Key Takeaways from the DOJ Antitrust Division’s Updated Compliance Guidance: It’s Not Just Criminal Anymore

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently updated its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs in Criminal Antitrust Investigations guidance document (“Antitrust Compliance Guidance”). Corporate counsel and compliance officers should carefully consider these updates when developing and implementing antitrust compliance programs.

In July 2019, the Antitrust Division introduced its Policy to Incentivize Corporate Compliance and published the original Antitrust Compliance Guidance for the first time. Corporations that had long urged the Antitrust Division to consider compliance efforts viewed the 2019 Guidance positively. The stated purpose of the Antitrust Compliance Guidance is to help prosecutors evaluate compliance programs during both the charging and sentencing stages of investigations and to provide compliance officers and the public with greater transparency regarding the Division’s compliance evaluation process. The recent updates align with similar revisions to the DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Guidance and the DOJ’s Justice Manual.

While much of the original Antitrust Compliance Guidance remains unchanged, notable updates include:

1. Application to Civil Antitrust Matters
   Initially focused on criminal antitrust investigations, the updated guidance now addresses the compliance implications for civil antitrust investigations…

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