The Wall Street Journal FTC officials get testy when the Justice Department is cast as the premier antitrust agency, and they keep a tally of the agencies' wins and losses in court. In the past decade, in cases where a court has issued a decision, the FTC is quick to point out it has won 10 and lost four.
Some people say the rivalry is little more than hype.
But for the antitrust bar, which deals with the agencies every day, the rivalry is very real. Under Mr. Pitofsky, the FTC has recruited many of the private bar's brightest lights. In the Microsoft case, a group of 20 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit alongside the Justice Department. In the end, the Justice Department and the states coordinated their lawsuits. Formally, the agencies share responsibility for antitrust enforcement.