Insights

Washington – June 6, 2024: Crowell & Moring earned 78 rankings for 67 lawyers, as well as 41 national and statewide practice area rankings, in the Chambers USA 2024 guide. The rankings are driven by independent interviews of clients and lawyers at peer firms.

Washington – January 11, 2023: Crowell & Moring has published Litigation Forecast 2023: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know for the Coming Year. The 11th-annual Litigation Forecast focuses on trends in litigation that are playing out in specific jurisdictions around the globe. 

California recently enacted two laws instituting new restrictions and requirements for health care transactions. On October 6, Governor Newsom signed SB 351, which codifies elements of the state’s corporate practice of medicine doctrine and strengthens restrictions against private equity, hedge fund, and other private investor control of health care organizations and operations. On October 11, Newsom signed AB 1415, which expands the scope of parties and relevant transactions that require pre-transaction notice to the state’s Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA). Both laws are intended to provide the State of California greater oversight of transactions involving health care entities, and raise additional hurdles for parties seeking to acquire or sell health care operations in the state,[1] consistent with a broader trend across the country. The key points of each of the California laws are summarized below:

Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson announced on February 24, 2025, that the FTC will create the agency’s “first-ever” labor task force, signaling the agency’s continued focus on competition in labor markets, answering an open question from companies as to the fate of the agency’s no-poach and non-compete enforcement priorities. On February 26 Chair Ferguson followed up on his announcement with a Directive Regarding Labor Markets Task Force, providing additional details on the task force and the agency’s priorities.

In the latest sign that federal enforcers remain focused on increasing antitrust enforcement, last Thursday, the Justice Department (DOJ), Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed an online portal, HealthyCompetition.gov, to encourage the public to submit reports on potential anticompetitive and monopolistic conduct in the healthcare sector.  The initiative seeks to address concerns that such behavior may affect healthcare affordability and quality, and employee wages. 

Washington, D.C.-based attorney Shawn Johnson is featured in Global Competition Review as being recently promoted to partner in the firm's Antitrust Group. Johnson shares, "I am very excited and looking forward to continuing to grow our practice. This promotion offers me an opportunity to develop additional clients and provides me a platform for further growth." Co-chair of the Antitrust Group, Wm. Randolph Smith tells the publication that Johnson's "deep industry knowledge and ability to offer practical solutions will continue to add value to our clients."

Crowell & Moring’s work in Aetna’s $5.7 billion acquisition of Coventry Healthcare featured.

Gain insightful knowledge on key cartel risk and compliance issues. Eminent officials from the European Commission and national competition authorities as well as leading private practitioners and in-house counsel will debate practical challenges to help you develop an effective strategy for your business needs and services.

Please join Crowell & Moring for the second in a series of webinars focused on key issues of importance to the health care industry. This program will focus on the latest developments in health care antitrust affecting providers, payors, and others in the health industry.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently lifted many guardrails that channeled its rulemaking authority for broad swaths of the U.S. economy. With an expected increase of rulemaking activity, regulation of competition may increasingly shift from ex-post antitrust enforcement to ex-ante regulatory obligations. Intended to intervene before any harm is caused, these obligations suggest a precautionary approach toward market innovations. How should regulators use the FTC rulemaking authority in today’s rapidly changing markets?