Key Takeaways -
A recent statement of interest from the U.S. Department of Justice focuses on “fact checking” efforts as potential antitrust violations due to the potential to suppress competition within the “marketplace of...more
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force on March 27, 2025, to review and advocate for the elimination of anticompetitive state and federal laws and...more
Corporate compliance programs are essential tools for mitigating antitrust risk.
With the transition to the Trump administration, organizations should consider developing and empowering their corporate compliance programs...more
2/11/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Technology Sector
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced its annual adjustments to (1) the pre-merger notification thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the HSR Act), (2) the HSR Act filing...more
1/15/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Reporting Requirements ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
With the nomination of Commissioner Andrew Ferguson as chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) and Gail Slater to helm the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, the second Trump...more
On December 12, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits (Southern)—the largest wholesale distributor of wine and spirits in the country—in the U.S. District Court for the Central...more
12/18/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Buyers ,
California ,
Class Action ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Distributors ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Robinson-Patman Act ,
Sellers ,
Trump Administration ,
Wine & Alcohol
Anyone trying to score tickets to Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour is familiar with the political backlash following Ticketmaster’s inability to handle “unprecedented” demand for the concert series. The U.S. Department of Justice...more
The staff of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Competition issued a statement on June 15, 2023, sternly criticizing the use of confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements that “impede” the FTC’s ability to conduct...more
7/11/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Interviews ,
NLRB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Antitrust compliance programs that are tailored to a company’s culture, line of business, and competitive conditions have long been worth their weight in gold. But as 2022 draws to a close, a looming economic slowdown and an...more
11/16/2022
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Collusion ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Price-Fixing ,
Settlement ,
Sherman Act ,
The Clayton Act ,
Wage-Fixing
Continuing its prolific run of indictments, guilty pleas, and convictions, on July 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF or Strike Force) secured a guilty plea from a Texas...more
7/26/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Convictions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraudulent Procurement ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Sherman Act ,
White Collar Crimes
A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has held that an antitrust challenge to a “hiring restriction [that] prevented” plaintiff employees “from taking a better-paying position with a...more
7/6/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
No-Poaching
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 5-0 to issue a complaint and accept a proposed order for public comment regarding private equity fund JAB Consumer Partners SCA SICAR’s (JAB) $1.1 billion acquisition of SAGE...more
6/24/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Investigations ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (the Agencies) announced the withdrawal of a 2019...more
President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14036 on Promoting Competition in the American Economy on July 9, 2021. Touting the advantages of an “open and competitive economy,” the executive order highlights how competitive...more
3/31/2022
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Airlines ,
Antitrust Division ,
Automotive Industry ,
Aviation Industry ,
Buyers ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Farmers ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
Joe Biden ,
Railways ,
Suppliers ,
USDA
When the DOJ is deciding whether to charge a company with a criminal antitrust violation, or agreeing to a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), the effectiveness of a company’s antitrust compliance program is only one...more
3/5/2020
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Code of Conduct ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Leniency Guidelines ,
Sandoz
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a new policy on July 11, 2019, designed to incentivize the development and implementation of corporate antitrust compliance programs.
In remarks made at the New York...more
The American Bar Association’s 67th Antitrust Law spring meeting held earlier this month featured several sessions addressing the efforts of federal and state antitrust enforcement agencies, including a number of discussions...more
4/10/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Cartwright Act ,
Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Illinois Brick ,
Mergers ,
Ohio v American Express ,
Price-Fixing ,
Sherman Act ,
State Sovereignty ,
Vertical Mergers
The American Bar Association’s 65th Antitrust Law Spring Meeting held at the end of March included a number of sessions with representatives from federal and state antitrust enforcement agencies. In this first of a three-part...more
4/11/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Attorney General ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Competition ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Merger Challenges ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
State and Local Government ,
The Clayton Act ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Attorney
In 1995, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the Agencies) published guidelines that delineated how and when the Agencies would evaluate intellectual property licensing...more
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take the helm of the executive branch of the federal government, many are asking how he will approach antitrust regulation. Conventional wisdom holds that Republicans are more...more
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission jointly issued their Antitrust Guidance for Human Resources Professionals on October 20, 2016. The guidance addresses the applicability of...more
10/28/2016
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Incentives ,
Job Applicants ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Restrictive Covenants
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is vigorously pursuing civil and criminal actions against individuals—and not simply the companies they run.
Just last month, Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer...more
On March 26, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a rare negative business review letter declining to approve a plan by Intellectual Property Exchange International Inc. (IPXI) to offer a financial exchange for...more