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ARTICLE · 17 JUNE 2020

Antitrust Tips For Attending A 'Virtual' Trade Association Meeting

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Trade associations serve many valuable purposes for employees and businesses alike. They serve as forums for professionals within a particular industry, subject to applicable legal parameters...

United StatesEmployment and HR
Benjamin Dryden
Benjamin Dryden
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Trade associations serve many valuable purposes for employees and businesses alike. They serve as forums for professionals within a particular industry, subject to applicable legal parameters, to share knowledge and best practices, develop lobbying and public relations strategies, and adopt technological standards to ensure safety and operability. They also provide an important networking function by bringing together individuals with common interests and connections to meet each other in a professional setting. Such trade association activities can be important in employees' professional advancement and, when structured appropriately, are perfectly lawful.

When structured inappropriately, however, trade association activities can create serious legal risks. In particular, by bringing together employees from competing businesses, trade associations create opportunities for improper competitive coordination under the antitrust laws. For example, without

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