Antitrust Law Section

Members Only

• February 2019 Executive Committee Presentation: Arcelus-Blockchain
• February 2019 Executive Committee Presentation: Antitrust Blockchain
• March 2019 Executive Committee Presentation: Why Has Antitrust Law Failed Workers?
• April 2019 Executive Committee Presentation: Retrospective Analysis of Healthcare Mergers

Antitrust Enforcement In High-Tech And Biotech Mergers

Recorded on October 6, 2020

U.S. M&A Consideration of Future Competitiveness of Merging Parties

Recorded on July 16, 2020

Recent Programs

November 14, 2019 – Women in Antitrust: Career Perspectives in Cartel and Criminal Practice Panelists Rebecca Meiklejohn, Trial Attorney, DOJ Antitrust Division; Dina Hoffer, Counsel, Hughes Hubbard & Reed; and Alicia Alvelo, Regulatory Counsel, Uber discussed the topics of implicit bias and diversity in the field of white collar and competition law. The panel was moderated by Grace Pyun, Attorney, d’Arcambal, Ousley & Cuyler Burk.

September 28, 2019 – presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by Andres Lerner, Executive Vice President at Compass Lexicon, presented his view on network effects (both same-side and cross-side network effects) and “big data” issues related to digital platform competition.

September 12, 2019 – Summer Mergers Program featuring Senator Sherrod Brown — The focus of this program was the role and scope of Antitrust merger review. The keynote speaker for this program was Senator Sherrod Brown, and the commentators were Paul T. Denis (Retired Partner, Dechert LLP) and James Levinsohn (Charles W. Goodyear Professor of Global Affairs and Director of the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs).

August 8, 2019 – Teleconference on Merger Enforcement by State Attorneys General — This webinar featured a panel of top antitrust enforcers from New York, California, and Virginia who shared their perspectives on the types of matters that invite states’ scrutiny, discussed the procedural and substantive differences in merger investigations by state attorneys general and investigations by the FTC and the DOJ, and provided highlights from recent enforcement actions.

June 26, 2019 – Diversity Committee Mock Interview event — Program for law students, as well as junior attorneys, to assist in preparing for an interview in the antitrust field.

June 17, 2019 –  “Why Antitrust?” Program for Summer Associates — A diverse group of antitrust practitioners who graduated in the last ten years discussed what led them to antitrust law; provided details on the types of cases, transactions or other antitrust work they have handled; and offered insight into optimal positioning to capture a job in the field.

June 5, 2019 – Mergers Committee Program, “How to Conduct an Antitrust Overlap Analysis” — This panel featured antitrust practitioners with extensive experience in merger matters across a wide array of industries. The panelists discussed best practices in conducting an overlap analysis and their tips and tricks to develop the most robust analysis in a short timeline.

June 12, 2019 – Cartel and Criminal Practice Committee Program, “Antitrust in the Financial Industry: Navigating the Pitfalls.”  The program featured a panel discussion moderated by Antonia Sherman of Linklaters and panelists Jeffrey Martino (Chief of the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office), Wendy Waszmer of Wilson Sonsini and Jordan Woods of Morgan Stanley.  The panel discussed a wide range of antitrust topics relative to the financial services industry, including antitrust scrutiny of syndications and current enforcement priorities of the Antitrust Division.

June 10, 2019 – Antitrust Law Basics. A faculty of experienced antitrust law practitioners provided a broad overview of the current antitrust practice landscape, including its laws, procedures and players. Course materials presented during the event can be found here.

May 15, 2019 – presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by Jonathan Baker, currently Research Professor of Law at American University and a former Director of the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission, among other roles, discussed his new book “The Antitrust Paradigm: Restoring a Competitive Economy.”  Professor Baker presented his view of how enforcement and jurisprudence can be updated for the high-tech economy, advocating for a middle path between laissez-faire and forced deconcentration, grounded in pro-competitive economic regulation.

