Setting the right price of goods and services is one of the cornerstones on which a company’s financial success rests. 

But the process has grown more complex: Finance leaders have an increasing number of tools to track consumer and competitor behavior that enable them to first shape and then adjust pricing in real time responses to market movements. 

J. Wyatt Fore, a partner in the law firm of Shinder Cantor Lerner who specializes in antitrust matters, believes CFOs and other professionals involved in pricing must familiarize themselves with antitrust law in order to safeguard their organizations from actions that could draw litigation down the road. 

“There does seem to be more enforcement in recent years and companies must be vigilant when adopting [pricing] tools to ensure they comply with antitrust laws,” Fore said in a recent interview.

Among the cases that have recently drawn headlines: Last month the Office of the Attorney General of the District Columbia Brian Schwalb announced that Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, would pay $9.9 million to resolve allegations it misled customers about ticket prices and charged deceptive fees. Meanwhile on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined Apple’s request to block a judicial order that found the iPhone maker in violation of court-mandated changes to its App store in an antitrust lawsuit filed by "Fortnite" maker Epic Games, CNBC reported.  

Fore said companies should think defensively when setting the pricing policy playbooks, and warned of four common sense precautions professionals should keep in mind to stay legally compliant. 

1. Keep price talk inside the company. Fore said it’s important not to talk to competitors directly about any details about product pricing, including how much product you are planning to produce or sell. The venues where loose talk happens can be trade association events, conferences or even low-key social meetings at a country club.“I call it cartel activity,” Fore said, noting that it can lead to allegations of price fixing. “I feel like they know about it but after a couple drinks it’s kind of easy to forget.” 
2. Remember cartels don’t always look like cartels. Legally, a cartel can be any organization where there is an agreement on setting pricing: And, whether or not something is an agreement isn’t determined by it being inked on paper. “An agreement can be verbal, a wink or a nod,” Fore said. 
3. Use caution around any tool, algorithm or platform that draws information about competitors. This is a yellow flag for some companies depending on their stature in the industry and whether they have a dominant market position, Fore said. 
4. Don’t restrain. This could look like a company preventing a customer from buying from a competitor or switching away in some way, or setting some type of terms and conditions that require suppliers to sell an item for a set price, Fore said.