The antitrust landscape in both the EU and U.S. is rapidly evolving as legacy legal frameworks, including Article 102, are being adapted to address digital platform dominance and new forms of monopolistic behavior. With the arrival of Teresa Ribera to the European Commission and a new U.S. administration, enforcement priorities are shifting toward digital markets, with a particular emphasis on speedy investigations, compliance and innovative theories of harm that go beyond traditional price and output concerns. Host Bill Batchelor unpacks the latest developments with Skadden colleagues Michael Frese and Justine Haimi. The discussion highlights recent high-profile cases involving Google, Apple and Amazon, examining the use of commitment decisions and the growing influence of the Digital Markets Act.

Name: Bill Batchelor

Title: Partner, Antitrust/Competition

Specialty: Bill focuses his practice on conduct investigations, including abuse of dominance, cartels and vertical agreements.

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Michael Frese

What he does: Michael has more than 10 years of experience advising companies on all aspects of EU competition law and various areas of EU and national market regulation, including the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: “In August 2024, the commission issued draft guidelines and exclusionary abuses. These guidelines were meant to help undertakings self-assess their practices, but also to provide guidance to courts. One is hard pressed to find clear guidance in these draft guidelines other than the notion that the commission should have wide discretion.”

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Justine Haimi

What she does: Justine represents clients in connection with the antitrust aspects of litigation, mergers and acquisitions and advisory matters. She has worked with clients across a diverse range of industries, including health care, medical devices, insurance, consumer goods, telecommunications, energy and pharmaceuticals.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: “President Trump has appointed Andrew Ferguson as chairman of the FTC and Gail Slater as the assistant attorney general responsible for antitrust at the DOJ. Both agency heads have stated that they plan to continue investigating big tech and more vigorously crack down on monopolies, but we may also expect to see some shifts in enforcement from the prior...

Antitrust premerger notification just became more complex. The Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act premerger form underwent substantial changes in February 2025, requiring significantly more information from merging parties. Host Rita Sinkfield Belin and her Skadden colleagues Joe Rancour and Joe Ciani-Dausch offer insights on the new requirements. The discussion highlights the 10 most notable changes, explores how these updates are being implemented and provides initial observations on what may lie ahead.

Name: Rita Sinkfield Belin

Title: Counsel, Antitrust/Competition

Specialty: Rita advises on the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act review process required to obtain federal antitrust approval for various types of acquisitions, including large, complex M&A and joint venture transactions.

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Joe Ciani-Dausch

What he does: Joe represents clients in antitrust aspects of mergers and acquisitions, litigation at the trial and appellate court levels, arbitration and counseling.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: “The FTC itself estimated that it would take three times as much time on average to prepare the filing, even more in the case where there are overlaps between the parties. And, as we're preparing filings under the new rules, we're definitely seeing that that is, if anything, I think an underestimate.”

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Joe Rancour

What he does: Joe represents clients in connection with antitrust aspects of mergers and acquisitions, investigations, counseling and litigation.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: "Preparation and self-awareness are going to be the name of the game under the new regime. The aperture is widening in terms of what the government's going to see early in the process. And that doesn't mean that it's a cause for concern. It means that you have to know what's in your files."

Connect: LinkedIn

☑️ Follow us on X and LinkedIn.

☑️ Subscribe to Fierce Competition on

Skadden antitrust partners Aurora Luoma and Bill Batchelor delve into the significant legislative and policy changes in U.K. competition law that took effect at the beginning of 2025. These changes, introduced by the Digital Market Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC), aim to address gaps in merger control and the digital markets regime while enhancing the enforcement capabilities of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The conversation highlights changes in the CMA's jurisdiction, particularly in reviewing mergers; procedural changes, such as the ability to fast-track to Phase 2; and the introduction of the strategic market status (SMS) regime. Bill and Aurora also provide insights into the political dimensions influencing the CMA's approach and the potential impact of recent leadership changes within the agency.

Name: Aurora Luoma

Title: Partner, Skadden

Specialty: Aurora has a broad practice covering key areas of competition law, including international merger control, antitrust investigations, state aid and sectoral regulation.

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Bill Batchelor

Title: Partner, Skadden

Specialty: Bill has 20 years of EU and U.K. competition law experience and focuses his practice on conduct investigations, including abuse of dominance, cartels and vertical agreements.

Connect: LinkedIn

☑️ Follow us on X and LinkedIn.

☑️ Subscribe to Fierce Competition on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

Fierce Competition is a podcast by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Affiliates. This podcast is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended and should not be construed as legal advice. This podcast is considered advertising under applicable state laws.

