A First-and-a-Half Request? What DOJ's New Timing Agreement Means For Merging Parties

On July 23, 2026, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division announced a return to what it describes as targeted Second Request investigations and published a revised model timing agreement. The new optional process allows the Division to prioritize information and documents that it considers potentially determinative before requiring full compliance with a Second Request. After reviewing that priority production, the Division may close its investigation, narrow the Second Request, or continue to require full compliance.

The revised model offers two potentially significant benefits compared with the Division's 2022 model: an early opportunity to narrow or resolve an investigation and a reduction in the ordinary post-compliance period from 90 to 60 days (both of which are, of course, longer than the statutory 30-day back-end waiting period).¹ These benefits are not automatic, however. The process can front-load substantial production costs, and the revised model replaces several