Recent scrutiny of interlocking directorates – when a person serves as an officer or board director of two competing corporations – by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission...more
In the latest employment-related collaborations under President Biden, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) both recently announced new partnerships with the National...more
On June 3, 2022, Andrew Forman, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) publicly stated that the DOJ is considering “enhancing antitrust enforcement around a...more
6/22/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Healthcare ,
Home Health Care ,
Joe Biden ,
Monopolization ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Private Equity
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
Morrison & Foerster’s Automotive Task Force represents automotive industry clients in their most significant legal matters.
We have tapped our multidisciplinary Automotive Task Force to get their opinions on what is likely...more
2/23/2022
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Antitrust Division ,
Automotive Industry ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Popular ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
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 January 18, 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) held a joint press conference to announce the launch of a broad‑ranging public inquiry aimed at...more
“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
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
On June 6, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021. Co-sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the bill would increase filing fees for certain large...more
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 4, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the temporary suspension of grants of early termination of the 30-day waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act)....more
The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced its first-ever criminal wage-fixing prosecution. The DOJ likely intends this case to be a wake-up call to companies, executives, and HR...more
Despite the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the work of antitrust enforcers has continued largely uninterrupted in the second half of 2020. The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (the “Division”) has announced...more
11/3/2020
/ Bid Rigging ,
Confidential Information ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Cross-Border ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DPA ,
FBI ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Market Allocation Scheme ,
Price-Fixing
Throughout the first half of 2020, much of the world has grappled with the reality of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as the outbreak spread rapidly across entire countries and shut down large segments of the global...more
7/7/2020
/ ACPERA ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DPA ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Remote Working ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
As much of the U.S. battles COVID-19 by self-quarantining, others fight on the front lines by providing healthcare services, maintaining supply chains, and keeping America safe and fed. On April 13, the Department of Justice,...more
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continues to unfold, antitrust enforcement agencies worldwide continue to adapt their policies and enforcement, balancing the need to be more permissive about corporations collaborating...more
As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues to unfold, entire governments, economies, businesses, and countries are being adversely affected. The World Health Organization reports that there are “still many...more
In response to COVID-19, collaboration and cooperation among competitors in various forms may be beneficial to society. While businesses must remember that antitrust and competition laws continue to apply and take care to...more
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
Less than two weeks after being extradited from Italy to the United States, Maria Christina “Meta” Ullings, former senior vice president of air cargo sales and marketing for Martinair N.V. and a Dutch national, pleaded guilty...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