SAP Under EU Investigation (Video)

Plaintiffs' experts in antitrust class actions often employ a two-step econometric method to demonstrate common impact across class members. New research reveals fundamental flaws in this widely-used approach, showing how it systematically produces false positives and identifies class-wide impact even when no actual harm occurred.

The FTC secured major enforcement wins including blocking Henkel's $725 million Liquid Nails acquisition and unwinding Zillow-Redfin's market-exit deal, while also proposing new personalized pricing policies and finalizing penalties for deceptive AI advertising claims. What do these recent actions signal about the agency's enforcement priorities and regulatory approach?

California's legislative branch has sent Assembly Bill 1776, known as the COMPETE Act, to Governor Gavin Newsom for signature, marking a significant expansion of the state's antitrust enforcement capabilities. If enacted, this legislation would empower California's Attorney General to challenge single-firm monopolistic conduct under the Cartwright Act...

The Department of Justice announced a landmark $250 million settlement with KKR & Co. for allegedly submitting deficient Hart-Scott-Rodino Act notification forms across at least 16 transactions. This unprecedented penalty, the largest ever for HSR violations, raises critical questions about merger notification compliance obligations and the consequences of systemic noncompliance with federal antitrust review requirements.

On August 19, a jury in Oklahoma found one company and two individuals—the company’s vice president and its estimator—guilty of price fixing and bid rigging.

The Federal Trade Commission closed its investigation of IonQ's acquisition of SkyWater Technology after the Commission's two sitting members divided over whether the transaction warranted a negotiated behavioral consent order. These detailed statements reveal how each Commissioner analyzes vertical transactions and their claimed benefits, offering critical insights for parties planning vertical transactions in defense and national-security sectors.

Private equity firm KKR has agreed to pay a record-breaking $250 million civil penalty to settle allegations of systematic violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act across at least 16 transactions. Federal antitrust agencies are demonstrating unprecedented scrutiny of premerger compliance requirements, pursuing significant penalties even when underlying transactions themselves face no competitive concerns.

State regulation of algorithmic pricing is accelerating across the United States, with California, Connecticut, Maryland, and New Jersey enacting new restrictions while New York lawmakers advance legislation that would expand existing disclosure requirements. The key distinction lies in the data driving the price: some states restrict tools using competitor data to address antitrust concerns, while others target consumer-specific pricing based on personal data to address unfairness and deception. These deve

State attorneys general in Florida and Louisiana have filed lawsuits against pharmacy benefit managers alleging collusion and price-fixing of reimbursement rates paid to retail and independent pharmacies. These cases represent a growing trend of states pursuing antitrust enforcement actions against PBMs for allegedly coordinating to suppress pharmacy reimbursements.

Over the last decade, investigation timelines for transactions subject to Second Requests soared. Before 2015, the average timelines for Second Request investigation regularly fell under eight months. By 2025, that average had climbed to over 12 months. Of course, these average timelines only cover time before the agency decides whether to challenge a transaction. For transactions subject to a complaint, the clock ran longer. And as dealmakers know, time is often the enemy of closing.

Arizona's new State Affordability Infrastructure District framework becomes operational on September 14, creating unprecedented opportunities for developers to finance public infrastructure through a statewide vehicle. As the first formation petitions are prepared, critical decisions about district boundaries, financing structures, and bond capacity will determine the success of projects across the state.

California's Senate Bill 690 eliminates the private right of action for pen register claims under CIPA when violations arise from website or mobile app tracking technologies, leaving enforcement solely to the Attorney General. The bill applies retroactively to claims filed after January 1, 2025, and awaits Governor Newsom's signature with an operative date of January 1, 2027.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has adopted sweeping amendments to its procedural rules to implement the accelerated ratemaking framework under House Bill 15. These changes introduce strict time limits for cross-examination, compressed discovery deadlines, and tighter briefing requirements that will fundamentally alter how rate cases are litigated before the PUCO.

General counsel and chief compliance officers at growing organizations face mounting pressure to manage third-party risks across sanctions, anti-corruption, and export controls without building expensive internal infrastructure. Taft's technology-enabled solution centralizes screening, risk-based due diligence, and approvals while creating audit-ready documentation that satisfies boards and enforcement agencies.

AI-powered call transcription tools like Otter.ai are facing class action lawsuits under Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) for allegedly collecting voiceprints without proper consent. A federal court recently allowed claims to proceed, signaling potential legal risks for companies that provide or utilize these increasingly common meeting recording services.

Your company paid premiums year after year, maintained payment controls, and worked to protect its systems and financial information. No CEO expects perfect security or expects every loss to be covered by insurance. But a company that buys coverage for computer fraud, funds-transfer fraud, and social engineering reasonably expects the policy to matter when criminals compromise company communications and divert a seven-figure payment.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is implementing significant changes to the H-1B visa program, including immediate fee adjustments and two major proposals that could reshape how employers sponsor foreign workers. Starting September 9, covered employers will face expanded fee requirements, while a proposed $103,265 fee per cap-subject petition could dramatically increase the cost of H-1B sponsorship.

This is the third installment in our coverage of the Anthropic/Department of War dispute. Our first alert addressed the Trump administration’s February 27 directives barring federal contractors from using Anthropic and its Claude platform, including Secretary Hegseth’s designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk to national security and the resulting requirement that all DoW contractors sever commercial ties with the company.

Illinois has enacted the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act, establishing comprehensive statewide zoning and permitting standards for commercial energy storage systems with capacity exceeding 1 MW. The legislation creates uniform requirements for setbacks, decommissioning, financial assurance, and safety standards while limiting local governments' ability to impose more restrictive regulations.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has proposed significant changes to small business size standards that could expand eligibility for approximately 114,000 additional companies. The proposed rule would streamline industry classifications, shift toward employee-based metrics, and substantially raise both receipts and employee thresholds across various sectors. These changes could reshape the landscape of federal contracting opportunities, potentially benefiting midsize businesses while intensifying comp