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Head U .S. Department of Justice (DOJ)  antitrust enforcer, Bill Baer , believes the Federal Trade Commission and DOJ are law enforcement agencies, not regulators.  In his recent speech at the Global Competition Review Fourth Annual Antitrust Leaders Forum, Baer stressed that antitrust regulation “is not what we do.  And it is not how we ought to think about what we do.”  He added that the antitrust agencies “do not aspire to be regulators or to pick winners and losers.  Instead antitrust enforcement, done right, focuses on removing impediments to competitive markets and protecting market structures that facilitate competition.”  Baer’s enforcement-minded approach likely explains one reason why the federal antitrust agencies do not typically accept conduct remedies to resolve antitrust concerns.  Conduct remedies require an entity to take, or refrain from, certain business conduct ( e.g … [Read more...] about Top Antitrust Watchdog to Merging Firms: DOJ Not Interested in Remedies that Require Ongoing Regulatory Oversight

GDC Enterprises, Inc. (“GDC”), a corporation with a place of business in Gainesville, Georgia, filed a patent infringement action on June 3, 2014 against Robco Manufacturing, Inc, d/b/a Alumadock(“Alumadock”), a North Carolina corporation, relating to United States Patent No. 8,668,407 (the ‘407 Patent) entitled “Docking System with Joint Supports,” which issued on March 11, 2014.The ‘407 Patent begins its section on the Background of the Invention in unconventional fashion, as follows:Just three days before he died in a plane crash outside of Madison, Wis., Otis Redding recorded the number one hit “The Dock of the Bay” about a person that was fed up with a hectic life in Georgia and traveled to the San Francisco Bay to just sit on a dock.  There is something alluring about docks, some element that captivates our attention, draws us in, and triggers some distant emotion that is embedded deeply … [Read more...] about GDC Seeks to Dock Alumadock for Going Off the Deep End and Committing Patent Infringement

On May 19, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) issued a Final Policy Statement clarifying FERC’s implementation of hold harmless commitments in Federal Power Act (FPA) Section 203 applications seeking change of control authorization. The Final Policy Statement largely tracks a Proposed Policy Statement that was issued in January of 2015.For FERC approval under Section 203, a transaction must be “consistent with the public interest.” The Commission considers three factors in determining whether a transaction meets this requirement: the effect of the transaction on (1) competition; (2) rates; and (3) regulation. The Policy Statement relates to the second prong of FERC’s analysis (the FERC will not grant an application if it results in cross-subsidization such that utility ratepayers subsidize nonutility affiliates. Hold harmless commitments by the utilities involved in the transaction are a common means of preventing … [Read more...] about FERC Issues Policy Statement Clarifying Hold Harmless Commitments Under FPA § 203

After merging Jan. 1, Kilpatrick Stockton and Townsend and Townsend and Crew are already in an expansion mode.Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton has opened a new office in Taipei, Taiwan, its second in Asia, reports the Winston-Salem Journal. The 650-attorney firm already had an office in Tokyo, which the Townsend firm brought as part of the merger.“A fast-growing Kilpatrick Townsend, with its internationally recognized intellectual property practice, is committed to creating a major presence in the region,” says Bill Dorris, the firm’s chairman.A firm press release provides additional details. … [Read more...] about Newly Merged Kilpatrick Townsend Opens in Taiwan, Its 2nd Asian Office

It was January 2006, and the principal at Young Finkel & Silbert of Chicago was at a crossroad. He turned to his wife and said, “I can’t stop thinking about it: Where do I want to be in 10 years? Where do I want to practice?”For many years, Finkel and Daniel Beederman, a partner at Schoenberg Fisher Newman & Rosenberg in Chicago, considered moving to the other’s firm. But over time, the conversation shifted to merging—a scary, big commitment. Almost two years earlier, Finkel and Beederman decided the time wasn’t right and walked away.But as he waited for Mick Jagger and his bandmates to take the stage, Finkel’s cold feet melted. Amid the din of the warm-up band, he called Beederman and proposed a union.“Out of the blue, I said, ‘Let’s move forward,’” Finkel says. And Beederman said yes.MARRIAGE OR MERGER?“Deciding to merge is very much like deciding to get married,” says John Smock, partner at … [Read more...] about Formerly opposing counsel took the plunge to merge firms