Recent Trends and Insights in State Attorney General Antitrust Enforcement

State attorneys general (“State AGs”) continue to play a significant role in enforcing antitrust laws to promote competition and protect consumers. This takes the form of both collaboration between states in multistate enforcement actions and increasing enforcement within state borders. We predict that recent developments at the federal level will also lead to increased co-enforcement and parallel activity between state AGs and their federal counterparts. This article analyzes recent trends in state AG antitrust enforcement and provides insight as to what we can expect to see from state AGs going forward in this space.

By Milton A. Marquis, Ann-Marie Luciano & Gianna Puccinelli¹

I. INTRODUCTION

State Attorneys General (“State AGs”) continue to play a significant role in antitrust enforcement through collaboration with other states in multistate enforcement activities and increasing enforcement within their state borders. With the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) seeking to collaborate more with State AGs after losing its authority to seek restitution resulting from a recent loss at the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Biden Administration’s recent executive action making antitrust enforcement a top priority, there is a marked shift in focus in State AG co-enforcement activity with their federal counterparts. This article analyzes recent trends in State AG antitrust enforcement authority and provides insight into targeted industries and what this means for