3 posts and columns on Sanford Litvack

Congratulations Google, You're the New Microsoft

in News on December 3, 2008 at 9:18 pm PT

“Google abandoned [its deal with Yahoo] not because pressing ahead with it ‘risked’ a protracted legal battle, but because it guaranteed one.” I wrote that on Nov. 6, following the official dissolution of Google’s proposed advertising partnership with Yahoo. Turns out the guarantee to which I referred was an ironclad one. Sanford Litvack, the attorney who would have been lead counsel in the event of a government antitrust case against Google, tells American Lawyer Daily that the Department of Justice was literally hours away from suing the company when it bailed on the deal.

Congratulations Google, You’re the New Microsoft

in News on December 3, 2008 at 9:18 pm PT

“Google abandoned [its deal with Yahoo] not because pressing ahead with it ‘risked’ a protracted legal battle, but because it guaranteed one.” I wrote that on Nov. 6, following the official dissolution of Google’s proposed advertising partnership with Yahoo. Turns out the guarantee to which I referred was an ironclad one. Sanford Litvack, the attorney who would have been lead counsel in the event of a government antitrust case against Google, tells American Lawyer Daily that the Department of Justice was literally hours away from suing the company when it bailed on the deal.

Justice Department Eyes Challenging Google's Web Dominance

in News on September 8, 2008 at 7:13 pm PT

As BoomTown readers know, I have been adamant that Yahoo’s online ad outsourcing deal with Google is troublesome on a lot of levels. Although, so is government intervention. From giving advertisers less choice to creating a de facto monopoly to its potential for stifling innovation, the deal gives me the heebie-jeebies, given that the pair control 80 percent of the online search ad market. Now, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Justice Department has quietly hired an outside litigator to contemplate whether the government should consider mounting an antitrust case against the search giant.