Insights

Washington – December 22, 2022: Global Competition Review recognized Crowell & Moring’s Antitrust & Competition Group in its “GCR 100 2023” – the leading ranking of the world’s competition policy law and economics practices. This year marks the 23rd edition of the awards and the 16th consecutive year that the Antitrust & Competition Group has been recognized.

Los Angeles – September 12, 2022: The Recorder named Crowell & Moring partner Jordan Ludwig to its 2022 list of Lawyers on the Fast Track (Under 40). This award recognizes lawyers for their outstanding career accomplishments who are seen as the next generation of legal leaders in California.

In a landmark verdict on April 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division notched its first-ever jury trial conviction for criminal wage-fixing under the Sherman Act in United States v. Eduardo Lopez in the District of Nevada. A home health care staffing executive, Eduardo (“Eddie”) Lopez, was found guilty of (1) conspiring with several competing home healthcare staffing agencies to fix the wages of home health nurses in the Las Vegas area, and (2) defrauding the unwitting buyer of his agency by concealing the then-ongoing antitrust investigation into nurse wage and hiring practices. It is worth noting, however, that while the Lopez conviction is a significant milestone for the DOJ’s campaign into labor antitrust violations, wage-fixing cases may be more straightforward to prosecute than no-poach agreements, where the DOJ still has not prevailed before a jury. This victory nonetheless affirms the DOJ’s ability to criminally prosecute labor market collusion as a criminal offense after numerous failed attempts, signaling the prudence of further caution for companies and individuals to mitigate risk in labor antitrust markets.

In 2023 and 2024, several U.S. states enacted extensive “Right to Repair” laws, reflecting a growing legislative focus on ensuring consumers have access to the parts and resources needed to repair their own products without relying on the product’s original manufacturer. Most recently, California, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts, and Oregon implemented comprehensive regulations aimed at providing consumers direct access to tools, parts, and information for the repair of various electronic devices and equipment, including digital products and agricultural machinery. As the “Right to Repair” movement continues to gain significant traction across the United States, it is critical that manufacturers understand these laws and how these laws will impact their individual businesses.

Over the last year, the California Law Revision Commission (“CLRC”), the influential body that makes recommendations to the legislature, has been considering sweeping reforms to California’s antitrust law, the Cartwright Act. Recently, the CLRC voted to propose several changes to the Cartwright Act aimed at expanding the reach and scope of the law. Companies doing business in California should pay close attention to this ongoing process because of the potentially dramatic impact such new state laws could have, including increased exposure to antitrust litigation. Crowell & Moring is representing the California Chamber of Commerce (“CalChamber”) in monitoring, analyzing and responding to the CLRC’s recommendations.

On a very basic level, generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) takes in vast amounts of information, analyzes it, and provides results. It uses mathematical algorithms to find patterns in the information and exploits those patterns to achieve the user’s goal.

The right to repair is at the center of a key policy debate with the Biden Administration voicing support for competition and consumer choice in repair markets. Over the summer, the FTC announced three proposed settlements alleging violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the FTC Act. Additionally, the right to repair movement is gaining momentum as the pace of private litigation in this area has increased.

Can current antitrust enforcement tools address the increasing prominence of digital markets? How might proposed antitrust policy reforms affect digital markets and the enforcement agencies?