Antitrust Government Investigations
We defend clients in both civil and criminal government investigations in the United States, at both the federal and state levels, and in European Commission investigations in the European Union, and we coordinate and manage multi-jurisdictional investigations. We represent not only respondents in such investigations, but also interested third parties and, in the United States, witnesses who may receive compulsory process. In defending clients, our goal is to persuade the authority to close the investigation, to proceed civilly rather than criminally (in the United States), or to recommend another approach that represents a favorable outcome. We help clients negotiate remedies (and changes to remedies) to address the concerns of antitrust authorities. When needed, we also file complaints regarding anti-competitive conduct by our clients’ competitors, customers or suppliers.
Our experience in handling government investigations extends not only to investigations of suspected conduct-oriented violations of the antitrust laws, but also to investigations of proposed mergers, applications for business review letters and suspected violations of pre-merger reporting requirements.
Where needed, we work with company officials and in-house counsel to plan and implement internal investigations of potential wrongdoing by employees against the company. In appropriate instances, we prepare voluntary disclosures to antitrust authorities to take advantage of amnesty programs and cartel leniency policies, and coordinate and manage multi-jurisdictional cartel leniency applications.
Sidley Updates
Publications