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September 16, 2024 In April 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a rule prohibiting most employers from entering into or enforcing non-compete agreements with workers, subject to exceptions for [...]

May 3, 2024 On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) adopted a final rule prohibiting most employers from entering into or enforcing non-compete agreements with workers, subject to [...]

April 23, 2024 On March 21, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ), together with 15 states and the District of Columbia, filed a complaint in federal district court accusing Apple [...]

March 28, 2024 In December 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized the 2023 Merger Guidelines (the Guidelines), which outline the agencies' analytical approach to [...]

April 27, 2023 On January 24, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and several state attorneys general filed a civil antitrust suit against Google in the U.S. District Court for [...]

April 7, 2023 On March 10, 2023, a California banking regulator closed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), making it the second-largest bank by assets to fail in U.S. history. At the [...]

Updated April 6, 2023 The federal government supports scientific and technological advancement directly by funding and performing research and development and indirectly by creating and maintaining policies that encourage private [...]

Updated November 21, 2023 Contents Antitrust Law: The Basics Restraints of Trade Monopolization Monopoly Power Exclusionary Conduct Mergers & Acquisitions Theoretical Approaches to Antitrust The Big Tech Firms: A Summary [...]

Updated May 18, 2023 Contents General Preemption Principles The Primacy of Congressional Intent The Presumption Against Preemption Language Commonly Used in Express Preemption Clauses 'Related to' Employee Retirement Income Security [...]

May 9, 2023 On April 24, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court decision holding that Apple does not violate federal antitrust law [...]

Updated May 5, 2023 On January 24, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and several state attorneys general filed a civil antitrust suit against Google in the U.S. District Court [...]

Updated March 9, 2023 Capital markets are part of the financial system where entities raise funding from investors by dealing in stocks, bonds, digital asset securities, and other investments. As [...]

Updated March 22, 2023 Antitrust has become a hot topic. After decades evolving in technocratic obscurity, competition policy now commands the attention of lawmakers, academics, and the general public. One [...]

February 17, 2023 Contents Introduction Background Market Composition and Key Players Fundamental Concepts Regulatory Architecture Policy Issues by Market and Regulatory Components Securities Offerings Policy Issue: Growth of Private Securities [...]

Updated January 31, 2023 Contents Conceptions of Federalism Limitations on Congress's Enumerated Powers Spending Clause Clear Notice Relatedness Independent Constitutional Bar The 'Anti-Coercion' Doctrine Commerce Clause Regulating the Channels of [...]

January 23, 2023 On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a rule that would ban non-compete clauses in employment contracts. The proposal relies on the FTC's putative [...]

Updated January 11, 2023 On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a rule that would prohibit noncompete clauses in employment contracts. The proposal relies on the FTC's [...]

Updated December 2, 2022 Contents Covered Platforms Unlawful Conduct Sections 3(a)(l)-(3): Self-Preferencing, Limitations on Business Users, and Discrimination That Would 'Materially Harm Competition' Self-Preferencing Material Harm to Competition Content Moderation [...]

In June 2022, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced S. 4356, the Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA). The Insight provides an overview of the bill, including its implications [...]

June 9, 2022 As discussed in the first part of this two-part Legal Sidebar series, stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to a reference asset like the U.S. dollar. [...]

June 9, 2022 In 2008, the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto released a white paper describing a peer-to-peer system of electronic cash. The product of that paper--Bitcoin--now boasts a market capitalization of [...]

April 6, 2022 The typical antitrust case involves sellers in a product market. For example, rival manufacturers might conspire to fix the price of memory chips. A tobacco giant may [...]

November 9, 2021 Insider-trading law has been shaped by competing institutional forces and theoretical perspectives. While the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and federal prosecutors have pushed for broad theories [...]

August 13, 2021 Over the past decade, Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple have revolutionized the digital economy. Many people now use the products and services of these 'Big Tech' firms [...]

August 12, 2021 In the 1960s, small apparel retailers had a problem. Apparel suppliers were granting more generous advertising allowances to large retailers, inhibiting small retailers' ability to compete. This [...]

