Generally speaking, free and open markets tend to deliver better prices and quality for consumers and other stakeholders. If a business has to compete hard to attract customers, it’ll be more likely to offer great services and also competitive prices. In some cases, however, markets may not function properly because of price fixing, a lack of competition, and other issues. That’s where an antitrust attorney or lawyer comes in.
Sometimes you’ll hear about antitrust lawyers working on cases involving large mergers. In some situations, the government may move to block a merger because they worry it will lead to uncompetitive markets.
For example, the government might block the merger of two large airlines.
In practice, antitrust cases involve a lot more than just large mergers. Some companies may conspire together, for example, to raise prices. If only two grocery stores serve a given town, the two grocery store owners might conspire together to raise prices. Since locals have no other options for grocery stores, they might pay higher prices.
Often, however, mergers are wrongfully blocked or businesses are wrongly accused of anti-competitive practices. Fortunately, antitrust lawyers can frequently provide assistance for businesses facing antitrust and competition-related issues.
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