CD of a Live, Interactive Teleconference
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A Live 90-Minute Telephone Conference
Conducted Tuesday, March 28, 2006 |
As competing businesses increasingly look to joint ventures or other collaborations as an alternative to mergers or acquisitions, potential antitrust violations increase. Competitors who choose to collaborate run the risk of clashing with antitrust laws -- and Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission scrutiny.
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Texaco Inc. v. Dagher and Shell Oil Company v. Dagher signals that even government-approved joint ventures present the risk of private antitrust litigation. The decision demonstrates that much remains to be clarified in applying antitrust principles to joint ventures and other competitor collaborations.
In the years since the DOJ and FTC released their Antitrust Guidelines for Collaboration Among Competitors, federal regulators have shown -- most recently with Polygram Holdings, Inc., v. Federal Trade Commission -- that they will not hesitate to punish joint ventures that go beyond the boundaries of lawful collaboration.
Listen and participate from your office phone as our authoritative panelists address the circumstances under which competitor collaborations create an antitrust threat and how best to address that threat in planning for and operating competitor collaborations.
They addressed these and other key questions:
- What is the current level of the DOJ and FTC interest in investigating collaborative arrangements for potential antitrust violations?
- What types of cooperative relationships have most frequently drawn scrutiny for potential antitrust violations and how can you avoid crossing that line?
- What is the distinction between mergers and collaborations and why do those differences matter?
- How effective are the safety zones established for permissible collaborations?
- Where have the courts recently come down on collaboration vs. collusion questions?
Our panelists included:
Lisa C. Wood, Partner, Foley Hoag, Boston, has over 22 years of experience handling complex business litigation matters, principally in the areas of securities fraud, accountants liability, and antitrust. She advises clients on the various insurance coverage issues that arise out of business litigation and offers preventative litigation and corporate compliance advice in the securities and antitrust areas.
Nicholas R. Koberstein, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery, Washington, DC, is a member of the firm's Antitrust and Competition Practice Group, where he focuses on antitrust implications of mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. He previously worked with the FTC were he led numerous investigations of joint venture and other competitor collaborations in a wide variety of industries.
David B. Goroff, Partner, Foley & Lardner, Chicago, is a member of the firm's Litigation Department and the Appellate, Business Reorganizations, and Antitrust Practice Groups. His antitrust experience includes preparing antitrust compliance programs for clients, structuring joint ventures, advising clients of the application of antitrust laws to previously regulated industries, and assisting clients with the merger review process before the FTC and DOJ.
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TELECONFERENCE CD
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