U.S. antitrust enforcement is tightening, and e-discovery practitioners and vendors that have positioned themselves in the M&A market are expecting an uptick in work. But the influx of time-consuming and complex M&A discovery may drain resources for other corporate e-discovery matters.

To be sure, it’s not just President Joe Biden’s picks to lead antitrust enforcement in the U.S. Department of Justice or Federal Trade Commission that has heightened the e-discovery community’s work expectations. Stiffer and more complex antitrust enforcement is also signaled by Biden’s July 9 executive order on promoting competition, said Joey Seeber, CEO of alternative legal service provider (ALSP) Level Legal.