Rethinking Antitrust Compliance in Response to New Risks: Practical Tips and Takeaways for Companies Large and Small
Implementing a Compliance Program That Avoids or Minimizes Antitrust Charges and Sentencing
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
- work Practice Area
Antitrust
- event Date
Thursday, June 2, 2022
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE course will examine how companies should adjust antitrust compliance programs to manage antitrust risk in a changing enforcement landscape as criminal antitrust enforcement has experienced significant changes in the last year. The panel will describe the benefits of having a robust antitrust compliance program and provide practical tips for implementing an effective program.
Ms. Lomax is Managing Director of Antitrust and Trade Regulation at Affiliated Monitors, Inc. (AMI) She also teaches Business Law at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business and co-teaches a Health Care Competition seminar at the Boston University School of Law. Prior to joining AMI, Ms. Lomax dedicated her legal career to analyzing complex business transactions from an antitrust regulatory perspective.
Mr. Allen is an experienced litigator and antitrust counselor who helps clients tackle complex problems, both in the courtroom and before government enforcement agencies. He represents clients in all phases of merger investigations conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and has considerable experience with civil investigations and litigation. Mr. Allen's experience spans a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, hospitals, dialysis, food products, banking, chemicals, transportation, motion pictures, college athletics, and electronics.
Ms. Andrade is a commercial litigator and investigations attorney with Polsinelli, where she is chiefly associated with the firm’s Government Investigations practice group. She has significant experience defending clients facing government investigations and enforcement proceedings, as well as in False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback, and Stark litigation. This experience includes working with clients in both the healthcare and government contracting industries. In addition, Ms. Andrade provides compliance advice to help clients avoid government inquiries.
Labor markets have emerged as a new enforcement focus under the Biden administration. In late 2020, the DOJ issued its first criminal indictment alleging wage-fixing by competing employers. In the last year, there have been numerous labor-market prosecutions, involving both wage-fixing and "no-poach" agreements by employers.
Enforcers are also focused on detecting and prosecuting criminal antitrust violations in which the government is the victim. In November 2019, the DOJ announced the creation of a Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) to prosecute antitrust crimes involving public procurement and grant/program funding. The PCSF's investigative work has led to a series of indictments over the last year.
The panel will discuss how companies can modify and expand upon existing antitrust compliance efforts to respond to these recent enforcement trends. And the panel will discuss how companies starting from scratch can implement meaningful antitrust compliance.
The panel will also examine changes in DOJ guidance that provide benefits to companies that invest in antitrust compliance. In July 2019, the DOJ announced a new policy under which prosecutors will consider whether an organization has an "effective" antitrust compliance program when making criminal antitrust charging and sentencing decisions. According to DOJ’s policy, there are several critical elements of an "effective" antitrust compliance program that organizations should consider. They include meaningful involvement of senior leadership, tailoring compliance efforts to an organization's risk profile, regular training of employees in high-risk positions, appropriate incentives and discipline to deter violations, and routine reevaluation of antitrust risk.
Listen as our authoritative panel examines the latest enforcement and policy trends and describes steps companies and their counsel can take now to establish an antitrust compliance program. Now is a good time for companies and their counsel to rethink antitrust compliance efforts in light of recent changes in enforcement and policy.
- Current antitrust enforcement climate
- The benefits of implementing an antitrust compliance program
- The key elements of an "effective" antitrust compliance program, according to recent DOJ guidance
- The role of monitoring in antitrust compliance
- Conducting antitrust audits or risk assessments to make the most of compliance spending
- Best practices for responding to potential antitrust violations when they occur
This panel will review these and other relevant matters:
- What kind of business activities present the greatest antitrust risk?
- How should a company's size and risk profile impact the design of its antitrust compliance program?
- What practical steps can companies and trade associations take now to respond to new trends in criminal antitrust enforcement?
- What are the key considerations when responding to a potential antitrust violation?
