Being succinct is a challenge for many lawyers, who often seem to believe they are paid by the word. But in an effort to do just that, Federal Trade Commission Competition Bureau Director Rich Feinstein, a former partner at the litigation-oriented law firm Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP, has instituted a new policy: a 50-page limit on staff recommendations.
Those are the memos that tell the top merger cops whether the staff has found enough evidence to prove that the consumers could be harmed if mergers are allowed to proceed. Many of the memos "become an end in themselves," because staffers want to explain every rock they turned over and every detail uncovered in the process, according to one lawyer.
Feinstein's own memo was itself short:
Effective immediately, a presumptive limit of 50 double-spaced pages (using 12 point font), including an Executive Summary not to exceed five pages, shall apply to all staff recommendations forwarded to the Bureau of Competition. If the staff is recommending an enforcement action, the memo should be accompanied by a concise Order of Proof setting forth the elements of the violation(s) alleged and briefly summarizing the evidence the staff intends to introduce to prove each element.
Exceptions to the 50-page limit must be approved in advance by one of the Deputy Bureau Directors. Memos significantly shorter than 50 pages are encouraged. Thanks. - Cecile Kohrs Lindell
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