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Key takeaway #1 Expect State Attorney General antitrust enforcement to increase in the coming four years.

Key takeaway #2 Both Democratic and Republican AGs will be active, separately and on a bipartisan basis.

Key takeaway #3 AGs likely to focus on tech, healthcare, consumer goods, labor, and ESG and DEI initiatives.

With the coming of the new presidential administration, state antitrust enforcement is poised to intensify. We expect both Republican and Democratic Attorneys General (AGs) to actively pursue antitrust investigations and litigation. They will fill in where the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission reduce focus but are also sure to work, including on a bipartisan basis, with their federal counterparts. Below, we explore how state AGs are likely to shape the antitrust landscape in the coming four years, and the areas where we anticipate significant enforcement activity.Continue Reading State Antitrust Enforcement: A Continued Focus on Competition During the New Administration

Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. See our State Attorneys General page for more insights. Here are last week’s updates.Continue Reading State AG Blog Updates: November 21-27, 2024

On November 27, 2024, a group of eleven state attorneys general (the “AGs”) sued three of the world’s largest asset managers (the “Asset Managers”), accusing them of anticompetitive stock acquisitions, deceptive asset management practices, and an antitrust conspiracy to restrict coal output. The states seek declaratory and injunctive relief including divestitures, as well as fines under state laws, although the allegations could provide a basis for follow-on private treble damages claims under the antitrust laws.

The AGs’ antitrust and consumer protection suit follows a series of cease-and-desist letters and demands for information by many state attorneys general including the plaintiffs here, as well as a lengthy congressional investigation accusing sustainability-focused investors and climate activists of forming a “climate cartel.” That investigation produced an extensive House Judiciary Committee Report compiling internal material regarding activities by sustainability-focused investment groups and their members, which the minority “Counterreport” alleged had been subpoenaed and published specifically to enable like-minded state law enforcers to bring suit.

While this client alert focuses on the details of the litigation against these Asset Managers, there are practical steps that all companies should take when considering sustainability-focused collaborations, standards, or goals. We discuss some of them below, as well as in a recent client alert and a ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources’ Trends article.Continue Reading Eleven States Sue Asset Managers Alleging ESG Conspiracy to Restrict Coal Production

Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. See our State Attorneys General page for more insights. Here are last week’s updates.Continue Reading State AG Blog Updates: October 31 – November 13, 2024

Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. See our State Attorneys General page for more insights. Here are last week’s updates.Continue Reading State AG Updates: August 22-28, 2024

Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. See our State Attorneys General page for more insight. Here are this week’s updates.Continue Reading State AG Updates: June 20-26, 2024

Crowell attorneys attended the Attorney General Alliance (AGA) Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado from June 12 to June 15. As usual, the conference included receptions and other networking events allowing the Crowell attorneys in attendance to engage with the over twenty attorneys general (AGs), from both political parties, as well as a host of their respective staff.

The conference included sessions focused on, among other topics, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) economy, the ethical use of AI, mental health, antitrust, Supreme Court litigation, state and federal cooperation, consumer protection and education, federal preemption, and emerging technologies. Conference speakers included: Jon Palmer, Microsoft General Counsel; Rajit Kapur, Instacart IP Counsel; Vanessa Broadhurst, Johnson & Johnson Executive Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs; the Honorable Mark Bennett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; Stacey Friedman, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Executive Vice President and General Counsel; Maryana Zubok, Pfizer, Inc., Vice President & Chief Counsel; Harold Kim, U.S. Chamber Executive Vice President; Sue Boyett, local United Way Executive Director; and David Zapolsky, Amazon Senior Vice President for Global Public Policy & General Counsel.

Below please find some key takeaways from the conference:Continue Reading State Attorney General Bipartisan Discussions and Perspectives from the Attorney General Alliance