April 17, 2019 – Spring Fling, Bookmarks (Rooftop Terrace) at the Library Hotel, 299 Madison Ave — This event held at the Bookmarks Rooftop Lounge on a beautiful spring evening, provided an excellent opportunity for attorneys of all levels to network and celebrate the past year’s achievements.  The event was co-sponsored by the Antitrust Section and the Young Lawyers Section, and also kicked off the Antitrust Section’s Mentoring Program. The Spring Fling was very well attended by both experienced and junior attorneys, and several mentor-mentee pairs were able to meet and make great connections.

April 17, 2019 – Presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by Dr. Emily Walden, of NERA, presented on vertical healthcare mergers. Topic discussed during the presentation included the economic theory of vertical mergers and its application to healthcare mergers, in particular the acquisition of physician practices by health systems, as well as the use of merger retrospectives in prospective healthcare merger analysis.

April 10, 2019 – Views from the Trenches: Litigating Merger Cases, Jones Day, 250 Vesey Street — A diverse panel of private practitioners and Government lawyers shared their lessons and observations from trials of some of the most significant merger cases.

March 13, 2019 – presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by Dr. Eric A. Posner, the Kirkland & Ellis Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School and Of Counsel at MoloLamken LLP, presented his views on concentration in labor markets.  Employers frequently use no-poaching agreements and noncompete clauses in ways that, according to critics, may suppress the wages of workers in violation of the antitrust laws. These concerns have been reinforced by new research that shows that labor market concentration is widespread in the United States and that labor market concentration is highly correlated with wage suppression. In his presentation, Professor Eric Posner described and evaluated this research, and proposed reforms to antitrust law so that it can better tackle the problem of labor monopsony.

February 27, 2019 – Antitrust “Plus” Factors program by the Coordinated Conduct Committee at Dechert LLP, 1095 Avenue of the Americas – A panel of antitrust practitioners discussed the genesis of antitrust “plus factors” as circumstantial evidence of an anticompetitive agreement, examples of common plus factors alleged by plaintiffs, recent cases analyzing plus factors, and a circuit split regarding the summary judgment standard.

February 20, 2019 – Becoming an Antitrust Attorney, Cardozo School of Law Moot Court Room – This panel and networking event was held for New York City-area law students.  A panel of practitioners from the government, plaintiff and defense bars shared their unique paths to becoming antitrust attorneys, discussed what the diverse practice area of antitrust law encompasses, and provided students with advice on what steps they can take to pursue a career in antitrust law.

February 13, 2019 – presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee Almudena Arcelus, principal at Analysis Group, and Howard Ullman, Of Counsel at Orrick, presented on how the adoption of blockchain technology will impact various stakeholders, the potential risks and useful mitigation strategies relevant to antitrust considerations.

January 17, 2019 – Antitrust Law Section’s Annual Meeting: Annual Review of Developments and Hot Topics, including: Merger Enforcement in the Trump Administration, Blunt Instrument or Surgical Blade: Is Section 2 of the Sherman Act the Right Tool to Address Financial Market Manipulation?, A Discussion with the Antitrust Division’s New Deputy AAG for Criminal Enforcement, Don’t Be Afraid of the DARC (the Donnelly Act Revision Committee, that is)

December 19, 2018 – presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by, Bob Hubbard, Jay Himes, and Joshua Lipton gave a presentation on the pending Supreme Court case Apple, Inc. v. Pepper

December 4, 2018 – Joint Program with the IP Section, “Antitrust Implications of Settlements in Trademark Disputes”

November 14, 2018 – presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by Dr. Graeme Hunter, Managing Director at NERA Economic Consulting, presented on “Anticompetitive Bundling Compared to the Legal Standards.”

November 1, 2018 – Mergers Committee Program, “What M&A Lawyers Want Antitrust Lawyers to Know”

October 29 – 31, 2018 “Trial Practice/Expert Witness Training Program” 

October 19, 2018 Mergers Committee Program, “Merger Control in Brazil” 

October 17, 2018 presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by Donnelly Act Review Committee: Reports from Section Committees (Cartel and Criminal Practice, Class Action, Coordinated Conduct, Unilateral Conduct, and Mergers) and group discussion of findings and next steps.

