Henry J. Hauser Counsel

Watershed technological developments can offer new entrants the opportunity to challenge market leaders. These rare paradigm shifts redefine how companies compete for customers and resources.

Henry Hauser, Nathanael Andrews, and Shylah Alfonso wrote an article published in TechCrunch titled "The FTC is setting its sights on generative AI," regarding what businesses should understand about antitrust risk when competing in markets affecting generative AI.

Henry Hauser, Marisa Ball and Nathanael Andrews wrote an article published in Law360 regarding the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's questioning of the PGA Tour Inc. senior leadership on their proposed deal with LIV Golf Inc., and the key antitrust issues arising from the Senate session and dossier.   

The Federal Trade Commission issued a policy statement on June 15, 2023, sternly criticizing the use of confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements that “impede” the FTC’s ability to conduct voluntary interviews with market participants.

Henry Hauser, Jon Jacobs, and Tyson Foods’ Eli Glasser suggest how to respond to voluntary interview requests from government agencies in light of recent FTC criticism of agreements that “impede” those interviews.

In a commentary article for The Wall Street Journal, Chris Williams and Henry Hauser highlight a proposed overhaul of the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice’s merger review process that would significantly increase the time and costs for businesses to prepare a merger filing and address its potential impact on new investments and transactions.

Across every industry, companies are leveraging machine learning to derive valuable insights without extensive employee involvement. These groundbreaking capabilities are creating an upheaval in how companies engage with competitors and consumers.

Antitrust is the engine of free enterprise: it shapes countless lines of commerce, from tech to toilets, beer to baseball and healthcare to hardware.

On April 29, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, suffered another defeat in its ongoing efforts to criminally prosecute conduct affecting workers’ compensation and job mobility.

Late last month, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, suffered another defeat in its ongoing efforts to criminally prosecute conduct affecting workers' compensation and job mobility.

Federal and state enforcers highlighted an ambitious agenda at the 2023 ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting. From criminal no-solicitation, no-poach, wage-fixing, and monopolization cases to a more aggressive merger strategy, this Update discusses 10 takeaways that companies should have on their radars.

Top federal agency leaders previewed plans for broader antitrust enforcement at the 2023 ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting.

At the American Bar Association's 2023 Antitrust Spring Meeting, held in March in Washington, D.C., representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission confirmed their agenda to reinvigorate and modernize antitrust merger enforcement.

The American Bar Association's 2023 Antitrust Spring Meeting, held in Washington, D.C., placed heavy emphasis on employees, contractors, and talent. Government officials, judges, academics, and the private bar debated cutting-edge competition issues affecting workers and labor markets, including criminal enforcement, amicus efforts, public engagement, and rulemaking. Prosecutors sent a clear message that they view no-solicitation, no-poach, and wage-fixing agreements as criminal violations, even in the face of several jury trial setbacks.

The American Bar Association's 2023 antitrust spring meeting, held in Washington, D.C. in March, had a heavy emphasis on upstream markets affecting employees and talent.

The emergence of blockchain technology has heralded significant advances across an array of industries, from financial services to consumer goods. But there are two sides to every Bitcoin. This Update analyzes both the potential antitrust pitfalls and competitive opportunities associated with blockchain.

The new Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 includes the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, which amends the amounts and tiers for Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 filing fees as discussed in a prior Update. It also includes two important amendments to antitrust laws.

The emergence of blockchain technology has heralded significant advances across an array of industries, from financial services to consumer goods. But there are two sides to every bitcoin.

The FTC recently announced its annual adjustments to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and interlocking directorate thresholds. Notably, the minimum HSR size-of-transaction threshold has increased from $101 million to $111.4 million. There is a new filing fee schedule resulting from the enactment of the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, which will significantly increase filing fees for transactions valued in excess of $500 million and decrease them for transactions valued under $161.5 million. The new HSR jurisdictional and filing fee thresholds will be effective as of February 27, 2023, while the revised interlocking directorate thresholds are already in effect.

