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V&E lawyers will discuss recent antitrust developments in these industries — including federal regulators’ merger and non-merger enforcement priorities and state & private litigation — and what lies ahead.

Vinson & Elkins LLP is expanding its West Coast antitrust capabilities by adding a Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP team of two litigators as partners in its San Francisco office.

Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act (“HSR Act”) fees are changing, and the HSR process is also changing with the inclusion of new filing tiers, one less expensive tier, several much more expensive tiers, and new state-level and foreign filing provisions.

Evan Miller, Counsel in Vinson & Elkins’ Washington D.C. office, authored an article entitled “Antitrust Live: The New Blockchain Era of Antitrust” in The Columbia Science and Technology Law Review’s Fall 2022 publication.

Just days after securing its first Section 2 conviction in over 40 years in United States v. Zito on October 31, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) again wielded its once-neglected ability to criminally enforce Section 2 of Sherman Act.

On October 31, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) announced that the president of a Montana paving and asphalt contractor, Nathan Nephi Zito, had pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to monopolize the highway crack-sealing services markets in Montana and Wyoming.

On August, 26, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission announced it had approved a series of “omnibus” resolutions permitting FTC staff to more freely use compulsory process (civil investigative demands or subpoenas) in investigations of alleged violations of the federal antitrust laws.

On September 15, 2022, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) sued to block ASSA ABLOY AB’s (“ASSA ABLOY”) proposed $4.3 billion acquisition of the Hardware and Home Improvement division of Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (“Spectrum”).

On July 27, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 to sue in federal district court to block Meta Platforms, Inc.’s (“Meta”) acquisition of Within Unlimited, Inc. (“Within”), a virtual reality (“VR”) app developer.

Historically, companies gave little thought to antitrust considerations when they developed environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) goals and plans.

In a pair of unanimous decisions, the Federal Trade Commission this week issued consent orders resolving challenges to two acquisitions.

On May 24, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it is establishing a new office, the Office of Competition and Innovation, as part of a broader initiative to promote competition in the consumer financial services industry.