Antitrust experts from across the globe convened in Washington, D.C. on April 2–4, 2025 to discuss new enforcement policies and share updates on current issues in antitrust. We provide the key highlights from numerous panels...more
4/9/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
No-Poaching ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Tariffs ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
In the final days of the Biden administration, the FTC and DOJ jointly issued antitrust guidelines on business practices that impact workers that replace the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals, which...more
2/3/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Contract ,
False Statements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Franchises ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair Competition ,
Wage-Fixing
The new year marks the transition from the Biden administration and its whole-of-government approach to antitrust enforcement, to the return of President Trump. To spearhead his administration’s antitrust enforcement efforts,...more
1/31/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cartels ,
Collaboration ,
Competition ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Information Sharing ,
Mexican Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) ,
Popular ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Whistleblowers
Antitrust enforcers and private plaintiffs over the past few years have pursued increasingly aggressive theories of liability based on information exchange and the use of algorithmic pricing and revenue management software....more
12/20/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Information Sharing ,
Price-Fixing ,
Rental Property ,
Trump Administration
Despite the summer doldrums, cartel enforcers around the world had several notable enforcement actions and, perhaps more importantly, signaled a busy fall and winter. In the United States, the Department of Justice’s...more
11/1/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Division ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Healthcare ,
Italy ,
Mexican Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Philippines ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Singapore ,
Wage-Fixing
Despite the summer doldrums, cartel enforcers around the world had several notable enforcement actions and, perhaps more importantly, signaled a busy fall and winter. In the United States, the Department of Justice’s...more
10/22/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Belgian Competition Authority ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Construction Project ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
Healthcare ,
Hedge Funds ,
Mexican Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) ,
No-Poaching ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Philippines ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Sherman Act ,
Software ,
State Attorneys General ,
Wage-Fixing
After more than a year of scrutiny and commenting on lawsuits brought by others, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) finally entered the algorithmic price-fixing fray in its own right. On August 23, 2024, DOJ, along with eight...more
At the mid-year point, 2024 is shaping up to be an eventful year in cartel enforcement. In the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Antitrust Division (Division) enjoyed two significant victories and finally...more
7/19/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bid Rigging ,
Canada ,
Canadian Competition Act ,
Cartels ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
FBI ,
France ,
Healthcare ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Mexican Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) ,
Monopolization ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Rental Property ,
UK
On May 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) announced it is “upping [its] game” on health care enforcement through the Task Force on Health Care Monopolies and Collusion (HCMC). The most recent...more
5/17/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Collusion ,
Competition ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Life Sciences ,
Medical Technology Companies ,
Monopolization ,
Pharmaceutical Industry
The year 2023 ended with a bang in the cartel space, with a federal court of appeals upending what was long believed to be the scope of conduct that should be considered per se under the Sherman Act. The new year, 2024,...more
1/11/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Audio Recording ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
European Commission ,
Healthcare ,
Italy ,
Korea ,
No-Poaching ,
Per Se Rule ,
Popular ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Self-Reporting ,
Sherman Act ,
Turkey ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Wiretapping
Antitrust practitioners from around the world gathered in Washington, D.C. the week of March 27, 2023, for a series of industry meetings, centered around the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section’s 71st Annual Spring...more
4/11/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Anti-Monopoly ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cartels ,
Collusion ,
Competition ,
Consent Decrees ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Mergers ,
Price-Fixing ,
Robinson-Patman Act ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage-Fixing
On January 4, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced settlements with three companies for their use of employee non-compete restrictions in alleged violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. Specifically, the FTC...more
In 2022, antitrust authorities around the world were pursuing more investigations, bringing new types of cases, and making policy changes to spark even more enforcement actions.
In the United States, the Department of...more
12/21/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dawn Raids ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Monopolization ,
No-Poaching ,
OECD ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage-Fixing
In the latest employment-related collaborations under President Biden, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) both recently announced new partnerships with the National...more
Since the last edition of the QCC, there has been a series of dramatic developments in the criminal antitrust enforcement space in the U.S. from the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (Division)....more
5/10/2022
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Belgium ,
Bid Rigging ,
Buy-Side Trading ,
Canada ,
Canadian Competition Act ,
Construction Contracts ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Grand Juries ,
Health Care Providers ,
Home Health Care ,
Leniency Programs ,
Monopolization ,
No-Poaching ,
OECD ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Reimbursements ,
Romania ,
Sherman Act ,
South Korea ,
Supply Chain ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage-Fixing
On April 4, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (the “Division”) announced noteworthy updates to its Corporate Leniency Program as well as its frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) that explain the Program,...more
In the latest sign of the Biden administration’s aggressive antitrust enforcement agenda, on March 2, 2022, while speaking on a panel at the ABA White Collar Crime Conference in San Francisco, Deputy Assistant Attorney...more
More than halfway through the year, 2021 has shaped up to be another busy time for antitrust enforcers. In July, the Biden administration confirmed that antitrust remains a top priority by issuing a sweeping Executive Order,...more
9/16/2021
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
FBI ,
Joe Biden ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Sherman Act ,
Wage-Fixing
A new year, a new administration in the United States, and new cartel enforcement leadership in the United Kingdom have begun. In the United States, first-of-their-kind criminal charges have been brought involving labor and...more
3/2/2021
/ ACPERA ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Bipartisan Agreement ,
Cartels ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2015 ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Fraud ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
National Security ,
Online Gaming ,
Plea Agreements ,
Price-Fixing ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Retaliation ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
State Attorneys General ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Despite the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the work of antitrust enforcers has continued largely uninterrupted in the second half of 2020. The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (the “Division”) has announced...more
11/3/2020
/ Bid Rigging ,
Confidential Information ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Cross-Border ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DPA ,
FBI ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Market Allocation Scheme ,
Price-Fixing
Throughout the first half of 2020, much of the world has grappled with the reality of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as the outbreak spread rapidly across entire countries and shut down large segments of the global...more
7/7/2020
/ ACPERA ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DPA ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Remote Working ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continues to unfold, antitrust enforcement agencies worldwide continue to adapt their policies and enforcement, balancing the need to be more permissive about corporations collaborating...more
As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues to unfold, entire governments, economies, businesses, and countries are being adversely affected. The World Health Organization reports that there are “still many...more
Below we summarize significant cartel enforcement developments from U.S. and other antitrust enforcers in recent months, including: the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s (the “Division”) review of its International...more
11/1/2019
/ Antitrust Division ,
Australia ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Indonesia ,
Japan ,
Mergers ,
New Zealand ,
Portugal ,
Price-Fixing
Below, we summarize significant cartel enforcement developments from U.S. and other antitrust enforcers in recent months, including the significant change to longstanding policy by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust...more
7/31/2019
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Competition Authorities ,
Compliance ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Libor ,
New Guidance ,
Whistleblowers