Participants in the renewable energy industry should be aware of antitrust and competition rules because renewable energy is no longer a nascent field. In 2025, the United States is projected to generate 25% of its...more
8/13/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FERC ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Renewable Energy ,
Sherman Act
Parties to transactions should be aware of new requirements for state-level merger reporting – so-called “mini-HSR Acts” – modeled on the Uniform Antitrust Pre-Merger Notification Act (“UAPNA”). Washington and Colorado have...more
7/29/2025
/ California ,
Colorado ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Donnelly Act ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
New Legislation ,
Pre-Market Notification ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Attorneys General ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
One hundred days ago, sweeping revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Premerger Notification Form took effect. The revisions have significantly increased the time and effort to prepare HSR filings and have led filing parties...more
On February 26, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced the formation of a Joint Labor Task Force aimed at addressing deceptive, unfair, and anticompetitive practices impacting labor markets. The FTC signaled an...more
The re-election of former President Donald J. Trump is poised to significantly alter the landscape of antitrust enforcement, particularly within the energy and chemical industries. While the incoming administration has yet to...more
1/16/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bid Rigging ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emergency Response ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
Natural Disasters ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Oil & Gas ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Renewable Energy ,
Statutory Authority ,
Trump Administration
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has revised the thresholds that govern pre-merger notification requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”), and Section 8 of the...more
1/14/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Directors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act
On Friday, January 10, 2025, the Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, American Investment Council, and Longview Chamber of Commerce filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Texas against the Federal Trade Commission...more
1/14/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Regulatory Requirements
The incoming Trump administration suggests a potential return to more traditional levels of antitrust enforcement for energy industry mergers and a departure from novel theories of harm seen under current Federal Trade...more
1/8/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
The Clayton Act ,
Trump Administration
As former President Trump returns to office, excitement is building in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries, fueled by the administration’s early signals of support for digital assets and Web3 technologies, including...more
On October 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”), with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s concurrence, released a Final Rule containing long-anticipated revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act...more
10/17/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Board of Directors ,
Buyers ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
NAICS ,
Popular ,
Target Company
On October 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”), with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s concurrence, released a Final Rule containing the long-anticipated revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act...more
On August 20, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered a final judgment (“Order”) setting aside, on a nationwide basis, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) final rule (“Rule”) prohibiting...more
8/22/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
As we previously addressed, on April 24, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted to finalize its rule prohibiting businesses from entering into or enforcing non-compete clauses in nearly all agreements with workers...more
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2, on party lines, to finalize its rule prohibiting businesses from entering into or enforcing non-compete clauses in nearly all agreements with workers. This...more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has revised the thresholds that govern pre-merger notification requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”), and Section 8 of the...more
1/25/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Section 8 ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
For companies in the energy and chemical sectors, the potential for antitrust scrutiny is an ever-present concern. The next round of enforcement inquiries is never further away than the next jump in commodity prices or the...more
1/15/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Collusion ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Divestiture ,
Energy Commissions ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Oversight Committee ,
Private Equity
Participants in the renewable energy industry should be aware of antitrust and competition rules because renewable energy is no longer a nascent field. Europe generated almost 40% of its electricity from renewable sources in...more
11/13/2023
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Bid Rigging ,
Boycotts ,
CFIUS ,
Competition ,
Corporate Financing Rule ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FERC ,
Filed-Rate Doctrine ,
FIRRMA ,
Green Energy ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Hedging ,
Institutional Investors ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Investors ,
ISOs ,
Merger Controls ,
Price-Fixing ,
Renewable Energy ,
Restructuring
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order (“Order”) that drastically increased the U.S. government’s engagement with artificial intelligence (“AI”). The sweeping Order touches on everything from bias in...more
11/1/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Joe Biden ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Public Health
On June 29, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) Bureau of Competition and Office of Technology published a joint blog post that provided deeper insight into the FTC’s focus on competition in generative artificial...more
This checklist outlines antitrust considerations for the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) technology. Practices involving AI that could give rise to antitrust risk include algorithmic collusion, exclusionary practices...more
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced plans to prohibit employers from imposing or enforcing non-compete clauses in agreements with workers, including employees and independent contractors, in...more
1/9/2023
/ Employment Contract ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
NPRM ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair Competition
On July 27, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 to sue in federal district court to block Meta Platforms, Inc.’s (“Meta”) acquisition of Within Unlimited, Inc. (“Within”), a virtual reality (“VR”) app...more
On May 24, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it is establishing a new office, the Office of Competition and Innovation, as part of a broader initiative to promote competition in the...more
On March 9, 2022, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets that directs federal officials to consider the effects of “distributed ledger technology,” popularly known...more
In a recent exchange of letters with the White House, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) signaled her intent to ramp up antitrust enforcement in the oil and gas industry. The move comes as part of a broader...more
9/7/2021
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gas Prices ,
Infrastructure ,
Merger Agreements ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Unfair Competition