The purpose of antitrust enforcement is to discourage cartels, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s leniency program has been one of its most important tools for decades. But in the last several years, criminal leniency applications anecdotally appear to be declining, which is prompting concern among antitrust defense lawyers.

Allen & Overy partner John Roberti, who is in charge of the firm’s Washington, D.C., antitrust practice and a member of its investigations and litigation practice, recently published a paper about the “death of antitrust leniency” and how governments should rethink their immunity programs in light of global developments.