Antitrust Compliance in the Age of the New Whistleblower Incentive Program

Abstract

Antitrust compliance has been, and should continue to be, near the top of any company’s global compliance program checklist. With the potentially massive private civil awards in the United States (not to mention the treble damage component along with the recovery of attorneys’ fees) and the attendant litigation defense and discovery costs, a successful private antitrust suit can be crippling to many businesses. In addition, the passage of the federal Sherman Act also included criminal penalties for individuals and their corporate principals (under a vicarious liability theory), which should be incentive enough for companies to pay strict attention to antitrust compliance. Government enforcement of competition laws has also increased throughout the world in recent years.