Competition

  • July 09, 2024

    Judge Calls Cost Of DOJ's Assa Abloy Market Study 'Insane'

    A D.C. federal judge took the U.S. Department of Justice and its monitoring trustee to task Tuesday for their pursuit of an open-ended look at Assa Abloy's books to check for anticompetitive harms from a 2023 merger, excoriating budget estimates pricing the investigation at a minimum of $1.7 million.

  • July 09, 2024

    Goodwin Adds MoFo Antitrust, Fintech Leaders In DC

    Goodwin Procter LLP has brought on three partners from Morrison Foerster LLP in Washington, D.C., including the chair of Morrison Foerster's antitrust litigation practice and the co-leader of its financial technology practice, the firm announced Monday.

  • July 08, 2024

    Smoke Shops Say Rivals Are Copying Name, Filching Goodwill

    A Washington smoke chain has hit several rivals with trademark infringement lawsuits, accusing them of unauthorized use of its name, Smoke City, so they can lean on the goodwill it has developed with customers.

  • July 08, 2024

    Hyundai Falsely Inflates Electric Car Sale Growth, Dealers Say

    Hyundai dealers filed a Robinson-Patman Act price discrimination suit in Illinois federal court Friday accusing the automotive giant of running a scheme to keep up the appearance of growing electric car sales by causing dealers to report fake sales and rewarding them with perks including discounts, popular models and coupons for customers.

  • July 08, 2024

    Assa Abloy Says No Monitor 'Blank Check' After Merger Deal

    Assa Abloy on Monday reasserted its bid to rein in a monitoring trustee installed after the company settled a government merger challenge, arguing ahead of a court hearing that the government is aiming to roll back the parties' deal and carry out a more expansive investigation through the monitor.

  • July 08, 2024

    Texas Anesthesia Co. Can't Pause Or Appeal Suit, FTC Says

    The Federal Trade Commission urged a Texas federal court not to pause its suit accusing U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. of a monopolistic "roll-up" of Lone Star State anesthesia practices, arguing the company can't appeal an order refusing to toss the case against it.

  • July 08, 2024

    Justices Told To Ignore 'Hopeless' Challenge To Antitrust Test

    A group of wholesalers who say the makers of 5-Hour Energy illegally favored Costco in distributing the energy drink shots told the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to reject the drink-maker's certiorari petition, saying it asks the justices to take on the role of fact-finders.

  • July 08, 2024

    Kirkland, Fenwick Steer Lilly's $3.2B Morphic Acquisition

    Eli Lilly and Co. unveiled Monday a $3.2 billion all-cash deal to acquire biopharmaceutical company Morphic Holding Inc., which is developing oral therapies to treat Crohn's disease and other bowel chronic diseases, in a 10-figure transaction guided by Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Fenwick & West LLP.

  • July 08, 2024

    Kirkland-Led Devon To Buy Grayson's Williston Biz For $5B

    Devon Energy announced Monday that the Oklahoma-based public company has cut a $5 billion cash-and-stock deal to acquire private equity-backed Grayson Mill Energy's Williston Basin oil and gas business in a transaction guided by Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Vinson & Elkins LLP.

  • July 08, 2024

    Feds Aim To Expand Military Site List For Land Deal Reviews

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Monday proposed putting 59 more military sites on its radar when it reviews real estate deals for national security issues, a move that comes on the heels of the White House's crackdown on a Chinese-owned cryptocurrency mine near a Wyoming air base.

  • July 08, 2024

    UK Clears Thermo Fisher's $3.1B Olink Buy

    Britain's competition enforcer indicated Monday that it will not challenge Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.'s planned $3.1 billion bid for Swedish biotech firm Olink Holding AB after the agency launched an initial investigation of the deal earlier this year.

  • July 08, 2024

    Delivery Hero Says It Could Face €400M Antitrust Fine

    International food ordering service Delivery Hero disclosed that it could be fined more than €400 million ($433.3 million) by European enforcers over alleged agreements with other online food delivery companies to split markets, share information and not hire workers from one another.

