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
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)
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
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
On October 25, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) adopted a new policy requiring merging parties that enter into settlements to resolve competition concerns to give the FTC veto power over future deals in...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
A new year, a new administration in the United States, and new cartel enforcement leadership in the United Kingdom have begun. In the United States, first-of-their-kind criminal charges have been brought involving labor and...more
3/2/2021
/ ACPERA ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Bipartisan Agreement ,
Cartels ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2015 ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Fraud ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
National Security ,
Online Gaming ,
Plea Agreements ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Retaliation ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
State Attorneys General ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On February 11, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted its budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2021, which includes a 13% increase in funding for the Antitrust Division. Overall, the Division is requesting a...more
On January 10, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) issued draft Vertical Merger Guidelines for public comment. The draft guidelines outline potential theories of harm, the analytical...more
Below we summarize significant cartel enforcement developments from U.S. and other antitrust enforcers in recent months, including: the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s (the “Division”) review of its International...more
11/1/2019
/ Antitrust Division ,
Australia ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Indonesia ,
Japan ,
Mergers ,
New Zealand ,
Portugal ,
Price-Fixing
To provide a quick overview of developments in criminal antitrust investigations and prosecutions, in the U.S. and globally, we summarize below some of the most significant Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announcements, policy...more