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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 October 12, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the civil Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) enforcement action against casino developer and former Republican National Committee finance chairman Stephen A. Wynn.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa A. Monaco’s September 15, 2022 memorandum (the “Memo”) clarified a series of Department of Justice (“DOJ”) objectives regarding corporate and individual responsibility that parallel recent statements from leaders in the Division of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

In announcing recent changes to its corporate criminal enforcement policies, the Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) continued its forceful “tough on crime” initiatives to deter wrongdoing.

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”).

Earlier this month, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco spoke on cybersecurity developments at the International Conference on Cyber Security (“ICCS”); the same day, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released its Comprehensive Cyber Review (the “Cyber Review”).

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy (“the Strategy”) on May 5, 2022, pursuant to President Biden’s January 2021 Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.

In yet another indication that the Biden administration is continuing to ramp up white collar enforcement, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced on April 20, 2022 that Stericycle, Inc. (“Stericycle”), an Illinois-based international waste management company, has agreed to pay more than $84 million to resolve parallel Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) investigations by authorities in the United States and Brazil.

Building on remarks at the White Collar Conference in March 2022, government officials from several federal agencies signaled a focus on active enforcement, robust compliance, data analytics, diversity amoung

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) has announced that it intends to bring more cases against “interlocking directorates” that violate Section 8 of the Clayton Act.

On April 4, 2022, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division (the “Division”) announced important policy and practice changes to its leniency program (the “Leniency Program”) — the first substantive changes to the Antitrust Division Leniency Policy and Procedures (the “Policy”) since its inception in 1993.