On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, the Senate confirmed Gail Slater to be assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice by a vote of 78-19. Slater has held positions at the Federal Trade...more
The US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced on Wednesday the withdrawal of the Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors originally issued in 2000....more
In his return to the White House, President-elect Trump inherits an aggressive antitrust enforcement regime from the Biden administration – an enforcement regime that was born and developed in many respects during Trump’s...more
11/15/2024
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Tech ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Election Results ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Required Forms ,
State Attorneys General ,
Trump Administration
July was a busy month for courts analyzing the FTC’s rulemaking authority. In April, the FTC published its final rule banning most employment-based noncompetition agreements (the Noncompete Rule). Immediately after the FTC...more
Last year, we reported on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decision to dismiss its only remaining criminal no-poach case and regroup. We advised that the DOJ was unlikely to abandon criminal no-poach cases entirely and would...more
On March 5, President Joe Biden launched the Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing (Strike Force) for the purpose of implementing policies in his July 9, 2021 Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American...more
In its Jan. 8 order list, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal concerning a “judgment sharing agreement” among major U.S. meat-supplier defendants in the Broiler Chicken antitrust case (In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust...more
On Oct. 30, the White House issued Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (Executive Order). In the wide-ranging Executive Order, the White House provides a road...more
There have been reports that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is leveraging the long-dormant Robinson-Patman Act as a basis for civil investigations into potential price discrimination by distributors in the alcoholic and...more
11/6/2023
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Compliance ,
Distributors ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Investigations ,
Manufacturers ,
Price Discrimination ,
Robinson-Patman Act ,
Wine & Alcohol
On July 19, 2023, the FTC and the DOJ (collectively, the agencies) jointly released new draft merger guidelines. The agencies assert that the proposed guidelines will help them better assess the impact of proposed mergers...more
This past Tuesday, July 11, a federal judge ruled against the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) request to the District Court of Northern California to issue a preliminary injunction against Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion...more
In August, we wrote about whether antitrust liability might be in the PGA Tour’s future through a reported DOJ Antitrust Division investigation about the PGA Tour’s actions relating to LIV Golf and about PGA Tour bylaws...more
Through recent motions filed in district court and a policy memo issued last year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has signaled that it has its sights on instant messages and personal devices as potential sources for...more
3/15/2023
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Electronic Devices ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Google ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Text Messages
On August 9, 2022, a federal judge hearing the antitrust lawsuit filed by 11 professional golf players against the PGA Tour ruled against three of the players who had sought a temporary restraining order. The order, if...more
On August 3, 2022, 11 professional golfers, led by Phil Mickelson, filed an antitrust complaint in the Northern District of California against the PGA Tour for the actions it took against the golfers - including...more
On May 23, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), at the prompting of President Joe Biden, announced that it will launch a civil investigation into the ongoing shortage of baby formula throughout the country. The FTC is...more
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Procter & Gamble to enjoin the consumer goods company from acquiring New York-based...more
On June 23, we hosted a webinar on the failing firm defense, focusing on defining the defense and offering tips on complying with it. We also tried to demonstrate that, sometimes, the antitrust agencies will not demand strict...more
The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently announced its new policy to formally warn all recipients of Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) that the information they provide in response may be used by the DOJ...more
As many businesses look for solutions to weather the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, one potential avenue for distressed companies is to seek to be acquired by a more stable firm looking to expand. ...more
On Feb. 3, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) challenged Edgewell Personal Care’s proposed $1.37 billion acquisition of Harry’s. Edgewell owns Schick and another brand, making it one of the two leading manufacturers of wet...more