Bruce retired from Mintz in 2026. He was Chair of the firm's Antitrust Practice.
Experience
viewpoints
Antitrust Case Against BCBS to Continue Under Per Se Standard
December 14, 2018 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Farrah Short
Read about the 11th Circuit's denial of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s appeal of a ruling that its allegedly restrictive practices must be analyzed under the per se standard.
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DOJ Provides Additional Insight into Its Recent Anti-Steering Settlement
December 7, 2018 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Farrah Short
This alert reviews the DOJ’s Competitive Impact Statement on the Atrium case, which suggests that providers including anticompetitive steering restrictions in payor contracts may face antitrust risks.
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DOJ Reaches Proposed Settlement in Anti-Steering Case Against Atrium Health (f/k/a Carolinas HealthCare)
November 15, 2018 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Farrah Short
Read about a DOJ Antitrust Division proposed settlement that would bar Atrium Health from using anticompetitive steering restrictions in payor contracts.
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FTC Requires Divestiture of Assets in Industrial Gas Suppliers’ $80 Billion Merger
October 30, 2018 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler
This antitrust alert outlines an FTC settlement designed to reduce anticompetitive effects resulting from the merger of gas suppliers Praxair, Inc. and Linde AG.
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Movie Theaters’ Antitrust Case Against Landmark Survives Dismissal Motion
October 4, 2018 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler
Read about a US District Court’s denial of Landmark Theaters’ dismissal motion in an exclusive dealing Sherman Act antitrust case brought by independent movie theaters.
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Head of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice Announces Plan to Expedite the Merger Review Process and Put DOJ on a 6 Month Shot Clock
October 2, 2018 | Advisory | By Bruce Sokler, Evelyn French
In September 25, 2018 remarks at the 2018 Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim announced the Department of Justice’s plan to modernize and expedite the DOJ merger review process. This article outlines the changes to the merger review process, which the DOJ now plans to complete within six months of the parties’ Hart-Scott-Rodino filings.
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Mintz’s Antitrust Group Covers Third Circuit Reinstatement of $67 Million Antitrust “Refusal to Deal” Suit Against Blues
September 5, 2018 | Blog | By Samantha Kingsbury
Last week, Bruce Sokler and Farrah Short from Mintz’s Antitrust practice group published a detailed alert regarding the Third Circuit’s reinstatement of an antitrust suit brought by medical device manufacturer LifeWatch Services, Inc. (“LifeWatch”) against the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and five of its member insurance plan administrators: LifeWatch
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Third Circuit Reinstates $67 Million Antitrust “Refusal to Deal” Suit Against Blues
August 31, 2018 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Farrah Short
The Third Circuit reinstated an antitrust suit brought by a medical device seller that alleged Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and five of its member insurance plan administrators shut out the seller by conspiring to deny coverage for its device. LifeWatch Services Inc. v. Highmark Inc. et al., Case No. 17-1990 (3rd Cir. Aug. 28, 2018). Critical to the Third Circuit’s reversal of the lower court’s dismissal of the suit was market definition. In this buyer-side conspiracy case, where the seller alleged a concerted refusal to deal by purchasers of its product, the relevant market is comprised of buyers who are seen by the seller as reasonably good substitutes for each other regarding the purchase of its product. Thus “[a] concerted refusal to deal with all sellers of telemetry monitors, regardless of its equality, may still restrain competition in the alleged market for the purchase of outpatient cardiac monitors.” The lower court had instead focused on the market for the seller’s product.
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Ninth Circuit Finds Implied Antitrust Immunity for USATF and USOC in Advertising Restriction Case
August 10, 2018 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler
Earlier this week, a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the case of Gold Medal LLC v. USA Track & Field. The decision, on appeal from the District Court for the District of Oregon, rejected allegations that USA Track & Field (USATF) and the United States Olympics Committee (USOC) engaged in an anticompetitive conspiracy in violation of antitrust law by imposing certain advertising restrictions during Olympic Trials.
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Not Just Mergers – FTC Highlights Commonly Missed HSR Reportable Transactions
May 16, 2018 | Alert | By Bruce Sokler, Robert Kidwell, Farrah Short
The Premerger Notification Office (the “PNO”) of the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) recently issued a reminder about often overlooked “transactions” that may require notification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”).
