This page describes the responsibilities of sections and offices in the Antitrust Division.

• Sections and Field Offices Directory: Contains contact information for each section and field office.
• Antitrust Division Organization Chart

Office of the Assistant Attorney General

The Division is supervised by an Assistant Attorney General, who is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The AAG is assisted by five Deputy Assistant Attorneys General who may be either career or non-career employees. Each section and field office reports to a particular Deputy Assistant Attorney General. The Director and Deputy Director of Operations, the Director of Criminal Enforcement, and the Economics Director of Enforcement have additional supervisory authority for their respective programs and are career employees. The Assistant Attorney General may be assisted by several special counsel.

Appellate Section

This section represents the Division in all appeals, both civil and criminal, to the United States Courts of Appeals. In conjunction with the Solicitor General's Office, it also prepares all Division appeals before the United States Supreme Court. Its responsibilities include filing amicus briefs in selected private antitrust cases.

Competition Policy Section

Economists in this section work on a variety of matters, with an increasing focus in recent years on assistance to foreign governments around the world. It assists foreign governments in writing antitrust laws, training antitrust officials, and evaluating specific competitive issues.

Economic Litigation Section

This section often works in association with the legal staffs of the Litigation I, II, and III Sections, the Appellate Section, and with the attorneys and economists in the Division's field offices. The economic issues most often analyzed include the competitive effect of mergers and acquisitions, cartel behavior, and the competitive effects of various alleged trade restraints. This section is responsible for the analysis of all economic issues that arise in these matters.

Economic Regulatory Section

In association with the legal staffs of the Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture, Networks and Technology, and Telecommunications and Media Sections, economists in this section are assigned to all enforcement matters and participate in them from the initial investigative stage through their final resolution. Economists also participate in regulatory, competition advocacy, and legislative matters, where they are responsible for the analysis of the economic issues presented and the soundness of the economic positions advocated.

Executive Office

The Executive Office provides administrative and management support to the Division and includes:

• Personnel Staff: Manages all personnel services, including hiring, promotions, disciplinary actions, training, benefits, and payroll.
• Budget and Fiscal Staff: Handles budget formulation and administration, funding authorization, and travel administration.
• Support Services Staff: Handles procurement of supplies, furniture, and equipment; contracting for expert witnesses and consultants; space and facilities services; and safety and security programs.
• Information Systems Support Group: Provides automated litigation support and economic analysis, management information systems, and office automation systems to support the Division's attorneys, economists, and managers.

Field Offices

Each of the Division's seven field offices — in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco — handles criminal matters arising in its respective area and serves as the Division's liaison with U.S. attorneys, state attorneys general, and other regional law enforcement agencies. The field offices also handle national and international matters that arise within their territories. They play a primary role in the Division's criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Foreign Commerce Section

This section is responsible for the development and implementation of Division policy on issues of trade and international antitrust enforcement. The section is the Division's liaison with international organizations, including antitrust enforcement agencies of the European communities, Canada, and other countries.

Legal Policy Section

This section is responsible for providing analyses of complex antitrust matters, supporting the Division's legislative program, serving as liaison with state attorneys general, and coordinating long-range planning projects and programs of special interest to the Assistant Attorney General.

Litigation I, II, and III Sections

These sections assess the economic impact of proposed mergers in unregulated industries and act to clear the proposed mergers, negotiate a restructuring of the proposals, or file suit to block the mergers. They drive the Division's enforcement efforts by actively developing new, significant, and high-impact cases, including cases involving international markets. They also investigate and prosecute civil non-merger cases in all sectors of the economy.

National Criminal Enforcement Section

This section is the only Washington, D.C., section responsible for conducting criminal investigations and litigation and works in conjunction with its field office counterparts. It handles criminal investigations in a wide range of industries.

Networks and Technology Enforcement Section

This section is responsible for antitrust enforcement and competition policy in the areas of information technology, Internet-related businesses, financial services, and the securities industry. The section has developed ongoing relationships with a variety of federal agencies and departments, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Commerce, Federal Reserve Board, and Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

Office of Operations

The Office of Operations coordinates the Division's civil investigations and litigation and related policies and procedures and includes:

• Premerger Notification Unit and FTC Liaison Office: Handles coordination with the FTC according to established clearance procedures for handling matters.
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Unit: Receives, evaluates, and processes all Freedom of Information and Privacy Act requests made of the Division. The Antitrust Documents Group of the FOIA Unit also maintains and indexes pleadings, business review letters, and other frequently used files.
• Paralegal Unit: Provides paralegal support on request to investigations and cases handled in Washington and the field offices.
• Training Unit: Coordinates training opportunities for Division personnel.

Telecommunications and Media Enforcement Section

This section is responsible for enforcing antitrust laws in the communications and media industries, investigating and litigating violations of the antitrust laws, and providing competition advocacy in the industry. It also participates in proceedings before the Federal Communications Commission.

Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture Section

This section enforces antitrust laws and investigates and litigates violations of antitrust laws within the transportation, energy, and agriculture industries. It participates in proceedings before such agencies as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Agriculture.