Nuts and Bolts of California's Principal Antitrust Law: The Cartwright Act

California's principal antitrust law, the Cartwright Act, prohibits unlawful restraints of trade. This program breaks down how it works: what counts as a contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade? which offenses are per se violations?, and how to define relevant markets—an issue that often has dispositive importance in an antitrust case. The program examines the Act, its common-law origins, its aversion to the consumer-welfare precepts that have greatly limited the reach of federal antitrust law in the modern era, and key differences between the Act and its federal counterpart, Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The discussion also covers the Act's limits, its connection to California's law voiding non-compete covenants, and recent developments, including the Attorney General’s stated revival of criminal enforcement and the Legislature’s recent consideration of a law against monopolization and anticompetitive mergers. Attendees will leave able to spot viable Cartwright Act claims and understand why a challenge that fails in federal court can succeed in California state court.