Author: Molly Donovan A new episode of the “If I Were You” podcast is here! You can listen to it here. Featuring Bona Law partner Jon Cieslak. This Episode Is About: Investigative Subpoenas Why: In-house lawyers need to know what to do upon receiving an investigative subpoena in an antitrust…
Author: Molly Donovan Nathan is nine. His grandmother makes excellent meatballs using an age-old family recipe. Together, Nathan and grandma decide to can the meatballs and sell them to their neighbors on the north side of town—just in time for the holidays as a turkey side dish. Things went great…
Author: Steven J. Cernak The FTC’s challenge of Altria’s investment into its e-cigarette competitor JUUL Labs, Inc. (JLI) already raised interesting antitrust and administrative law issues: Did the parties’ discussions of FTC compliance during merger negotiations create an unreasonable agreement? Are the structure and procedures of the FTC constitutional? Recently,…
Author: Luis Blanquez Blockchain is an emerging technology that is already changing the way companies do business. But this doesn’t precludn companies using such nascent technology frot getting caught in the same old anticompetitive practices subject to the antitrust laws. Before diving into the spectrum of anticompetitive behavior that companies…
Author: Jarod Bona Yes, sometimes “tying” violates the antitrust laws. Whether you arrive at the tying-arrangement issue from the perspective of the person tying, the person buying the tied products, or the person competing with the person tying, you should know when the antitrust laws forbid the practice. Even kids may…
Author: Molly Donovan A new episode of the “If I Were You” podcast is here! You can listen to it here. Featuring Bona Law partner Jim Lerner. This Episode Is About: Antitrust and Employment Why: There are employment-related antitrust risks that all in-house lawyers should be aware of. The Five…
Authors: Steven Cernak and Luis Blanquez Hard times for the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Department of Justice (“DOJ”). In the last few weeks, the Biden Administration has suffered three significant antitrust loses. This is the result of the Government’s determination to try to block mergers that, despite their size,…
Author: Molly Donovan Mr. Potter grows the best pumpkins in town. They’re big and round, perfect for carving, and specially treated with a patented spray that keeps Potter pumpkins squirrel-free for weeks. Genius! Naturally, all the kids in town buy their Halloween pumpkins from Mr. Potter’s farmstand. They’re a bit…
Author: Steven Cernak Recently, FTC Commissioner Bedoya made one of his first speeches and called for a “return to fairness” when enforcing the antitrust laws. In particular, he called for renewed enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act. This speech is just the latest reason why businesses need to prepare for a…
Author: Jarod Bona We see many antitrust issues in the distribution world—and from all business perspectives: supplier, wholesale distributor, authorized retailer, and unauthorized retailer, among others. And at the retail level, we hear from internet and brick-and-mortar stores and consumers. The most common distribution issues that come up are resale-price-maintenance (both…