Pierce Atwood's antitrust group provides timely, reliable and cost-effective antitrust and competition counseling to clients in a wide variety of markets. Areas of recent counseling analysis include:

  • Antitrust compliance policies, training and audit
  • Responding to competition in product development, distribution, pricing, non-price vertical modalities
  • Pricing, including loyalty and market share discounts and Robinson-Patman Act issues
  • FERC market manipulation rules in natural gas, electricity and other energy fields
  • Standard setting, including trade association and government-sponsored enterprises
  • Tying and bundling, including full-line forcing and other dealer purchasing requirements
  • Distribution networks, including exclusive and dual distribution issues
  • Exclusive dealing, in healthcare and other sectors
  • Trade association activities, including data exchanges and compliance programs
  • Refusals to deal, including dealer terminations and intellectual property licensing
  • Pre-merger due diligence, including gun-jumping issues
  • Joint ventures among competitors, including joint bidding and customer allocation issues
  • Consent decree compliance, including agency audits and sunsetting
  • FTC Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care
  • Application of state action, Noerr-Penington, File Rate Doctrine and other implied exemptions

Representative Experience

Advise major Northeast provider of fuel oil and propane in connection with trade association activities, including data exchanges.

Advice on Trade Association Activities

Advise prominent consumer goods manufacturer regarding antitrust compliance in connection with its distribution relationships and retail strategies, including the implementation of a minimum advertised price policy.

Antitrust Compliance for Consumer Goods Manufacturer

Advise Maine-based agricultural company with respect to antitrust compliance issues in connection with supplier and distributor relationships, including antitrust compliance training to sales staff.

Antitrust Compliance Issues in Supplier and Distributor Relationships

Representation of non-profit public interest organization in connection with antitrust implications of national and state health care cost transparency efforts.

Antitrust Implications of Health Care Cost Transparency Efforts

Representation of leading manufacturer of sports equipment and apparel in connection with price maintenance and price discrimination matters and other antitrust implications of its retail strategy.

Antitrust Implications of Retail Strategy

Representation of frozen food producer in connection with various antitrust issues involving competitor collaborations and dealings in the distribution chain, including pricing policies.

Competition Advice to Frozen Food Producer