Antitrust regulators throughout the world often use their authority to review transactions that fall below filing thresholds.

Host Julia Zhu invites Skadden colleagues Joseph Rancour and Niels Baeten to discuss how these deals fit in the global regulatory picture. The three antitrust attorneys cover ways in which enforcement is carried out, how deal-makers know if their transactions are called in and what the future holds in this area. Joe describes the legal frameworks and enforcement activities in the U.S., Niels discusses the environment in the EU and U.K. — including implications of the European Court of Justice’s landmark ruling in Illumina/Grail — and Julia covers the view among regulators in the Asia-Pacific region.

Name: Julia Zhu

Title: Counsel, Antitrust/Competition

Specialty: Julia focuses on antitrust and competition law in China, Asia, the European Union and other jurisdictions.

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Joseph Rancour

What he does: Joseph represents clients in connection with antitrust aspects of mergers and acquisitions, investigations, counseling and litigation.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: “HSR-reportable deals are certainly going to be the focus of attention for the agencies, but they’ve shown time and again that in cases where non-reportable deals pose significant competition issues … they have no compunction about going after those deals, investigating them and even challenging them when the facts are right.”

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Niels Baeten

What he does: Niels covers all aspects of EU, international and Belgian competition law, including merger control, state aid and foreign subsidies, digital regulation, abuse of dominance, cartels and antitrust compliance issues.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: “While the [European] Commission hasn’t yet decided which way to go to review such deals following...

Cartels may be as old as “Adam Smith’s smoke-filled room,” but in today’s world, they’re employing sophisticated tools like algorithms and AI. Enforcers continue to target price-fixing, bid-rigging and other potential antitrust violations.

Skadden attorneys Bill Batchelor (partner, Brussels and London) and James Fredricks (partner, Washington, D.C.) highlight what’s changed 一 and what hasn’t 一 when it comes to cartel enforcement. They compare and contrast prosecutorial priorities and methods on both sides of the Atlantic. “Prevention,” as Bill explains, “still remains far, far better than the cure.” Tune in for their insight and guidance to corporate counsel who may be navigating these waters.

Name: Bill Batchelor

What he does: Bill Batchelor has 20 years of EU and U.K. competition law experience and focuses his practice on conduct investigations, including abuse of dominance, cartels and vertical agreements. He regularly represents clients on EU and global merger control matters and litigation, and provides counsel on distribution and collaboration agreements in complex and highly regulated industries, such as health care, financial services, insurance, media and entertainment, and gambling, among others.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: “We may have been slightly slow to pick up no-poach as an area of cartel interest, but we’re speeding up over in Europe. I think the main headlines in terms of the enforcement trends are: traditional cartels are still very much part of the enforcement focus.”

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: James Fredricks

What he does: James Fredricks counsels and defends clients on all types of antitrust investigations and prosecutions, as well as other complex and multijurisdictional actions brought by government enforcers. Previously, he served as an antitrust prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice for over two decades.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: “Just a couple of weeks ago, a jury returned a verdict against a couple of defendants in Savannah, Georgia, for fixing the prices of concrete, rigging bids for concrete, allocating customers for concrete. The legal theory that underpinned it was about as straightforward of a case of per se conduct as they come. No one should think that the government has abandoned its traditional prosecutorial priorities in this space.”

Connect: LinkedIn

☑️ Follow us on X & LinkedIn.

☑️ Subscribe to Fierce Competition on

In the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union, sports leagues — from soccer to golf to ice skating — are testing the boundaries of antitrust and competition laws.

Skadden attorneys Bill Batchelor (partner, Brussels and London), Karen Lent (partner, New York) and Vikram Pandit (associate, Brussels) consider the intersection of sports and competition law on both sides of the Atlantic. Courts in all these jurisdictions are grappling with high-stakes questions concerning conspiracy, commercialism and college athletes. The cases that Bill, Karen and Vikram highlight involve a “super” soccer league in Europe, the NCAA’s amateurism model, salary caps for soccer in England and more. Tune in to hear their insights on how future rulings could change the game.

Name: Vikram Pandit

Title: Associate, Antitrust/Competition at Skadden

Specialty: Vikram is an associate in Skadden’s global Antitrust/Competition Group based in Brussels.

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Bill Batchelor

What he does: Bill Batchelor has 20 years of EU and U.K. competition law experience and focuses his practice on conduct investigations, including abuse of dominance, cartels and vertical agreements. He regularly represents clients on EU and global merger control matters and litigation, and provides counsel on distribution and collaboration agreements in complex and highly regulated industries, such as health care, financial services, insurance, media and entertainment, and gambling, among others.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: “It's interesting to see that some of these cases going all the way to the highest court in Europe are from individual players. So, it's not big litigation between huge organizations. An individual player can go to their local labor tribunal and that tribunal can refer a question of law directly up to the ECJ, and that can be the source of a new ruling on competition law that can affect a block of 450 million people.”

