Michael A. Gleason is a partner with Jones Day based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. For 15 years, he has been involved in some of the most significant transactions to recently come before the antitrust agencies. He counsels clients on antitrust matters before U.S. and international enforcement agencies, including cross-border M&A transactions and government investigations, as well as antitrust litigation. Michael has represented a variety of clients before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state, and international antitrust enforcers and has extensive experience in a range of industries, including agriculture, health care (providers and payers), pharmaceuticals, medical devices, software, tech platforms, chemicals, mining, defense, commodities, and food products, among others. His transactional work includes counseling clients at every stage of a deal, including premerger planning, regulatory filings, investigations, litigation, as well as post-closing investigations. Michael also frequently advises clients on a variety of antitrust issues, including competitor and vertical collaborations, information sharing, distribution arrangements, licensing, and single-firm conduct.
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The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) have proposed to expand dramatically the scope and burden of preparing a merger filing in the United States. The proposed changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act rules and filing form would: (i) (...)
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In Short The Development: The Court of Justice of the European Union ("ECJ") held that national competition authorities ("NCA") may investigate and block an M&A transaction that violates Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to the extent it is not reportable (...)
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In early January 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) proposed an unprecedented rule banning most employer/employee non-compete clauses. As detailed below, the rule is not likely to take effect for at least eight months, and possibly longer (if ever), given the likelihood of challenges (...)
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In Short The Development: The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") revived a long-abandoned policy requiring that Commission orders settling FTC merger investigations include a "prior approval" clause that grants the FTC the unilateral authority to approve (or deny) certain future (...)
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In Short The Situation: President Biden recently signed an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy (the "Order") outlining 72 initiatives by more than a dozen federal agencies to combat "excessive" corporate consolidation and increase competition across the U.S. (...)
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In Short The Situation: The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"), which now has a 3-2 Democrat majority, held its first Commission meeting since President Biden appointed a new Chair, Lina M. Khan. The Commissioners voted on a number of measures that signal important changes from prior agency (...)
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In Short The Situation: The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"), which now has a 3-2 Democrat majority, held its first Commission meeting since President Biden appointed a new Chair, Lina M. Khan. The Commissioners voted on a number of measures that signal important changes from prior agency (...)
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Newly revised merger control guidelines ("Guidelines") from the Comisión Federal de Competencia ("COFECE"), Mexico’s competition law authority, clarify when parties to joint ventures or collaborations ("JVs") must report those transactions to COFECE. The Guidelines provide much needed guidance (...)
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In Short The Situation: According to the European Commission ("EC"), an increasing number of competitively significant transactions have evaded merger notification because one or both of the transacting parties (but typically a small, high value target) did not meet EC or any Member State (...)
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On February 4, 2021, the U.S. antitrust agencies announced that they are temporarily suspending the discretionary practice of granting early termination of the waiting period to filings made under the Hart-Scott-Rodino ("HSR") Act. Since January 16, the agencies granted ET in just one (...)
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In Short The Development: The Bundestag, the German legislature, amended Germany’s antitrust laws to include special competition rules for digital platform "companies with overwhelming importance for competition across multiple markets." The amendments, known as the GWB Digitization Act or (...)
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In Short The Development: Congress unanimously passed and before leaving office, President Trump signed into law, the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act ("CHIRA"). CHIRA limits application of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, an exemption from the federal antitrust laws, as it relates to the (...)
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INTRODUCTION The CMA has recently issued its Final Report in the Market Study into Online Platforms and Digital Advertising (“Final Report”), which sets forth its findings and recommendations from its investigation of markets involving online platforms funded by digital advertising. In (...)
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The FTC and DOJ have adopted new procedures in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The changes are intended to help the agencies stay open during the crisis, but merging parties should expect lengthier antitrust reviews until normal operations resume. All merger filings (...)
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The FTC and DOJ have adopted new procedures in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The changes are intended to help the agencies stay open during the crisis, but merging parties should expect lengthier antitrust reviews until normal operations resume. All merger filings (...)
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In Short The Development: Mexico’s antitrust authority, the Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica ("COFECE"), released guidelines that recognize the attorney-client privilege in antitrust investigations. Background: Mexican law requires that lawyers maintain professional secrecy, which (...)
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In a decision that extends the FTC’s winning streak in the courts of appeals in healthcare provider merger cases, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the Federal Trade Commission’s ("FTC") bid to enjoin Sanford Health’s acquisition of Mid Dakota Clinic ("MDC"). This decision follows almost three years (...)
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In Short The Development: A Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") administrative judge ("ALJ") has blocked Tronox Corporation’s proposed acquisition of the titanium dioxide ("TiO2") business of The National Titanium Dioxide Company Limited ("Cristal"), concluding that the transaction may (...)
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The Trump Administration leadership at the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have announced reforms regarding merger reviews. This Jones Day White Paper reviews these reforms and their strategic implications for merging parties. As described more fully below, there is (...)
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This article has been nominated for the 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. Congratulations! Your deal navigated through antitrust review, you closed the transaction, and you are making your way through the three-year integration plan. (...)
