Many great lawyers began as antitrust associates, drawn no doubt by the exciting challenges offered by the practice. Given the relatively small size of the antitrust bar, associates are virtually guaranteed the chance to work with truly exceptional attorneys. Because the nature of the practice often requires practitioners to work cooperatively on behalf of different clients across different matters, attorneys in this bar tend to treat one another with respect and courtesy.
This tight-knit community also provides for a very cordial and warm working environment, a benefit that cannot be stressed enough. Finally, the field of antitrust allows associates to work on issues that are on the front page of newspapers around the world and will remain center stage. Yet at the core of these large and daunting challenges are often issues which effect ordinary Americans every day. The chance to work in a field that brings together this high-level advocacy with results that impact millions of people across the country and around the globe is another one of the reasons associates that start in the field tend to remain.
The number of countries that are actively pursuing antitrust violations has increased dramatically in the past 25 years.
There are well over countries worldwide which now have active regulatory regimes. The rise in global enforcement in an ever-shrinking world means multinational corporations and individuals face greater and new challenges they have never faced before. Clients expect us to be experts on global, cross-border issues because they seek legal and practical advice which will impact their business all over the world.
We seek to solve multijurisdictional problems by relying on our experiences to help our clients to navigate government investigations and civil litigation. There is a core set of relevant statutes — perhaps most central is the Sherman Act — and a little over a century of case law fleshing out the rules; state antitrust laws tend to follow federal statutes. Due to its focus on markets and prices, antitrust law often overlaps with the field of economics.
While most antitrust attorneys will report that an economics background is not essential for the practice — and, indeed, many attorneys do not have such a background — those with economics training may find themselves more comfortable initially with issues related to antitrust law. The field also extends into the world of intellectual property IP , as IP protections offer a monopoly to the owner of the IP for a certain period of time. The globalization of business operations and markets has led to increased international regulation of antitrust rules.
Or the suit could be an enforcement action — brought pursuant to civil or criminal laws — in which the government alleges that a business has violated antitrust laws or regulations. Such suits might call on an attorney to use fundamental litigation skills e. Often the experts do the detailed analysis of product or geographic markets; it is the work of the attorney to present this analysis in a compelling way to the fact-finder.
The world of antitrust law is marked by relatively few statutes and regulations; it is not an area with an enormous regulatory overlay like, for instance, environmental law. Discovery in antitrust cases can be especially voluminous, covering issues related to supply chains, pricing, product development and marketing, competitive intelligence, shareholder meetings if relevant , and emails sent in the ordinary course of business.
These suits or investigations may take several years to be resolved. Typically, merger clearance takes place on a more accelerated timeline than litigation or investigations;an attorney in this field can expect to resolve matters quickly and then move onto the next project. Antitrust lawyers often cite as an attractive feature of their practice their need to learn about different business industries in great detail.
To work on a litigation matter or to handle a merger clearance the attorney must often dive into the specific businesses at the heart of the matter and also become very familiar with the broader industry in which that business operates. Healthcare, technology, energy, credit cards, and publishing are some industries that have seen a good amount of antitrust activity recently.
The low is that sometimes you have to deal with opposing counsel who are unreasonable with extensions or the normal professional courtesies that make a litigation run smoothly. CA : Describe your latest case: what was the client's problem? What was your role? How did you spend your days? AH : Many of my days are spent in my office — some periods of time are devoted to quiet reading, writing and analysis, while others include meetings with team members to collaborate on various issues in the case, or to figure out our case strategy.
Our teams are very dynamic and interactive, and we make sure that everyone gets to play a role in the work at all levels. EH : Recently, I represented a client defending against putative nationwide class actions. The plaintiffs sought to create a multidistrict litigation, so I spent time analyzing the petition with the client and our team, and we successfully opposed it.
JW : Recently, I was assisting a client in a joint venture with its competitors acquiring a state-of-the-art, next-generation petrochemicals plant in Texas that was under construction and of critical importance to the industry.
The FTC conducted an in-depth investigation into the competitive implications of the deal. CA : What are the current trends shaping antitrust? The Justice Department is particularly focused on these agreements as being harmful to competition and they are pursuing investigations in this space.
EH : Public and private antitrust enforcement in the health care and pharmaceutical sectors continues to be aggressive. BK : One of the most important trends to watch is the debate surrounding the goals of the antitrust laws in the US and how that will impact antitrust enforcement going forward, particularly in the health care, pharmaceutical and tech sectors where currently there is a great deal of scrutiny.
CA : What would you say the future of antitrust practice looks like? JW : I would say that the future looks very bright. Antitrust will never go away and will always adapt with changes in the economy and technologies. EH : Across the three pillars of antitrust — criminal enforcement, mergers and civil non-merger enforcement — the work should remain busy. BK : As the debate surrounding the goals of the antitrust laws in the US continues, we will need to anticipate and address more novel theories of harm.
It prohibits unfair competition or deceptive practices. Violating the Sherman Act is also a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, so these two acts tend to go hand in hand. This act explicitly prevents mergers and acquisitions that lessen competition that could lead to a monopoly. It also allows private parties to sue for damages and requires businesses to let the government know of mergers.
There are a variety of shady business practices that violate antitrust law. Basically, if a business interferes with free-market practices in any way, they could be violating antitrust legislation.
Here we'll go through some of the most common transgressions. Market allocation occurs when two similar businesses agree to do business in two separate geographic areas without crossing regions so that there is no competition between their products. This practice does limit the sales opportunities available to both companies, but they're able to increase their profit margin to compensate.
Say, for example, that a consumer is looking for toothpaste and there are only two manufacturers to choose from nationwide.
In a completely free economy, each manufacturer would have to compete on merit. If the companies decided to engage in market allocation, they'd decide who gets each territory.
Say, for example, that Company A sells toothpaste in Hawaii. That would mean that the consumer could only buy their products in Hawaii. They'd be willing to pay more because they have no other options. Bid rigging is another behavior where two or more businesses who are bidding on something agree to bid low, so one business, in particular, wins the bid. Bid rigging can be broken down into:. The problem with this activity is that it's giving one business a significant advantage over the others.
The winning bidder gets to set the terms with little interference in terms of real market competition. Price fixing as you already know is where two companies collude to keep the price of a product at a set level. It is most commonly done as a way to increase their profit margins.
Both companies will then increase their prices and keep them there, with neither trying to undercut the other.
Price fixing can also be used as a tool to freeze out new entrants to the market. In this case, the companies will often set their prices lower than they should in an effort to undercut new entrants. The newer companies can't compete with these fixed prices.
This issue is the one that you're going to come across the most. A monopoly occurs when one business dominates an industry with no competition. It can include several underhanded tactics to maintain that domination, such as:. Antitrust lawyers require the same skills as any lawyer.
They should be hardworking, determined, organized, and excellent at writing and speaking. They should also not stop learning and should always be trying to piece things together.
A sound understanding and knowledge of economics would be beneficial. That said, it is not necessarily required as they consult with experts a lot of the time. As an antitrust lawyer, you'd need to be a good negotiator at the very least.
If you're specializing in mergers, most of your work will be in the boardroom rather than the courtroom. That would entail some serious negotiations.
If you're planning to prosecute cases, you'll need to be a strong litigator. If you love standing up for the little guy, this might be the route that you want to go. If you're planning to defend companies against these allegations, then you'll also need strong litigation and negotiation skills. In any case, be prepared to deal with a lot of paperwork and ensure that you always put through a well-reasoned argument. Antitrust laws are essential.
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