The Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s is playing catch up to the Criminal Division on compliance leadership.  DOJ’s Criminal Division has issued four separate revisions to its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.  This is the Antitrust Division’s first revision to its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.  The Antitrust Division’s revisions mirror many of the Criminal Division’s recent revisions with a particular focus on emerging technologies,...

In an interesting political twist, the difference in approaches to antitrust enforcement between Democrat and Republican Administrations has been narrowing.  It used to be that the difference in party control of the Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission would have a significant impact on enforcement priorities.  That gap is definitely changing and reflects growing agreement in the public in preventing anti-competitive conduct. Much of...

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has intensified its scrutiny of healthcare platforms that integrate doctors with insurers, data, and other assets. Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter described this trend as an “alarming” concentration of resources. In a significant move, the DOJ announced the establishment of the Task Force on Health Care Monopolies and Collusion. Kanter emphasized during a Washington Post Live event that...

In a significant action, DOJ’s Antitrust Division filed a complex complaint against Google charging it with a long-time scheme over 15 years to monopolize the digital advertising market. DOJ was joined by Attorneys General of California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia. DOJ filed a separate antitrust case in 2020 against Google for monopolizing search and search advertising, which are...

In yet another indication of the renewed, aggressive antitrust enforcement program, the Justice Department recently announced the first attempted criminal monopolization case in decades — Nathan Nephi Zito, the president of a paving and asphalt company in Billings, Montana, pleaded guilty to attempting to monopolize the market for highway crack-sealing services in Montana and Wyoming. In a famous civil prosecution in the 1980s, Robert L....

The Antitrust Division’s Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter promised a new era in antitrust enforcement.  He won bi-partisan support from both Republicans and Democrats.  Across the antitrust field, he promised aggressive merger enforcement, civil enforcement against digital markets, and constraint of market power in numerous industries.  AAG Kanter promised a new approach and he is delivering. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the Antitrust Division’s...

When it comes to the Justice Department and reading the tea leaves, I often rely on a very obvious point – DOJ tells you in advance what it is planning and then executes its plan.  This has been true in the FCPA arena, prosecution of the opioid cases, targeting health care fraud and a history of initiatives.  DOJ is fairly transparent on its priorities.  Recently,...

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division had a slow year in criminal antitrust cases.  There are a number of explanations for the slowdown in criminal cases – the most persuasive is that such a slowdown is part of normal case processing ups and downs, especially as several significant investigations (e.g. auto parts suppliers) are coming to a close. One criminal antitrust investigation is picking up speed...