Expert Analysis

• FTC Focus: Enforcing Vertically Integrated Operating Systems

  

  As digital platforms increasingly pair operating systems with commerce, advertising, content and data, antitrust scrutiny will turn on whether those integrations create private bottlenecks that foreclose rivals through access, ranking, interoperability or defaults, pushing courts and enforcement agencies to adapt traditional utility and merger frameworks more aggressively, say attorneys at Proskauer.

• China's New Outbound Investment Rule Reshapes Deal Risk

  

  China's new outbound investment regulation introduces broad national security review and penalties, including personal liability, that will necessitate deeper diligence of cross-border deal participants with Chinese ties, earlier regulatory planning and closer attention to sanctions exposure, say attorneys at Freshfields.

• A Shift In How Policymakers Are Approaching PBM Regulation

  

  Recent federal and state legislative and regulatory activity involving pharmacy benefit managers represent a change in focus from transparency to PBM compensation structures, vertical integration and competitive effects, say attorneys at Barclay Damon.

• How State Actions Are Reshaping Surveillance Pricing Risk

  

  Amid heightened state enforcement activity and expanding legislative action to curb surveillance pricing concerns related to transparency, fairness and discrimination, businesses should closely examine how consumer data is used in pricing decisions, say attorneys at Steptoe.

• Opinion

  States Should Reconsider Forced PBM Divestiture Laws

  

  State legislatures are attempting to enact policies intended to force pharmacy benefit managers to divest from pharmacies, but these laws would have the practical effect of reducing patient access and competition, potentially violating the U.S. Constitution in the process, says former Utah Attorney General John Swallow.

• HSR Deals Proceed More Steadily Than Narratives Suggest

  

  The most recent Hart-Scott-Rodino Act data show that transaction volume remained relatively stable, transaction values continued to increase and enforcement activity remained low, suggesting that enforcement rates have been relatively consistent across presidential administrations despite widely differing public rhetoric regarding merger enforcement, says Amanda Wait at Michael Best.

• Series

  Teaching SEC Investigations Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Instructing a law school course on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations has made me a more thoughtful, deliberate practitioner because it requires me to continually reassess and challenge what I know about securities law enforcement, how I know it and how best to explain it, says David Chase at Miami Law.

• Noncompete Laws Show States Focusing On Bans, Healthcare

  

  The first half of 2026 confirms that state legislatures are driving the most consequential changes in noncompete law, including a few state bans and several healthcare-specific laws, making a one-size-fits-all approach increasingly untenable for multistate employers, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

• And Now A Word From The Panel: MDL Judge Selection

  

  To understand how the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation selects particular judges to preside over MDL proceedings, it helps to consider not only how much experience on the federal bench a judge has, but also whether they have specifically managed any prior MDLs, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.

• Assessing DOJ Antitrust's New, Faster Merger Review Option

  

  The U.S. Justice Department Antitrust Division's recently announced targeted second request option and new model timing signal a commercially friendly stance and a departure from the prior administration's position, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

• Series

  Judges On AI: Examining Administrative, Organizational Uses

  

  U.S. District Judge Alan Albright of the Western District of Texas examines how artificial intelligence could transform a court's ability to deal with administrative work and organize materials when preparing for hearings or drafting opinions, thereby affording judges more time to resolve contested issues.

• AG Watch: Ohio AG Joins State Antitrust Enforcement Trend

  

  Amid the recent reprioritization in the federal government's competition enforcement agenda, two recent cases provide critical insight into how the Ohio attorney general will proceed in the relatively unprecedented trend of state attorneys general aggressively pursuing antitrust matters, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

• Series

  Being A Singer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Before law school, I spent seven years trying to make it as a professional singer in Los Angeles, and nearly everything I learned about preparation, humility, confidence and more has followed me into my legal practice, says Jessica Caterina at Moses & Singer.

• The Growing Antitrust Risks Of AI Pricing For Health Insurers

  

  Attorneys at Patterson Belknap provide an overview of the increased risk of antitrust enforcement for health insurance companies using algorithmic price models, including in the form of multidistrict private litigation, new state and federal bills, and potential federal enforcement.

• Parsing Who Gets The Track Record In A Venture Partner Split

  

  A recent California federal court order in TEEC Angel Management v. Tsingyuan Ventures allowing Lanham Act claims to proceed confirms that the question of who gets to tell the story of a shared win is now being litigated as false advertising instead of industry professional etiquette, says Ben Dubin at VC Expert Services.