That’s 759,000 More Billable Hours; Antitrust Plan Buoys Big Law

M&A attorneys’ workloads are poised to multiply following a new proposal by federal antitrust enforcers that promises to increase compliance to-do lists for merging companies.

The amount of time it would take companies to file required merger notification documents would jump, on average, from 37 to 144 hours, the Federal Trade Commission estimated in its notice of proposed rulemaking Tuesday.

That means merging companies’ costs could skyrocket. Based on the number of Hart-Scott-Rodino filings submitted in fiscal year 2023, the FTC calculated that companies will have to spend 759,000 more hours filling out new disclosures. That would translate to $350 ...