One of the most common questions clients have after a merger or acquisition has been signed is, “When can we start on combining the operations and doing business?” And one of the most challenging pieces of counseling is to...more
There is a lot of uncertainty in the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) world. The new rules on what must be included in an HSR filing have been issued and are due to take effect on February 10, 2025, but that could be derailed or...more
December has been a busy and banner month for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Following its successful suit to block the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger, the FTC issued two significant announcements: (1) the withdrawal...more
In June 2023, the FTC and DOJ (the “Agencies”) proposed a new rule that would significantly change the form and instructions for premerger notifications under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“New HSR Form”). That proposal hinted...more
This week, Judge Ada E. Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Ryan v. The Federal Trade Commission upheld a challenge by business groups to the FTC’s non-compete ban. In addition to confirming...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
Yesterday (July 23), a Pennsylvania judge—in ATS Tree Services, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission—upheld the legality of the FTC's non-compete ban. This ruling contradicts the ruling recently issued in a parallel proceeding in...more
On July 3, a Texas judge in the bellwether lawsuit, Ryan, LLC v. The Federal Trade Commission, became the first to weigh in on the legality of the FTC’s non-compete ban that is set to take effect on September 4. As was widely...more
May 29, in Ryan, LLC et al. v. The Federal Trade Commission, the FTC filed its response in opposition to Plaintiffs’ request to stay/enjoin the FTC Rule banning non-competes from taking effect on September 4. The Court has...more
Mark your calendars for July 3—the date we will likely learn whether a Texas Court will enjoin the FTC Rule banning non-competes from taking effect on September 4. This week, Judge Ada Brown, the presiding judge in Ryan, LLC...more
5/9/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
To date, three lawsuits have been filed challenging the legality of the FTC’s Final Rule banning non-competes. The initial two cases were filed in Texas federal court, which is widely viewed as a more hospitable forum for...more
5/1/2024
/ Chamber of Commerce ,
Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) conducted a special Open Commission Meeting to vote on a Final Rule (the “Rule”) banning most non-compete clauses as an “unfair method of competition.” By a vote of 3-2,...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
FTC Final Rules Banning Non-Competes Vote Next Tuesday -
As you know, last year, the FTC issued a proposed rule banning virtually all non-compete agreements (which does not include non-solicitation agreements,...more
The top enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) are sending strong signals that private equity (PE) firms are likely to be the next target in the Biden...more
The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“HSR”) requires that transactions over a certain value be reported at least 30 days prior to closing to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ,”...more
Earlier this week, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released the long-awaited 2023 Merger Guidelines. The final guidelines are the result of nearly two years of behind-the-scenes...more
The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division have proposed a massive redesign of the premerger notification process—one that may increase the time to complete an HSR filing from 37 to 144...more
The most recent effort by the Biden Administration to “modernize” antitrust policy and enforcement involves withdrawing decades of guidance for the health care industry. On February 2, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice...more
The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“HSR”) requires that transactions over a certain value be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division at least 30 days prior to closing. That...more
2/1/2023
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
New Guidance ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements
On January 10, 2023 Politico reported that the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has launched antitrust investigations into Pepsi and Coca Cola. According to the article, the “companies’ pricing strategies are being...more
Fresh off the significant buzz from the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) January 5, 2023 announcement of its Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“NPRM”) setting forth a ban on all non-compete clauses between employers and...more
1/11/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
NPRM ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
In yet another signal in support of the notion that “the era of lax enforcement is over, and the new era of vigorous and effective antitrust law enforcement has begun,” on October 31 the Antitrust Division of the Department...more
11/7/2022
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Monopolization ,
Risk Management ,
Section 2 ,
Sherman Act ,
White Collar Crimes
On October 19, 2022, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a press release heralding the resignation of seven directors from ten companies’ boards of directors in response to the government’s...more
11/3/2022
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bright-Line Rule ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Section 8 ,
Sherman Act ,
Spinoffs ,
The Clayton Act
The two top federal antitrust enforcers, in contemporaneous interviews, recently highlighted a new target for antitrust enforcement for their respective agencies: private equity firms and their acquisition strategies....more
In the government’s ongoing efforts to increase antitrust enforcement, Assistant Attorney General (“AAG”) Jonathan Kanter, head of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (“DOJ”), opened up another front for clients to...more
In March of this year, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) jointly announced a series of “listening forums” that would help gather real world input from...more