September 20, 2018 presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by Scott Hemphill, Professor of Law at NYU Law School, gave a presentation on his forthcoming article “The Strategies of Anticompetitive Common Ownership.”

September 14, 2018 William Howard Taft Lecture “After Amex: Multi-Sided Markets, Anticompetitive Effects, and the Rule of Reason.”  Lecture delivered by renowned antitrust law and economics Professors Herbert Hovenkamp and Dennis Carlton on the paradigm-shifting opinion in Ohio v. American Express.

September 12, 2018 Cartel and Criminal Practice Committee sponsored a program, “Your Corporate Client Received a Grand Jury Subpoena: What Should You Do Next?”, with speakers Peter Chavkin, Partner, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.; and Elizabeth Prewitt, Partner, Hughes Hubbard & Reed, LLP.  Moderator Steven Tugander, U.S. DOJ, Antitrust Division.

July 11, 2018, Summer Mergers Program: “Hot Topics in High-Tech Markets”, The program was moderated by Ilene Gotts (Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz), and the panelists were: Aaron Hoag (Networks and Technology Enforcement Section, DOJ Antitrust); William H. Efron (Director, Northeast Region, Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”)); Professor Daniel Sokol (University of Florida School of Law).

June 20, 2018 “Why Antitrust?” Panel 

June 26, 2018 Mergers Committee sponsored a program that focused on high-tech mergers and included discussions on the role of innovation, serial acquisitions, privacy as a competition issue, and data aggregation. Moderator was Illene Knable Gotts, Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.  Speakers Aaron Hoag, Section Chief, Networks and Technology Enforcement Section, Antitrust Division, DOJ; and William H. Efron, Director, Northeast Region, FTC.

June 14, 2018 Cartel and Criminal Practice Committee sponsored a panel entitled “No Poach Agreements: What the future Holds.” The panelist were Susannah P. Torpey, Partner, Winston & Strawn; Scott Martin, Partner, Hausfeld and Doha Mekki, Counsel to the AAG, US DOJ, Antitrust Division. The panel was moderated by Seth Farber, Partner, Winston & Strawn.

May 30, 2018  Class Issues in Multi-Sided Markets with Dr. Michael I. Cragg, The Brattle Group, Principal and Chairman of The Brattle Group, discussing the complexities of class certification when issues regarding platform economics and two-sided markets are presented.

April 26, 2018 Mergers Committee Presents: Hard Topics in Antitrust Risk Allocation

March 12, 2018  Mergers Committee and KLDiscovery Present: The Meaning of HSR Clearance

December 7, 2017 Annual Antitrust Symposium:  Multi-Sided Markets: Smoke & Mirrors or Dynamic Competition?

September 12, 2017 Cartel Damages Claims: Economic Approaches to Estimating Overcharges, with James Reitzes, principal and chair of The Brattle Group’s competition group, discussing various methods of estimating overcharges arising from alleged collusion and identify pitfalls in methodology and execution

June 22, 2017 #Antitrust: Social Media Insights for Class Action Litigation, with Mark Pelofsky and Brenda Arnott-Wesson, of Voluble Insights for Litigation, and Prof. Kerin E. Coughlin of NYC College of Technology, discussing the various ways social media analysis can be used in antitrust class actions, and how attorneys can use it most efficiently and effectively.

April 27, 2017  Class Action Committee Meeting on Recent Developments in Class Action Litigation, focusing on the class action reform bill winding its way through Congress.

March 2, 2017 presentation to Antitrust Section Mergers Committee by Janet Hui, JunHe, LLP and Zhao (George) Wang, JunHe, LLP discussing the Key Challenges Faced by Multinational Companies in China – An Antitrust Perspective.
Fundamentals and Latest Developments of China Merger Control Filing by Janet Hui |  Overview of Anti Monopoly Issues in Company Business by George Wang

December 9, 2016 Annual Antitrust Symposium: REIMAGINING STAPLES/OFFICE DEPOT ACROSS BORDERS IN 2020: THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM?
View the recorded program here: http://cle.nysba.org/AM/CustomSource/OnlineCLE/index.cfm?ID=ANTIFA16 
Program Flyer

December 1, 2016 presentation to Antitrust Section Mergers Committee by Franco Castelli, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz, and Cathleen Peterson, Kroll Ontrack discussing the Nuts and Bolts of Second Request Compliance.

