DOJ Antitrust Losses In Court Are Seen As Setback For Biden’s Merger Crackdown

Antitrust partner Joel Mitnick comments on recent outcomes and considerations with regard to the DOJ’s current antitrust litigation and enforcement agenda.

(Bloomberg) — In the span of just a month, federal judges rejected the US Justice Department’s attempts to block three mergers in the health technology, agriculture and defense contracting industries.

The agency is considering appeals — and points out it’s racked up wins in its aggressive antitrust enforcement push when companies abandoned deals following its […]

By | October 24th, 2022 ||

NIL Plaintiffs Seek Class Certification In Antitrust Lawsuit

As we’ve previously written, in 2021, the NCAA suspended its enforcement of some of its rules prohibiting student-athletes from receiving compensation in exchange for the use of their names, images, and likenesses, but certain restrictions remain. For example, payments to student-athletes cannot be contingent upon their on-field performance or their enrollment at a particular school (though state laws may preempt the NCAA’s rules).

At the time the NCAA partially suspended its NIL rules, three former student-athletes […]

By | October 14th, 2022 ||

DOJ Policy Changes Raise Antitrust Leniency Questions

In a speech last month,1 U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco emphasized the importance of incentivizing companies to voluntarily selfdisclose potential criminal conduct by their personnel.

Monaco announced several new policies in the speech and an accompanying memorandum,2 including requiring each U.S. Department of Justice component that prosecutes corporate crime to create a formal written policy on voluntary self-disclosure.

As Monaco noted in her speech, these policies are already in effect at the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, as well […]

By | October 4th, 2022 ||