Insights Search

On September 30, 2025, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor entered final judgment following a bench trial in a class-action lawsuit against American Airlines and its Employee Benefits Committee (the “EBC”), finding the defendants breached their duty of loyalty under the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) by allowing an investment manager’s environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) objectives to influence its investment decisions with respect to the company’s retirement plans (the “Plan”).

On October 06, 2025, California enacted two significant antitrust statutes designed to enhance public and private enforcement of the state’s antitrust law, the Cartwright Act.

Participants will hear our panelists discuss the current federal government enforcement landscape in key areas including antitrust, environmental, energy and securities enforcement.

On September 5, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) formally abandoned its efforts to enforce a Biden-era final rule (“Rule”) implementing a blanket ban on most employee non-compete agreements. Instead, the FTC signaled its intent to challenge non-compete agreements on a case-by-case basis. To that end, the FTC announced an enforcement action challenging one company’s non-compete agreements, published a request for information (“RFI”) seeking the public’s input on non-compete provisions, sent warning letters to several health care companies regarding their employment agreements, and announced a future workshop on this subject. Together, these actions could mark the beginning of a new, more targeted enforcement landscape and create new uncertainties for employers on the legality of non-compete agreements.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) has adopted a 50% ownership rule that extends to parties on the Entity List and Military End-User List (“MEU List”).

Over the last thirty years, Vinson & Elkins attorneys have played a leading role in some of the largest and most significant cartel matters worldwide.

Vinson & Elkins is pleased to offer this round-up of recent developments in federal enforcement, with a particular emphasis on changes during the first few months of the second Trump administration.

In its ongoing crusade against so-called “basis-shifting” transactions, the Internal Revenue Service has created widespread uncertainty regarding the tax treatment of routine transactions.

Organizations challenging an agency’s termination of a grant or government contract based on an allegedly illegal government policy need to master a two-step dance, according to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

With its growing size and importance, the renewable energy industry needs to be aware of antitrust rules. Members of V&E’s nationally recognized antitrust practice have produced a comprehensive survey article that addresses a variety of competition issues faced by renewable energy companies.

On July 29, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memorandum offering specific examples of what the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) considers to be unlawful discriminatory policies and practices under federal civil rights laws, as well as recommendations on best practices for employers to avoid engaging in unlawful discrimination.

As the Trump administration continues to roll out its sweeping tariff policy, the North American energy industry is working to address the effects of the President’s tariff strategy. The Trump administration intends to “unleash American energy,”¹ in part by imposing tariffs designed to remedy what the administration views as unfair trade practices and increase U.S. domestic energy production. The currently imposed and threatened tariffs will inevitably impact the energy industry and its consumers. The particularly relevant tariffs can be defined in two broad categories: (1) sectoral tariffs, in this case, imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, and (2) the country-specific and “reciprocal tariffs” that the Trump administration has imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.