October 19, 2016 presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by David Kully of Holland & Knight, Elai Katz of Cahill Gordon, and Jennifer Selendy of Quinn Emmanuel will discuss the Second Circuit’s decision in U.S. v. American Express.

June 15, 2016 presentations to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by Dan O’Brien, (now former) Senior Economic Advisor at the Federal Trade Commission: Cross Ownership by Institutional Investors; and David Meyer of Morrison & Forester LLP: Overlapping Minority Ownership Positions, A Legal Perspective.

May 18, 2016 presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by Hillary Greene, Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School and Professor at University of Connecticut School of Law: Muzzling Antitrust: Information Products, Innovation, and Free Speech.

February 18, 2016 presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by Vincius Marques de Carvalho, President, CADE (Brazil’s competition authority): Snapshots of Competition Enforcement from Brazil

December 16, 2015 presentation to Antitrust Section Executive Committee by Jose Azar, Charles River Associates: Anti-Competitive Effects of Common Ownership

September 16, 2015 presentation to the Antitrust Section Executive Committee by FTC Northeast Region Director William H. Efron: FTC v. Cardinal Health, Inc. (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 24, 2015),complaint and order discussed in FTC Northeast Region Director William H. Efron’s Sept. 16, 2015 presentation to the Antitrust Section Executive Committee

November 18, 2015 presentation to the Antitrust Section Executive Committee by NY Attorney General Antitrust Bureau Chief Eric Stock: People of the State of NY v. Actavis (“Namenda”) (2d Cir. May 28, 2015)

July 8, 2015 Summer Merger Program http://www.lawyerissue.com/u-s-agencies-take-a-tough-approach-to-merger-remedies/  

September 18, 2014 Class Action Committee CLE program Deciphering the FTAIA: Recent Developments in the Application of U.S. Antitrust Laws to Foreign Trade

June 5, 2014 panel discussion: Perspectives on Global Cartel Enforcement

• “Cartel Enforcement in Korea,” presentation by Hyungbae Kim, Minister-Counselor for Competition and Consumer Protection, Korean Embassy, and former Director General, Korea Fair Trade Commission
• ” Cartel Enforcement in Japan,” presentation by Hideo Nakajima, Secretary General, Japan Fair Trade Commission
• Summary of enforcement of Japan’s Anti-Monopoly Act
• Jay Himes’ presentation

May 20, 2014 Vertical Restraints Committee meeting

• Presentation on Vertical Restraint Considerations Under New York Law Post-Leegin
• Leeginmajority decision (Sup. Ct.)
• Leeginminority decision (Sup. Ct.)
• EDNY’sUS v. Amexdecision (May 7, 2014)

April 23, 2014 presentation by Kevin Caves, PhD (Economists Incorporated): Competition and Monopsony in Labor Markets Powerpoint slide presentation

April 1, 2014 Antitrust Law Section’s Lunch with Antitrust Regulators  Video of Panel Discussion

March 6, 2014 Vertical Restraints Committee program”Feeling Blue: Antitrust Challenges to Health Insurers in the Post-Affordable Care Act World”: St. Alphonsus v. St. Luke’s Idaho Decision

January 30, 2014 Antitrust Law Section’s Annual Meeting:

• FTC v. Actavis, Inc., No. 12-416 (S. Ct. June 17, 2013)
• Government’s Competitive Impact Statement,United States v. US Airways Group, Inc., No. 1:13-cv-01236 (CKK) (D.D.C.) (filed Nov. 12, 2013) The Government alleges that the proposed merger of US Airways and American, which would create the world’s largest airline and result in four airlines controlling over 80% of the U.S. commercial air travel market, violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act because it will substantially lessen competition in commercial air travel in local markets throughout the United States.
• United States v. Apple, Inc. , No. 12 Civ. 2826 (DLC) (S.D.N.Y. July 10, 2013)
• Negotiating Merger Remedies: Statement of the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission(January 2012)