  • July 08, 2024

    Landowners Defend Wyo. Antitrust Claims Against Anadarko

    Wyoming landowners accusing an Occidental Petroleum Corp. unit of antitrust behavior are urging a federal judge to reject its bid for a win on their state law claims as the case heads toward a trial.

  • July 05, 2024

    Miss. Casino Aims To Void Cherokee Ark. Gaming License

    A Mississippi casino is asking a judge to void an Arkansas gaming license issued to Cherokee Nation Entertainment, arguing a county judge and other legislative officials were coerced into offering support for its casino proposal through an economic development agreement that forced them to back only one applicant.

  • July 05, 2024

    Antitrust Partner In Fatal Crash Remembered As A Mentor

    Present and past colleagues this week remembered Molly Donovan, a partner at antitrust boutique Bona Law PC who died in a tragic accident earlier this month, as a powerhouse with an intricate understanding of antitrust matters who always maintained a positive outlook no matter what the status of a case.

  • July 05, 2024

    NFL Moves To Undo 'Runaway' $4.7B Sunday Ticket Verdict

    The NFL urged a California judge Wednesday to cancel a jury's blockbuster $4.7 billion verdict that found it violated antitrust laws with its DirecTV Sunday Ticket package, saying the "irrational" award didn't match any of the damages models jurors were presented and confirms that the plaintiffs failed to prove their case. 

  • July 05, 2024

    FTC Gears Up For Busy 2024 Merger Summer & Fall

    U.S. antitrust enforcers at the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are gearing up for busy months ahead against multibillion-dollar mergers in the grocery and luxury handbags spaces, while also adjusting to a hospital loss turnaround and bracing for an important airlines deal appellate ruling.

  • July 05, 2024

    How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court

    Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.

  • July 05, 2024

    Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court's lethargic pace of decision-making this term left the justices to issue a slew of highly anticipated and controversial rulings during the term's final week — rulings that put the court's ideological divisions on vivid display. Here, Law360 takes a data dive into the numbers behind this court term.

  • July 05, 2024

    High Court Flexes Muscle To Limit Administrative State

    The U.S. Supreme Court's dismantling of a 40-year-old judicial deference doctrine, coupled with rulings stripping federal agencies of certain enforcement powers and exposing them to additional litigation, has established the October 2023 term as likely the most consequential in administrative law history.

  • July 05, 2024

    The Sharpest Dissents From The Supreme Court Term

    The U.S. Supreme Court's session ended with a series of blockbuster cases that granted the president broad immunity, changed federal gun policy and kneecapped administrative agencies. And many of the biggest decisions fell along partisan lines.

  • July 05, 2024

    5 Moments That Shaped The Supreme Court's Jan. 6 Decision

    When the high court limited the scope of a federal obstruction statute used to charge hundreds of rioters who stormed the Capitol, the justices did not vote along ideological lines. In a year marked by 6-3 splits, what accounts for the departure? Here are some moments from oral arguments that may have swayed the justices.

  • July 05, 2024

    The Funniest Moments Of The Supreme Court's Term

    In a U.S. Supreme Court term teeming with serious showdowns, the august air at oral arguments filled with laughter after an attorney mentioned her plastic surgeon and a justice seemed to diss his colleagues, to cite just two of the term's mirthful moments. Here, we look at the funniest moments of the term.

  • July 05, 2024

    Truckmakers Can Use Pass-On Defense In Price-Fixing Case

    European truck manufacturers can argue that local U.K. authorities suing them over a price-fixing cartel passed the inflated costs allegedly paid for vehicles on to residents through tax and service charges, a tribunal ruled Thursday.

