News & Analysis as of

Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) Antitrust Violations

Vedder Price

Latest FTC Settlement Further Underscores Risk of “Green” Agreements

Vedder Price on

Last month, we posted an update describing Florida’s investigation into whether the CDP and the Science Based Targets Initiative are facilitating unlawful collusion among financial institutions and investment services to use...more

Cooley LLP

Antitrust Regulators Provide Guidance About When Shareholder Engagement Might Become An Issue

Cooley LLP on

I’m not well-versed in antitrust law – nor do I want to be – but this recent FTC/DOJ Statement of Interest from the antitrust lawsuit filed by the State of Texas against BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard bears on...more

A&O Shearman

Eastern District Of Texas Denies Motion To Dismiss Coordinated Stewardship Complaint Against Asset Managers

A&O Shearman on

On August 1, 2025, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas denied the motions to dismiss filed by three asset managers. The complaint, brought by thirteen plaintiff states (Texas, Alabama, Arkansas,...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Florida AG Announces Investigations Into Climate Scoring Organizations

Troutman Pepper Locke on

On July 28, Florida Attorney General (AG) James Uthmeier announced investigations into two environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scoring organizations for potential violations of state consumer protection and antitrust...more

Mintz

Red State AGs' ESG Antitrust Complaint Against Asset Managers Survives Motion to Dismiss

Mintz on

Last fall, a coalition of eleven Republication attorneys-general filed an antitrust complaint against three major asset managers, alleging that the asset managers' adherence to climate-friendly principles--which discourage...more

Mintz

Florida AG Announces Investigation into Climate Nonprofits for Alleged Violations of Consumer Protection and Antitrust Laws Based...

Mintz on

3 On July 28, 2025, the Republican Attorney-General of Florida announced that his office had “issued subpoenas to investigate whether the CDP (formerly the Climate Disclosure Project) and the Science Based Targets Initiative...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Navigating Antitrust Compliance: A Q&A with Vinson & Elkins’ Antitrust and Enforcement Leaders

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

At a recent Practising Law Institute (PLI) webinar on antitrust, over 250 legal professionals joined to hear from three antitrust leaders: Nicole Castle, Zach Terwilliger, and Craig Seebald. In this Q&A, they explore what’s...more

Cooley LLP

Antitrust Scrutiny of the ‘Big Three’ Asset Managers’ ESG Policies Heats Up

Cooley LLP on

As noted in this WSJ article, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission recently raised concerns in a “joint statement of interest” that large asset managers – including the “Big Three” of BlackRock, Vanguard and...more

Hogan Lovells

FTC and DOJ support Republican State Attorneys General in antitrust case targeting corporate ESG initiatives

Hogan Lovells on

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division have filed a Statement of Interest (SOI) supporting a lawsuit brought by a coalition of Republican states alleging that three large...more

Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP

The Texas v. Blackrock ESG Case: The FTC and DOJ Have Entered the Chat

On May 22nd, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed a joint Statement of Interest in a case against several prominent asset managers brought last year by the Texas Attorney General. In...more

Mintz

Trump Administration Files Statement of Interest Supporting State AG Action Against Asset Managers Accused of ESG-related...

Mintz on

Last week, the Trump Administration's FTC and DOJ (Antitrust Division) filed a statement of interest in support of a lawsuit filed last November by eleven Republican state attorneys-general against three major asset managers...more

Akerman LLP

Antitrust Concerns About ESG Investing Are Not Going Away

Akerman LLP on

For the last several years, investor activism to further environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals has faced significant antitrust scrutiny in the United States. This scrutiny reached a new level in June 2024 when the...more

Morgan Lewis

ESG Investing Update: Trends in Legislation, Litigation, and Market Response

Morgan Lewis on

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has continued to be the subject of increasing regulatory, legislative, and litigation scrutiny. The scrutiny has accelerated following the results of the 2024 US federal...more

Morgan Lewis

State Attorneys General Step Up Antitrust Enforcement

Morgan Lewis on

State attorneys general are playing an increasingly prominent role in shaping the antitrust enforcement landscape in the United States. With a combination of expanded authority, increased funding, strategic collaboration, and...more

Cozen O'Connor

Florida Investigates Proxy Advisors Over DEI and ESG Investing Policies

Cozen O'Connor on

Florida AG James Uthmeier announced an investigation into whether proxy advising companies Glass Lewis & Co. and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. may have misrepresented their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Trump 2.0 Antitrust Policy Is Likely To Be More Predictable but Not Lax

Key Points - Strong antitrust enforcement is expected to continue, but without the use of the novel and untested legal theories that defined the Biden administration approach. - Regulators are likely to continue to focus...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

2025 Year in Preview: Trends and Key Decisions in Global Cartel Enforcement

Looking ahead in 2025, we expect antitrust agencies in the U.S. and abroad to continue to prioritize enforcement against cartel conduct, which can be prosecuted criminally in the U.S. The agencies will not only continue to...more

Cohen & Gresser LLP

Battle Over ESG Investment Standards Intensifies

Cohen & Gresser LLP on

Eleven attorneys general sue asset managers, alleging ESG investment standards raise coal prices and violate antitrust laws - The ideological battle over the role of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investment...more

Mintz

Eleven States Sue Asset Managers for Alleged ESG Antitrust Violations

Mintz on

The day before Thanksgiving, eleven Republican state attorneys-general (representing Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming) filed a lawsuit against three...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Scrutiny of ESG and Sustainability Initiatives Under Antitrust Laws

The intersection between antitrust and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives continues to draw attention from regulators and lawmakers. While unilaterally and independently adopted ESG and sustainability...more

BakerHostetler

Update on Antitrust Enforcement and ESG Initiatives

BakerHostetler on

Last year, we wrote about the potential antitrust liability companies might face from participating in organizations seeking to advance environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) goals....more

ArentFox Schiff

ESG Update: Congress Questions Whether ESG-Related Coalitions Violate Antitrust Laws

ArentFox Schiff on

Republican lawmakers are continuing their antitrust push against environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investor initiatives by investigating a prominent climate coalition that is focused on getting companies to curb...more

Morgan Lewis

Climate Risks and Antitrust: The Policy and Politics of ESG Collaborations

Morgan Lewis on

Hotly contested across party lines—and often borders—environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards were the focus of recent dueling reports by the US House Judiciary Committee. Despite the deepening debate, what...more

Foley Hoag LLP - White Collar Law &...

Tennessee v. BlackRock: How this Case Informs How We Look Back and Look Ahead at ESG

This is the final post in our 2024 Year in Preview series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations in the coming year... Politicians in Republican-led states have painted a target on environmental,...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

2023 Antitrust Year in Review

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is pleased to present its 2023 Antitrust Year in Review, which provides an overview of the significant developments in antitrust law, policy, and enforcement over the past year. This report...more

34 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 2

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide