Katharine M. O'Connor
Subscribe to Katharine M. O'Connor's PostsKatharine (Kate) O’Connor focuses her practice on complex antitrust litigation, antitrust investigations brought by the US antitrust regulators and state attorneys general, and counseling clients on antitrust compliance questions. She also regularly represents clients before the antitrust regulators related to mergers and acquisitions. Kate has experience representing clients in a wide array of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, food and finance. Read Katharine O’Connor's full bio.
Pennsylvania Court Rejects Attempt to Block FTC Noncompete Ban
By P. Kevin Connelly, Brian Mead, Katharine M. O'Connor and Alex Grayson on Jul 25, 2024
Posted In FTC Developments
On July 23, 2024, US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania declined to stay the September 4, 2024, effective date of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Final Rule that bans all new noncompete agreements nationwide and renders existing noncompete agreements binding most workers unenforceable. This ruling comes 20 days after a federal court...
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DOJ Antitrust Division Signals Impending Criminal Monopolization Cases
By Andrew Lee, Katharine M. O'Connor, Justin P. Murphy, Paul M. Thompson and Claire Danberg on Mar 11, 2022
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance
WHAT HAPPENED On March 2, 2022, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers revealed that the DOJ intends to investigate and pursue alleged criminal violations against individuals or companies who violate Section 2 of the Sherman Act. For more than 40 years, criminal enforcement of antitrust laws have...
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Executive Order Encourages FTC, DOJ to Address Hospital Consolidation, Vigorously Enforce Antitrust Laws
By Ashley Fischer, Katharine M. O'Connor and Noah Feldman Greene on Jul 15, 2021
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Mergers & Acquisitions
President Biden recently issued an executive order affirming his administration’s policy of enforcing the antitrust laws to “combat the excessive consolidation of industry” and cited healthcare markets as one of several priorities. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice (DOJ) already have been actively enforcing the antitrust laws in provider consolidation matters....
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2020 Health Antitrust Year in Review
By Ashley Fischer, Katharine M. O'Connor, Stephen Wu and Michelle Lowery on Jan 19, 2021
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Joint Ventures/Competitor Collaboration, Mergers & Acquisitions, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance, Private Litigation
The federal antitrust enforcement agencies brought three hospital merger challenges and three criminal antitrust enforcement actions in healthcare in the past year. Combined with the incoming Democratic administration, healthcare antitrust enforcement is likely to remain strong in 2021. Our Health Antitrust Year in Review: Examines specific antitrust challenges and enforcement actions that impacted hospitals and...
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Health Antitrust Litigation Update for Providers | 2020
By Michelle Lowery, Katharine M. O'Connor, Stephen Wu, Joshua W. Eastby and Ashley Fischer on Nov 13, 2020
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Joint Ventures/Competitor Collaboration, Mergers & Acquisitions, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance, Private Litigation
In 2019, the total number of antitrust cases filed against providers dropped to 20 after the 2018 bump (27 cases). In the latest Health Antitrust Litigation Update for Providers, we discuss what kinds of cases were brought over the past two years and how they were decided, and what cases warrant particular attention in 2020. Read...
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Top Takeaways: Permissible Provider Collaborations During COVID-19 and Beyond
By Ashley Fischer, Katharine M. O'Connor and Stephen Wu on May 27, 2020
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Mergers & Acquisitions
If you missed our latest webinar, enjoy the replay below and learn more as we provide highlights on competitor collaborations, avoiding violations in labor markets, provider M&A and partial acquisitions. Competitor Collaborations Antitrust compliance remains an important priority in the US. While companies have been engaged in finding creative solutions to COVID-19 challenges and regulators...
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DOJ Will Not Challenge COVID-19 Response Distribution Collaboration
By Anthony S. Ferrara, Ashley Fischer and Katharine M. O'Connor on Apr 24, 2020
Posted In Distribution/Franchising, DOJ Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Joint Ventures/Competitor Collaboration
The United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) has issued a second Business Review Letter pursuant to the expedited review process it announced on March 24, 2020 to review conduct related to COVID-19 within seven days. The letter released on April 20, 2020 issued to AmerisourceBergen Corporation, which follows a letter issued last week to medical/surgical distributors, again shows...
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DOJ Issues Antitrust Guidance on Competitor Collaboration to Combat COVID-19
By Ashley Fischer, Jon B. Dubrow and Katharine M. O'Connor on Apr 13, 2020
Posted In Healthcare Antitrust, Joint Ventures/Competitor Collaboration
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division issued a business review letter that underscores the flexibility of the US antitrust regulators towards competitor collaborations aimed at increasing the supply and distribution of medical equipment needed to fight the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This letter can provide guidance to other companies considering collaborations to assist in the response...
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FTC, DOJ Issue Antitrust Statement On Covid-19 Response Collaborations
By Ashley Fischer, Jon B. Dubrow and Katharine M. O'Connor on Mar 26, 2020
Posted In DOJ Developments, EC Developments, EU Developments, FTC Developments
On March 24, 2020, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a Joint Antitrust Statement Regarding COVID-19. In this statement, the FTC and DOJ recognize that public health efforts in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) require government and private cooperation. To address the speed at which companies and individuals...
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Antitrust Enforcement Update: Spotlight on Physician Transactions
By Ashley Fischer, Katharine M. O'Connor, Lisa A. Peterson, Stephen Wu and McDermott Will & Emery on Jun 21, 2019
Posted In FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust
At both the state and federal level, antitrust enforcement agencies continue to pursue successful challenges to physician practice transactions. This article summarizes two recent enforcement actions, as well as a new state law that requires prior notice of healthcare provider transactions. We also offer practical takeaways for providers pursuing practice acquisitions. Access the full article.
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