Antitrust enforcement against collusion in labor markets is intensifying across the transatlantic region. In this episode of "Fierce Competition," host Bill Batchelor and partners Jim Fredricks, Aurora Luoma and Margot Sève...more
8/6/2025
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
International Labor Laws ,
No-Poaching ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage-Fixing
- What is new: Merger control is becoming increasingly more complex as policy and geopolitical priorities shift across the globe.
- Why it matters: These developments increase the unpredictability of multijurisdictional...more
7/24/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Asia Pacific ,
Competition ,
Cross-Border ,
Economic Growth ,
EU ,
Geopolitical Risks ,
Investment ,
Jurisdiction ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Remedies ,
State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United States
Is payment to an intermediary, not by its client but by the financial service provider, an illegal inducement or a legitimate distribution cost?
In Hopcraft, the UK Supreme Court will consider this perennial question. The...more
5/22/2025
/ Bribery ,
Competition ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Lenders ,
Popular ,
Remuneration ,
UK
On March 12, 2025, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a consultation on its approach to merger remedies, asking whether the authority should permit more complex remedies in Phase I investigations and...more
3/20/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Remedies ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
In this article, we reflect on key trends in ESG over the second half of 2024 and look ahead at trends that may emerge in 2025. We analyze developments in the latter half of 2024, which were similar to those highlighted in...more
1/6/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Australia ,
Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
COP ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Green Loans ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Loan Market Association ,
Member State ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Nasdaq ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Tax Reform ,
UK ,
United Nations
The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will, in the new year, launch a review of its approach to merger remedies which could lead to a shift away from its long-standing preference for structural...more
12/17/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Global Market ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Remedies ,
Mergers ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The United Kingdom’s (UK’s) Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the Act) expands the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) jurisdiction in merger control, regulates major tech platforms with “strategic...more
12/3/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On September 3, 2024, the European Union’s Court of Justice (ECJ) issued its highly anticipated judgment in the Illumina/Grail case (C-611/22 P and C-625/22 P) concerning the European Commission’s (EC’s) power to review...more
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, and diverging opinions on approach, continued to dominate headlines across the globe in the first half of 2024. Companies and their stakeholders started the year navigating...more
7/29/2024
/ Activist ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Shareholders ,
UK
As a new policy statement from the European Commission (EC) treats wage-fixing and no-poach agreements as inherently anticompetitive (restriction of competition “by object”) with few possible defences, companies should...more
The United Kingdom’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (the Act) received royal assent on 24 May 2024. The Act introduces wide-ranging amendments to the UK competition and consumer law regimes that expand the...more
5/29/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Breach of Competition Law ,
Competition Act ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Enforcement ,
Investigations ,
Jurisdiction ,
Jurisdictional Thresholds ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Misleading Statements ,
Penalties ,
Price Inflation ,
Safe Harbors ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC or the Act), adopted on 24 May 2024, empowers the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to regulate the conduct of major tech platforms....more
5/29/2024
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Noncompliance ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Dawn raids, or unannounced inspections, are possible at both business locations and homes. In response to the increase in remote work and electronic communication in recent years, competition authorities are making more use...more
For the first time in two decades, the UK Court of Appeal has ruled on the substantive standard of judicial review to be applied by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT or Tribunal) in UK merger cases....more
On 25 April 2024, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced reforms to its in-depth merger control review process (the Phase 2 review). The updates include:
- An expanded de minimis exception. The CMA will...more
The US Government Is Using AI To Detect Potential Wrongdoing, and Companies Should Too With agencies such as the SEC and DOJ using AI and other data analytics tools extensively to detect wrongdoing, companies need to adopt...more
4/1/2024
/ Analytics ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Communications ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Data Management ,
Data Protection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Hong Kong ,
International Data Transfers ,
Machine Learning ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Race Discrimination ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Technology Sector
Key Points Artificial intelligence (AI) — and in particular generative AI, which creates new content — has recently emerged as a transformative tool with the power and potential to reshape familiar industries. Although...more
3/27/2024
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Australia ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
In the second installment of our “Fierce Competition” podcast, partners Ken Schwartz, Tara Reinhart and Aurora Luoma discuss issues that antitrust attorneys — on both the corporate and litigation side — encounter as antitrust...more
On November 20, 2023, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced proposed reforms to its in-depth merger control review process (the phase 2 review) that seek to provide more opportunities for engagement with...more
On October 12, 2023, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its final Green Agreements Guidance (Guidance). The Guidance is designed to help businesses seeking to collaborate on environmental sustainability...more
11/13/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Horizontal Agreements ,
New Guidance ,
Sustainability ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Starting today, October 12, 2023, the mandatory notification requirements under the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) apply. M&A deals involving businesses that (i) have been granted certain levels of financial support...more
As predicted in our February 1, 2023, client alert, “ESG in 2022 and Predictions for 2023,” a global economic slowdown and ongoing backlash in the U.S. have slowed the momentum of some aspects of the environmental, social and...more
7/18/2023
/ Activist Investors ,
Biodiversity ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Reporting ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Green Energy ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Remuneration ,
Sustainability ,
UK
On 12 July 2023, the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) entered into force. The FSR allows the European Commission (EC) to investigate and remedy subsidies received from non-EU countries that distort the EU internal...more
7/18/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Investigations ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Private Equity ,
Required Documentation ,
Subsidies
On April 25, 2023, the UK Government published its long-awaited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (Bill) which, among other things, introduces a new ex ante regulatory regime for digital markets. The Bill...more
On 25 April 2023, the UK government published the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (Bill), which will introduce wide-ranging amendments to the UK competition and consumer law regimes that expand the powers of...more