.S. workers, with only limited exceptions. The proposed rule would:
•make it...more
In 2022, antitrust authorities around the world were pursuing more investigations, bringing new types of cases, and making policy changes to spark even more enforcement actions.
In the United States, the Department of...more
12/21/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Monopolization ,
No-Poaching ,
OECD ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage-Fixing
Since the last edition of the QCC, there has been a series of dramatic developments in the criminal antitrust enforcement space in the U.S. from the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (Division)....more
5/10/2022
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Belgium ,
Bid Rigging ,
Buy-Side Trading ,
Canada ,
Canadian Competition Act ,
Construction Contracts ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Grand Juries ,
Health Care Providers ,
Home Health Care ,
Leniency Programs ,
Monopolization ,
No-Poaching ,
OECD ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Reimbursements ,
Romania ,
Sherman Act ,
South Korea ,
Supply Chain ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage-Fixing
On April 4, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (the “Division”) announced noteworthy updates to its Corporate Leniency Program as well as its frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) that explain the Program,...more
In the latest sign of the Biden administration’s aggressive antitrust enforcement agenda, on March 2, 2022, while speaking on a panel at the ABA White Collar Crime Conference in San Francisco, Deputy Assistant Attorney...more
The end of 2021 continued to be a busy time for antitrust enforcers in the U.S. and around the world. Perhaps most notably, in November the Senate confirmed Jonathan Kanter to lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust...more
1/26/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Bid Rigging ,
Bids ,
Cartels ,
Collusion ,
Construction Contracts ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mistrial ,
Ocean Transportation System ,
Price-Fixing ,
Sherman Act ,
Supply Chain ,
Trading Plans ,
Tyson Foods ,
Wage-Fixing
“If adopted and implemented by the agencies, the measures [in Biden’s executive order] would amount to the toughest antitrust enforcement that we’ve seen in the U.S. in decades.”
The award-winning women partners of...more
At our annual MoForward event in October 2021, Lisa Phelan offered practical advice about avoiding U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal antitrust enforcement of “no poach” agreements, predicting the defense industry...more
On November 16, 2021, the Senate voted 68–29 to confirm Jonathan Kanter as the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Kanter’s confirmation is significant because the...more
More than halfway through the year, 2021 has shaped up to be another busy time for antitrust enforcers. In July, the Biden administration confirmed that antitrust remains a top priority by issuing a sweeping Executive Order,...more
9/16/2021
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
FBI ,
Joe Biden ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage-Fixing
On July 9, 2021, President Biden signed a sweeping executive order (EO) creating a “whole-of-government competition policy” that directs more than a dozen federal agencies to work in concert with the Department of Justice...more
Are the stars aligning for antitrust reform? President Biden is filling key positions in the White House (Timothy Wu, National Economic Council) and reportedly at the FTC (Lina Khan, commissioner) with lawyers who have...more