This Third Edition of the Antitrust Division Manual is the product of a tremendous effort on the part of dozens of individuals throughout the Division and should provide an enormously useful tool to Division professionals in the performance of their duty. It is intended to provide a comprehensive source of information about the Division's mission and the ways we accomplish it. Used in conjunction with the Antitrust Division Grand Jury Practice Manual and the Antitrust Division Directives, it should provide the answers to virtually all questions that arise in the day-to-day operation of the Division.

This edition of the Manual retains the same basic structure as the Second Edition of the Manual, published in 1987, and as the original Manual, published in 1979. A very large portion of the Manual--Chapters III and IV--deals with investigation and litigation procedures. Not only does the Manual provide guidance on legal and policy issues, but it also describes investigative and litigative techniques that have proved successful in the past. Chapter II of the Manual contains many of the statutes used by the Division as well as indices of useful sentencing statutes and Guidelines. Also reprinted are copies of the Division's Horizontal Merger, Intellectual Property, and International Guidelines. This Chapter should provide a ready reference tool for Division personnel. Chapter I deals with the organization of the Department and the Division. Chapter V addresses the Division's competition advocacy program. Chapter VI provides a comprehensive description of the informational and technical services available to staff and should contribute significantly to the increased use of new services and technologies throughout the Division. Chapter VII deals with the Division's relationships with other government agencies, the press, and the public. Finally, Chapter VIII provides a fairly detailed bibliography.

Since the last version of the Manual was published 10 years ago, there have been numerous changes in the Division's responsibilities and the way the Division operates. The new edition of the Manual reflects statutes enacted in the past decade that affect the Division's responsibilities, such as the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the International Antitrust Enforcement Assistance Act of 1994, the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990, and the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996. Similarly, the Manual revisions reflect the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which make the sentencing of a convicted criminal defendant today a very different process than in 1987, as well as important developments in the case law over the past ten years. New technology has dramatically changed the way Division professionals do their jobs: today, desktop PCs, electronic mail, the Internet, electronic databases, etc., are all critical everyday tools. The revised Manual reflects many of the changes in Division resources and procedures that have accompanied these new technologies. Finally, experience over the past decade has led the Division to occasionally modify its policies and practices. The new Manual incorporates these numerous changes on important topics, some of the most significant being conditions for leniency for criminal antitrust violations, informal immunity, discovery under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, DOJ-FTC clearance procedures, the Division's relationship with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and cooperation with state attorneys general.

For professionals who are new to the Division, this Manual should serve as a critical tool for understanding the way the Division operates; its careful study should make acclimation to the Division a much smoother and quicker process. For "veterans," this Manual will provide an essential reference for dealing with various unfamiliar issues that inevitably arise in the course of investigations and litigation. In short, the new revision of the Manual should help us all to do our jobs better.

My sincere thanks go out to all those who have participated in the Manual revision project directly, as well as to those whose work for the Division over the past decade has contributed to the formulation of the sound practices and procedures that are here reflected.

Joel I. Klein
Assistant Attorney General
Antitrust Division

This Manual provides only internal Department of Justice guidance. It is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create any rights, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any party in any matter civil or criminal. No limitations are hereby placed on otherwise lawful investigative and litigative prerogatives of the Department of Justice.