Axinn at the 2025 ABA White Collar Crime Conference

The 40th American Bar Association White Collar Crime Conference took place on March 5-7, 2025 in Miami, and was once again loaded with timely discussion on a range of U.S. criminal enforcement topics. Axinn partners Dan Oakes and James Attridge attended, and shared the following key highlights: 

• Withdrawal of DOJ Enforcers. As reported by Bloomberg Law, the conference took a detour even before it began as various senior Department of Justice ("DOJ") officials slated to speak at the conference declined participation in the event at the last minute. A range of panels that would have featured high-ranking officials were left scrambling to fill open spots. More importantly, conference attendees were unable to benefit from the opportunity traditionally taken by DOJ brass to announce enforcement priorities, explain recent decisions and policies, and interact with participants. The DOJ did not communicate a reason for the withdrawals—which may have been related to reported travel restrictions or the flurry of budgetary cuts in Washington.
• Antitrust Enforcement. Antitrust was highlighted in a Wednesday morning panel discussion—complete with an empty chair on the stage for absent government participants. There, a group of former antitrust enforcers discussed a range of issues. 
  
  • Criminal antitrust enforcement is likely to remain an Antitrust Division priority (so long as the budget allows). As discussed in our 2025 Conspiracy Theories Newsletter, government contracting is likely to continue as a priority along with consumer-facing markets like technology, healthcare, agriculture, financial services, consumer staples, and infrastructure. Panelists discussed the success and continued expansion of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (“PCSF”), which has turned in repeated prosecutorial achievements since its inception under the first Trump administration. 
  • Section 2 criminal monopolization is also an area likely to receive additional attention. While these cases seem difficult to win at trial because of the specific intent and other evidentiary requirements, the DOJ has achieved seven such plea agreements since its recent revival, including five announced this week.
• Supreme Court. Despite the absence of enforcers, the White Collar Conference was not devoid of star power. Thursday featured a showcase discussion between the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and her former law school classmate Ismail Ramsey, who rose to become the former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California. Justice Jackson discussed her experience on, and traditions of, the Supreme Court, her dissent on presidential immunity in Trump v. United States, and her love of (and potential future career in) acting, all while exhibiting her characteristic warmth and optimism. With respect to white collar criminal sentencing, Justice Jackson—who served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission prior to becoming a judge—stated that she supported further revision of the Sentencing Guidelines in white collar cases to ensure that the level of culpability of an individual defendant is the driver of sentencing, rather than just the amount of money involved in the crime.

"Fairness requires that similarly situated defendants be treated similarly." - Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

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