February 16, 2021 In December 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a group of 46 state attorneys general (state AGs) filed separate antitrust lawsuits against Facebook. Both lawsuits challenge [...]

October 23, 2020 On October 20, 2020, the Department of Justice and eleven Republican state attorneys general (hereinafter 'DOJ') filed a long-anticipated antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging that the tech [...]

September 21, 2020 Tensions between the United States and China have again moved to center stage. In recent weeks, the Trump Administration has ordered China to close its Houston consulate [...]

July 21, 2020 On June 30, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized new Vertical Merger Guidelines (VMG) outlining their approach to mergers and acquisitions between [...]

July 9, 2020 On May 29, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalized a rule concerning federal banking regulation and state usury law that has pitted the [...]

Updated July 14, 2020 Contents The National Emergencies Act Methodology Limitations The Stafford Act Methodology Limitations Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act Methodology Limitations Tables Table 1. Statutory [...]

May 15, 2020 To contain the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), roughly 20 states and the District of Columbia continue to operate under so-called 'stay-at-home' orders closing nonessential [...]

May 18, 2020 Although the COVID-19 coronavirus has shuttered wide swaths of the U.S. economy, it has also spurred a flurry of activity by some of the country's largest firms. [...]

Updated March 27, 2020 The COVID-19 coronavirus has upended financial markets and the real economy. As the virus has spread, businesses across the country have closed their doors, major stock [...]

February 5, 2020 Securities Act of 1933 The Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) governs the process by which companies issue securities. The Act prohibits any person from offering or [...]

September 11, 2019 Contents Legal Background General Principles Section 2 of the Sherman Act: Monopolization Monopoly Power Exclusionary Conduct Section 7 of the Clayton Act: Mergers and Acquisitions Antitrust and [...]

April 24, 2019 The Supreme Court recently held in Lorenzo v. Securities and Exchange Commission that persons who knowingly disseminate false statements to investors violate the 'scheme liability' provisions of [...]

February 27, 2019 In 2018, U.S. corporations announced plans to buyback a record $1.08 trillion of their own stock--a trend that has attracted scrutiny and generated a number of legislative [...]

November 30, 2018 On December 3, 2018, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Lorenzo v. Securities and Exchange Commission, a case involving the scope of anti-fraud liability under [...]

September 27, 2018 Contents General Principles Internal Federalism Limitations on Congress's Powers Spending Clause Commerce Clause Regulating the Channels of Interstate Commerce Protecting the Instrumentalities, Persons, or Things in Interstate [...]

Updated August 31, 2018 Contents The Securities Act and the Exchange Act The Howey Test Investment of Money Case Law Application to ICOs Common Enterprise Case Law Application to ICOs [...]

May 16, 2018 The Supreme Court recently held in Murphy v. NCAA that a federal law prohibiting states from 'authorizing' sports gambling unconstitutionally 'commandeered' the authority of state legislatures. In [...]

Updated January 23, 2018 Contents Background The Doctrine of Preemption The Dual Banking System Laws Governing National Banks Laws Governing State Banks The Convergence of State and Federal Regulation Branch [...]

Updated January 12, 2018 Contents Background BSA Enforcement Trends Increases in Penalty Frequency and Size Emphasis on Acceptance of Responsibility Increased Risk of Individual Liability Contacts Author Information Background The [...]

December 1, 2017 On November 17, the Treasury Department issued a report recommending a number of changes to the Financial Stability Oversight Council's (FSOC's) process for designating non-bank financial companies [...]

December 1, 2017 As discussed in Part I of this two-part Sidebar, on November 17, the Treasury Department issued a report recommending a number of changes to the Financial Stability [...]

Updated October 17, 2017 UPDATE: On October 17, the Court granted a joint motion of the parties to remove the case from its argument calendar in light of the parties [...]

Updated October 16, 2017 This term the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund, a case that may 'shift the jurisdictional landscape [...]

Updated September 19, 2017 Contents Fourth Amendment: Carpenter v. United States Federalism: Christie v National Collegiate Athletic Association Redistricting: Gill v Whitford Civil Rights and Free Speech: Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. [...]