Designing and Implementing Competition Law Policy and Training

Description

The U.S. Department of Justice has collected billions of dollars in criminal fines, with enforcement increasing recently, and private plaintiffs continue to collect huge treble damage awards. Competition authorities in other countries are also piling on. Understanding how to advise clients regarding different forms of communications—pricing, requests for proposals, proprietary sales information—and provide practical instruction on obtaining and utilizing competitive intelligence in a commercial organization is an integral part of lawyers’ advisory roles.

Counsel and compliance officers are responsible for establishing clear policies and training guidelines to assist business clients in being able to discuss potential transactions with customers, suppliers, agents, and even with competitors - without sharing competitive information improperly or in a way that may create the appearance of an improper agreements. Sales conferences, negotiation cycles, industry events, and other types of professional associations increase the likelihood that conversations may arise that pose risk to a business if certain types of disclosures occur.

Because a business may have different types of relationships with the same entity—competitor in one instance, customer or collaborator in another—in-house counsel must be able to communicate the guidelines regarding permissible and impermissible communications and clearly enunciate them to business colleagues. Proactive training on these issues can ensure that proprietary information is protected and that competitive intelligence can be used within the receiving business.

Listen as our panel of experienced attorneys examines the risks associated with incomplete or outdated competition law policies and discusses best practices for competition law adherence from both legal and business perspectives.