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News & Press
Five Mintz Attorneys Recognized as ‘Top Authors’ by JD Supra
February 24, 2026|
How DOJ's Visa Debit Monopolization Suit May Unfold
October 28, 2024|
FTC Theories Of Harm After Anesthesia Co. Ruling
June 3, 2024|
The Capitol Forum Interviews Mintz's Bruce Sokler
April 22, 2024|
Are the Google, Amazon Suits This Generation's Microsoft?
November 26, 2023|
Thirteen Mintz Members Named To Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators List
September 11, 2023|
FTC Pharma Merger Digest May Offer Policy Clues
June 15, 2023|
FTC Shift In Compulsory Process Lends Staff More Clout
September 12, 2022|
Poultry Sector Wage-Fixing Case Shows Info Exchange Risks
August 31, 2022|
Private Equity On Notice Due To Vet Clinic FTC Settlement
June 16, 2022|
Five Mintz Attorneys Recognized as Client Service All-Stars by BTI
February 8, 2022|
Biden Enforcers Fail to Stem Rising Merger Tide
October 22, 2021|
Mintz Attorneys and Practices Recognized by Chambers USA 2020
April 24, 2020|
One Hundred Mintz Attorneys Ranked as Leaders by Best Lawyers 2020
August 15, 2019|
Mintz Recognized by Chambers USA 2019
April 26, 2019|
Antitrust Case against BCBS to Continue under Per Se Standard
February 1, 2019|
Chambers USA 2018 Ranks Mintz Attorneys & Practices
May 3, 2018|
Mintz Honored by JD Supra's 2018 Reader's Choice Awards
March 19, 2018|
Antitrust World Eyes Justices On AmEx Steering Case
February 23, 2018|
Hospital Consolidation
December 4, 2017|
What’s at Stake in the AmEx Merchant Rules Case?
October 16, 2017|
Physician Practice Acquisitions And Antitrust Scrutiny
September 19, 2017|
DOJ About-Face In High Court AmEx Case Has Attys Puzzled
August 9, 2017|
Chambers USA 2017 Ranks Mintz Attorneys & Practices
May 26, 2017|
Discord Between Ballad Health and the FTC
April 23, 2017|
Emboldened, the FTC Seems Ready to Fight More Mergers
November 21, 2016|
Chicago Hospital Case Could Hinge on Efficiency Argument
November 3, 2016|
Mintz Represents Seventh Generation, Inc. in Sale to Unilever
October 27, 2016|
FTC wins appeal to halt Penn State Hershey/PinnacleHealth merger
September 28, 2016|
Hospital Merger Stalls After FTC Court Win
September 27, 2016|
DOJ Loss In AmEx Case Could Imperil Hospital Steering Suit
September 27, 2016|
Six Mintz Members to Speak at 2016 IBA Annual Conference
September 12, 2016|
What Have Merchants Gained From Payment Card Litigation?
August 10, 2016|
5 Questions To Watch As DOJ Targets Carolinas HealthCare
June 13, 2016|
49 Mintz Attorneys Featured in Chambers USA 2016 Guide
May 31, 2016|
5 Ways to Ease the Pain of an Antitrust Review
May 23, 2016|
Rodeo Associations Fail to Rein in Each Other in Round 1
February 9, 2016|
Mintz’s Wins Significant Antitrust Case for C-SPAN
June 10, 2013|
Mintz Advises on Top Greentech Deal of 2012
January 08, 2013
podcasts
Biden’s Executive Order on Antitrust Competition: What Does It Mean for the Health Care Industry?
July 19, 2021 | Podcast | By Bruce Sokler
Joe Miller and Bruce Sokler, Co-Chairs of Mintz's Antitrust Practice, discuss President Biden’s July 9 executive order, which called for a government-wide focus on antitrust competition issues and identified 72 initiatives across several industries.
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Events & Speaking
Panelist
Speaker
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Speaker
May
17
2018
Antitrust in Healthcare
American Bar Association and American Health Lawyers Association
The Ritz-Carlton Arlington, VA
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Speaker
Moderator
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Apr
23
2015
Recent Insights