After briefly recounting the history of Ticketmaster and Live Nation and their respective lines of business, this Update analyzes the potential legal theories and remedies that antitrust enforcers could pursue against the entertainment conglomerate.

Pop superstar Taylor Swift's fan base — known as Swifties — seeking to score tickets to her highly anticipated Eras tour were outraged when Ticketmaster was unable to handle what it dubbed "unprecedented" demand earlier this month.

This Update analyzes three trends that make customized compliance programs more crucial than ever and provides guidance on how companies can begin to craft catered policies to fit their business needs.

The Federal Trade Commission and 10 U.S. states recently filed an antitrust complaint against Syngenta AG and Corteva Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.

The debate over antitrust reform is reaching a crescendo. Several proposals have been introduced in Congress and state legislatures to expand the scope of substantive antitrust rules governing marketplace behavior.

As schools across the country welcome students back for the 2022-23 academic year, several prestigious universities are grappling with a civil antitrust suit that could have major ramifications for how they allocate and award financial aid.

As schools across the country welcome students back for the 2022-23 academic year, several prestigious universities are grappling with a civil antitrust suit that could have major ramifications for how they allocate and award financial aid.

In a rapid shake-up of the antitrust lawsuit filed against the PGA Tour Inc., professional golfers Carlos Ortiz, Abraham Ancer, Pat Perez, and Jason Kokrak have withdrawn from the case.

In a rapid shake-up of the antitrust lawsuit filed against the PGA Tour Inc., professional golfers Carlos Ortiz, Abraham Ancer, Pat Perez and Jason Kokrak have withdrawn from the case.

A group of 11 professional golfers launched an antitrust suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against the PGA Tour, Inc.

The U.S. Department of Justice Procurement Collusion Strike Force secured a guilty plea on July 13, 2022, from a Texas military contractor for conspiring to rig bids on $17.5 million in government contracts.

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has held that an antitrust challenge to a “hiring restriction [that] prevented” plaintiff employees “from taking a better-paying position with a rival McDonald’s outlet” must be evaluated under the full rule of reason.

A proposed healthcare acquisition was abandoned following the Federal Trade Commission’s unanimous vote to oppose the transaction.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission voted 5-0 to issue a complaint and accept a proposed order for public comment regarding private equity fund JAB Consumer Partners SCA SICAR’s $1.1 billion acquisition of SAGE Veterinary Partners, LLC on June 13, 2022.

The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology announced the withdrawal of a 2019 Policy Statement on Remedies for Standards-Essential Patents Subject to Voluntary F/RAND Commitments.

The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division (Antitrust Division) touts its Leniency Program as "its most important investigative tool for detecting cartel activity." Through this program, corporations and individuals who "report their cartel activity and cooperate in the Division's investigation of the cartel reported can avoid criminal conviction, fines, and prison sentences if they meet the requirements of the program."

Consumer protection issues generated a lively discussion at the American Bar Association's 70th Antitrust Law Spring Meeting, held April 5-8 in Washington, as thousands of practitioners, enforcers, academics and jurists from around the world interacted in person for the first time since 2019.

There's a clear message out of the American Bar Association's Antitrust Law Spring Meeting, held April 5-8 in Washington: Practitioners should know that we are in a new era of antitrust enforcement and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice will be taking on tough cases such as those addressing criminal Section 2 enforcement and labor market practices.

The U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (Antitrust Division) announced several significant updates to its Leniency Policy on April 4, 2022.

Though there has been ample discussion and debate over how Executive Order 14036 will affect Big Tech, other key aspects of the executive order have received far less attention.

The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, on January 28, 2022, revealed the criminal prosecution of a conspiracy that allegedly suppressed wages and limited job mobility for essential healthcare workers.

A recent DOJ indictment charges several Maine health-care agency managers with allegedly suppressing wages and limiting the job mobility of essential workers during the pandemic.

On January 18, 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division (the agencies) launched a joint public inquiry to modernize and strengthen merger enforcement.

Recent developments in criminal antitrust law, which may impact clients, company or litigation strategy.