Antitrust Law Section’s November 14, 2013 program “Antitrust Basics: An introduction for New Attorneys”:  Basics of Antitrust – November 14, 2013 course materials

Past Section Chairs

1949-1958 –  Charles Wesley Dunn
1958-1961 –  Breck P. McAllister
1961-1962 –  Jerrold G. VanCise
1962-1963 –  Taggart Whipple
1963-1964 –  Kendall B. DeBevoise
1964-1965 –  Albert R. Connelly
1965-1966 –  Edgar E. Barton
1966-1967 –  William M. Sayre
1967-1968 –  Ira M. Millstein
1968-1969 –  John W. Barnum
1969-1970 –  Seymour D. Lewis
1970-1971 –  George D. Reycraft
1971-1972 –  Joshua F. Greenberg
1972-1973 –  James R. Withrow, Jr.
1973-1974 –  William T. Lifland
1974-1975 –  Robert A. Longman
1975-1976 –  George J. Wade
1976-1977 –  William E. Willis
1977-1978 –  Edward Wolfe
1978-1979 –  Eleanor M. Fox
1979-1980 –  Henry L. King
1980-1981 –  Irving Scher
1981-1982 –  James T. Halverson
1982-1983 –  Stephen M. Axinn
1983-1984 –  Kimba W. Wood
1984-1985 –  Walter Barthold
1985-1986 –  Sanford Litvack
1986-1987 –  Prof. Barry E. Hawk
1987-1988 –  Veron E. Vig
1988-1989 –  Norma B. Levy
1989-1990 –  Lloyd Constantine
1990-1991 – Lloyd Constantine
1991-1992 – Lawrence I. Fox
1992-1993 – Lawrence I. Fox
1993-1994 – Stephen D. Houck
1994-1995 – Alan J. Weinschel
1995-1996 – Alan J. Weinschel
1996-1997 – Edward D. Cavanagh
1997-1998 – Barry J. Brett
1998-1999 – Michael Malina
1999-2000 – Robert L. Hubbard
2000-2001 – Martha E. Gifford
2001-2002 – Kenneth R. Logan
2002-2003 – Steven M. Edwards
2003-7/3/03 – Pamela Jones Harbour**
2003-2005 – Barbara Anthony
2005-2006 – Steven Tugander
2006-2007 – Ilene Knable Gotts
2007-2008 – Saul P. Morgenstern
2008-2009 – Stacey Anne Mahoney
2009-2010 – Bruce J. Prager
2010-2011 – Stephen S. Madsen
2011-2012 – Jay L. Himes
2012-2013 – William H. Rooney
2013-2014 – Eric J. Stock
2014-2015 – Barbara J. Hart
2015-2016 – Elai Katz
2016-2017 – Lisl J. Dunlop
2017-2018 – Michael L. Weiner
2018-2019 – Wesley R. Powell
2019-2020  – Nicholas E. Gaglio

Competition Chronicles E-Newsletter

This newsletter is published by the four committees of the Antitrust Law Section:  The Class Action Committee; the Vertical Restraints Committee; the Horizontal Restraints Committee, and the Merger Committee.  The Antitrust Law Section formed the committees in early 2011 to expand the activities of the Section and to offer additional opportunities for Section members to participate in the Section’s activities.  All members of the Antitrust Law Section are invited to join the committees.

The newsletter will be published several times throughout the year.  Each edition will include brief summaries of recent decisions issued by New York courts and regulatory agencies that are relevant to antitrust law.  Each newsletter will also include several longer thought pieces on a current antitrust law issue.  Comments on the newsletter are welcome and should be submitted to the committee Chairs.

Past E-Newsletters: 

Winter 2011 Edition

Spring 2012 Edition

Winter 2013 Edition

Fall 2014 Edition

Fall 2015 Edition

Fall 2017 Edition