Sky Blog
The Federal Trade Commission dropped its attempt to ban almost all employer-worker non-compete agreements by rule. It will instead focus on bringing case-by-case enforcement actions.
On September 5, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a statement “acced[ing] to the …
As predicted, antitrust merger enforcement under the second Trump Administration exhibits a return to a more restrained approach at both the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Most refreshingly, the agencies appear committed …
The FTC and DOJ recently announced the first settlements of merger enforcement actions reached under the second Trump administration. These actions follow comments from leadership at the antitrust agencies expressing an openness to structural merger remedies, an important contrast to …
On January 7, 2025, the U.S. FTC announced a settlement with three crude oil producers for violations of the gun jumping provisions of the HSR Act. XCL Resources Holdings, LLC (XCL), Verdun Oil Company II LLC (Verdun), and EP Energy …
In 2024, two federal agencies saw challenges to their regulations restricting non-compete agreements, while several states enhanced restrictions or proposed amendments expanding existing non-compete laws. The scope and impact of these developments are likely to be further clarified as legislation …
The administration’s antitrust picks are in. President Donald Trump has nominated Gail Slater to be the assistant attorney general for antitrust and Andrew Ferguson – currently a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission – to become the FTC chair. Upon
On January 10, 2025, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, American Investment Council and a local chamber of commerce filed a complaint challenging the new Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) rules governing premerger notification. Plaintiffs allege that the new rules violate the …
On November 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) published updated guidance on how the DOJ’s Antitrust Division will evaluate corporate compliance programs when making charging decisions and sentencing recommendations relating to criminal antitrust violations, such as bid-rigging, price-fixing, …
With the change of administrations in January 2025, antitrust enforcement priorities are likely to shift next year. We expect the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the Trump Administration to continue to …
Evidence of a rise in corporate market power has drawn the attention of U.S. policymakers, prompting antitrust regulators to more closely scrutinize mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that consolidate product markets. Such consolidations are believed to be behind the increased market …
On October 16, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it has finalized its new Negative Option Rule (Rule), which represents a significant expansion of its 1973 Negative Option Rule and is guaranteed to have a far-reaching impact …
On October 10, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), with the concurrence of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), announced the FTC’s unanimous vote to adopt a final rule implementing significant changes to the reporting obligations under …
On August 20, 2024, Judge Ada Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a permanent injunction setting aside the Federal Trade Commission’s final rule banning non-compete agreements in Ryan LLC v. FTC. Last …
On May 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly announced a request for members of the public to provide information that the agencies can use “to identify serial acquisitions and …
In the latest effort to enact a federal privacy law, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, recently …
In a public meeting Tuesday, a divided Federal Trade Commission voted along party lines to issue a final rule prohibiting non-compete clauses for nearly all U.S. workers. The FTC previously published the proposed ban in January 2023, drawing thousands of …
On March 5, 2024, the FTC, the DOJ and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that they are seeking public comment on private equity investment in the healthcare sector. The announcement coincided with the FTC’s workshop, Private …
On February 15, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) seeking comment on a proposed rule that, if implemented, would prohibit the impersonation of any individual and prohibit companies from supplying technology that …
In 2023, leadership of the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice maintained an aggressive approach to merger enforcement, investigating and challenging transactions on the basis of a broad range of theories of harm articulated …