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Karen Lent

What she does: Karen Lent is co-head of Skadden’s sports practice and head of the New York office’s antitrust/competition practice, representing a wide variety of clients in antitrust, sports and other complex litigation matters at both the trial and appellate court levels. She also provides general antitrust counseling.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: “Certainly the kinds of rules — how many players do you have on the field, how many referees, those sorts of things — are the rules of the game, and if...

In this episode of the "Fierce Competition" podcast, Skadden attorneys Tara Reinhart (partner, Washington, D.C.), Annie Villanueva Jeffers (partner, New York and Palo Alto) and Justine Haimi (counsel, New York) explore the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC’s) landmark ban on noncompete agreements. They discuss the FTC's rationale for the rule, as well as potential implications of the ban for businesses and enforcement challenges it may face. Tara, Annie and Justine point out the likelihood of a preliminary injunction against the rule due to ongoing litigation, and they highlight strategies for employers to navigate this new landscape. The episode emphasizes the FTC's increased focus on labor and worker protection, underscoring the need for companies to monitor the situation given its potential widespread impact on antitrust enforcement and employment practices.

Name: Tara Reinhart

Title: Partner, Antitrust/Competition at Skadden

Specialty: Tara is head of the Antitrust/Competition Group in Skadden’s Washington, D.C. office. She focuses on civil litigation and government investigations, with an emphasis on complex antitrust litigation and international cartel probes.

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Annie Villanueva Jeffers

What she does: Annie is a partner in the Labor and Employment Law and Artificial Intelligence Groups at Skadden. She counsels clients on a broad range of employment matters, including employment-related issues arising out of U.S. and multinational corporate transactions, executive employment agreements, restrictive covenant agreements, reductions-in-force, discrimination charges and lawsuits, collective bargaining agreements and internal investigations.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: On the FTC rule banning noncompetes: “It seems likely that this rule will be enjoined by the courts. I don't have a crystal ball, but that seems likely, in my opinion.”

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Justine Haimi

What she does: Justine is a counsel in the Antitrust/Competition Group at Skadden. She represents clients in connection with the antitrust aspects of litigation, mergers and acquisitions and advisory matters. She has worked with clients across a diverse range of industries, including health care, medical devices, insurance, consumer goods, telecommunications, energy and pharmaceuticals.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: On the FTC rule banning noncompetes: “This rule is really a bombshell, but in retrospect, it was years in the making.”

Connect: LinkedIn

☑️ Follow us on

Illumina announced in December that it would divest GRAIL, the result of a merger challenge with many twists and turns both in the United States and in Europe.

In this episode of the “Fierce Competition“ podcast, Skadden attorneys Julia York (partner, Washington, D.C.), Ingrid Vandenborre (partner, Brussels) and Michael Sheerin (counsel, New York) talk about the three-year Illumina-GRAIL saga. In particular, they focus on three key areas of the Fifth Circuit's ruling that appear most likely to impact future merger enforcement efforts in the United States.

Tune in to hear about Illumina’s divestment of GRAIL, how it got there and what we can learn from this winding legal battle.

Name: Julia York

Title: Partner, Antitrust/Competition at Skadden

Specialty: Julia has represented numerous global corporations in various industries, including pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, energy and financial markets, in both litigation and transactional matters. She currently serves as the vice chair of the ABA Antitrust Section’s Antitrust Law Development Committee and regularly appears on discussion panels on antitrust issues relevant to the pharmaceutical industry. Julia also actively works on pro bono matters, including representing various amici curiae on briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal.

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Ingrid Vandenborre

What she does: Ingrid is the partner in charge of Skadden’s Brussels office and co-head of Skadden’s European Antitrust/Competition practice. Her practice focuses on EU and international merger control and competition law enforcement.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: “It's kind of hopeful to hear that there's a limit to the nascent competition criteria.”

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Michael Sheerin

What he does: Michael serves as counsel in the New York office of Skadden’s Antitrust/Competition Group where he represents clients in a broad range of antitrust transactional, litigation and advisory matters. His representations span a diverse range of industries, including technology, health care, life sciences, manufacturing, consumer goods, sports, entertainment and professional services.

Organization: Skadden

Words of wisdom: “Offering a remedy upfront, particularly a very compelling remedy, can really be a helpful strategy before you get to court.”

Connect: LinkedIn

☑️ Follow us on