Expect more antitrust lawsuits as the economy seeks bottom. So says Michael L. Keeley, a partner in the antitrust group of Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP. In this edition of Inside The Deal, Keeley tells Suzanne Stevens that two factors are in play: the likelihood of companies in a recession to more aggressively protect their turf, and an increased willingness among struggling companies to dedicate resources to litigation. Keeley, who also addressed the topic in a recent issue of The Deal newsweekly, says the number of antitrust lawsuits already filed this year exceeds those filed in all of 2007. Add that to President-elect Obama's stated intention to more actively pursue monopolistic conduct, and the courts should see plenty of antitrust activity in 2009.
For comments or suggestions about Deal Video please contact
mwoehr@thedeal.com. If you would like to embed this video on your
website the embed code is: <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="437" height="370" id="viddler_82861d64"><param name="movie" value="http://www.viddler.com/player/82861d64/" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://www.viddler.com/player/82861d64/" width="437" height="370" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" name="viddler_82861d64" ></embed></object>
