
FEBRUARY 29, 2012 – Teleconference
The National Competition Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association will be holding a teleconference on February 29, 2012 entitled: “Criminal Conspiracy or Legitimate Competitor Collaboration? Tips for In-House Counsel”
From the Canadian Bar Association:
“Authorities have recently noted their first conviction under Canada’s amended conspiracy law, commenting: “[This investigation] highlights the Bureau’s reinvigorated mandate to stop consumer harm caused by price-fixing, and to secure significant fines for these serious criminal offences.”
In-house counsel practising competition law are often asked to evaluate the competition law risks associated with activities such as joint selling initiatives, joint ventures, buying groups, participation in trade associations, and merger transactions. As such, in-house counsel are an organization’s first line of defence to identify potential illegal arrangements to fix prices, allocate markets or restrict output, that create risks of criminal investigation and prosecution; and that can result in significant fines, imprisonment, damage to an organization’s reputation, and civil damage claims.
The line between criminal conspiracies and pro-competitive strategic alliances among competitors, however, can at times be difficult to detect. It is critical that in-house counsel have the tools necessary to distinguish benign or pro-competitive activity from potentially criminal conduct.”
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