In the aftermath of last year's election and in the early days of the Obama administration, it was widely understood that antitrust enforcement would intensify under the new administration. It was left for speculation, however, precisely how antitrust enforcement would change and how it might affect business in the United States. Over the last several months, the U.S. antitrust enforcement agencies have revealed significant aspects of their antitrust policy agenda and they have begun to demonstrate, through their investigations and enforcement actions, how they will enforce the antitrust laws in the coming years. Some of these changes in enforcement have been expected, while others have been quite striking and could have significant implications for businesses of every shape and size.

In this briefing, our panelists review what the antitrust enforcement agencies have said about their antitrust policy agendas and what the agencies have done over the last several months to pursue those agendas. Our panelists focus on what these changes in antitrust enforcement mean to business in the United States, and they offer practical guidance for your organization in response to these changes.

Our Panelists:

Peter Sullivan — New York partner and co-chair of the firm's Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice. Named by numerous publications as a leading antitrust practitioner including IFLR Guide to the World's Leading Competition & Antitrust Lawyers, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business Guide and Mondaq's Guide to Leading Competition Attorneys. Practice focus involves all aspects of antitrust enforcement, including civil, international, criminal and merger matters and governmental investigations, as well as related unfair competition and consumer issues.

Joel Sanders — San Francisco partner in the firm's Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice. Named by numerous publications as a leading antitrust practitioner including IFLR Guide to the World's Leading Competition & Antitrust Lawyers, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business Guide and PLC Competition Handbook. Has extensive experience with federal and state antitrust laws, including litigation, class action litigation, mergers, international cartel investigations, counseling and government proceedings.

Josh Lipton — Washington, D.C. partner in the firm's Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice, and vice chair of the American Bar Association's Section of Antitrust Law's Trial Practice Committee. Named as a leading antitrust practitioner by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business and the 2009 edition of the US Legal 500 Guide. Focuses on antitrust matters including litigation in state and federal courts, merger and acquisition investigations, and antitrust investigations by federal and state agencies and the European Commission.

MCLE Credit Information:

This program has been approved for credit in accordance with the requirements of the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board for a maximum of 1 credit hour, of which 1 credit hour may be applied toward the areas of professional practice requirement.  This course is NOT approved for transitional credit. Attorneys seeking New York credit must obtain an Affirmation Form prior to watching the archived version of this webcast.  Please contact Jeanine McKeown (National Training Administrator), at 213-229-7140 or jmckeown@gibsondunn.com to request the CLE form.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP certifies that this activity has been approved for MCLE credit by the State Bar of California in the amount of 1 hour. California attorneys may claim "self-study" credit for viewing the archived version of this webcast.  No certificate of attendance is required for California "self-study" credit.

For other questions regarding this presentation, please contact Jeanne Brown at pjbrown@gibsondunn.com