  • July 05, 2024

    Mayer Brown Study Shows Firms Are Playing AI Catch-Up

    A recent Mayer Brown LLP report shows that leaders at financial and investment firms see mergers and acquisitions as a key method to expand their artificial intelligence platforms, but they also think their firms aren't getting up to speed fast enough.

Expert Analysis

  • Apple Ruling Offers Morsel Of Certainty On Litigation Funding

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    An English court's recent decision in Gutmann v. Apple, finding that a litigation funder could be paid via a damages award, offers a piece of guidance on the permissibility of such agreement terms amid the ongoing uncertainty around funded group litigation in the U.K., says Mohsin Patel at Factor Risk Management.

  • This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener

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    As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • 4 Ways AI Tools Can Improve Traditional Merger Analyses

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    Government officials at the American Bar Association's annual antitrust spring meeting last week reinforced the view that competition cases will increasingly rely on sophisticated data analysis, so companies will likewise need to use Big Tech quantitative techniques to improve traditional merger analyses, say Patrick Bajari, Gianmarco Calanchi and Tega Akati-Udi at Keystone.

  • Blocked JetBlue-Spirit Deal Illustrates New Antitrust Approach

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent successful block of a merger between JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines demonstrates antitrust enforcers’ updated and disparate approach to out-of-market benefits versus out-of-market harms, say Lisa Rumin and Anthony Ferrara at McDermott.

  • The Pros And Cons Of NIST's Proposed March-In Framework

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    Recent comments for and against the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s proposed guidance on march-in rights — which permit the government to seize federally funded patents — highlight how the framework may promote competition, but could also pose a risk to contractors and universities, say Nick Lee and Paul Ragusa at Baker Botts.

  • Opinion

    Federal MDL Rule Benefits From Public Comments

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    The new Federal Rule of Civil Procedure concerning multidistrict litigation that was approved this week by the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules incorporates ideas from public comments that will aid both plaintiffs and defense attorneys — and if ultimately adopted, the rule should promote efficient, merits-driven MDL case management, say Robert Johnston and Gary Feldon at Hollingsworth.

  • Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease

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    This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.

  • EU Ruling Exposes Sovereignty Fissures In Int'l Arbitration

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    The European Court of Justice's recent ruling that the U.K. had breached EU law by allowing an arbitral award to proceed underscores the diminished influence of EU jurisprudence in the U.K., hinting at the EU courts' increasingly nominal sway in international arbitration within jurisdictions that prize legal autonomy, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray’s Inn.

  • Opinion

    Aviation Watch: Not All Airline Mergers Hurt The Public

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's actions to block recent attempted airline mergers have been touted as serving the interests of the consumers — but given the realities of the deregulated air travel market, a tie-up like the one proposed between JetBlue and Spirit might have been a win for the public, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • The Merger Cases That Will Matter At ABA Antitrust Meeting

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    While the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week will cover all types of competition law issues in the U.S. and abroad, expect the federal agencies' recent track record in merger enforcement to be a key area of focus on the official panels and in cocktail party chatter, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Series

    Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.

  • A Closer Look At Antitrust Agencies' Chat Platforms Guidance

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    Following the U.S. antitrust agencies' clarification that companies' preservation obligations extend through applications that automatically delete communications, firms should look at new compliance measures, including keeping control over retention settings, say John Ingrassia and Tim Burroughs at Proskauer.

  • 9th Circ. TM Ruling Expands Courts' Role In Application Cases

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    The Ninth Circuit’s recent ruling in BBK Tobacco v. Central Coast Agriculture is the first time a federal appeals court has explicitly authorized district courts to adjudicate pending trademark applications, marking a potentially significant expansion of federal courts' power, says Saul Cohen at Kelly IP.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • What NAR Settlement Means For Agent Commission Rates

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    If approved, a joint settlement agreement between the National Association of Realtors and a class of home sellers will likely take the onus off home sellers to compensate buyers' agents, affecting considerations for all parties to real estate transactions, say attorneys at Jones Foster.

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