Our Curious Amalgam

On the occasion of Lesley Fair's retirement after 37 years in the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, she returns to Our Curious Amalgam to talk with co-hosts Alicia Downey and Jaclyn Phillips about some of the highlights of her illustrious career. Lesley has been described as "the voice of the FTC," with a unique ability to translate the agency's work into plain English...

Significant changes to the Indian merger control regime came into effect in September 2024. But what has happened? Nisha Kaur Uberoi, partner at JSA law firm in Mumbai, joins Puja Patel and Matthew Hall to discuss the changes and their likely practical impact on transactions affecting India. Listen to this episode to learn more about the changes including the new deal value threshold, the codifica...

Over a year after the FTC and DOJ first announced changes to the premerger notification form and associated rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, the final rules were released in October 2024. What do these new HSR rules mean in practice for parties to transactions that must make an HSR filing? Daniel Rosenthal, Special Counsel at Milbank, joins hosts Jaclyn Phillips and Matt Tabas to discuss the...

Can competition law save humanity? Over the past two years, Fiona Schaeffer has spurred on the lawyers, regulators, and economists of the ABA Antitrust Law Section to examine the role that antitrust law has, or potentially will have, in dealing with the existential challenges posed by climate change and the rise of artificial intelligence. In this episode, co-hosts Alicia Downey and Anora Wang tal...

The European Commission's attempt to claim jurisdiction under the EU merger rules over Illumina's acquisition of GRAIL ultimately resulted in a stinging court defeat for the regulator. But why did it lose and what will happen now to merger reviews of "below threshold" transactions in the EU? Nicole Kar, partner at Paul, Weiss in London, joins Matthew Hall and James Hunsberger to discuss the Commis...

It's no secret that competition agencies in the U.S. and elsewhere have been scrutinizing Big Tech's efforts to acquire emerging players in the AI space. In this episode, Luis Blanquez of Bona Law, P.C., talks to co-hosts Alicia Downey and Anant Raut about how the enforcers' concerns are now extending to investments, licensing deals, and other types of transactions that fall outside merger clearan...

The European Commission's draft guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance will, once adopted, be a key document when applying EU competition law. But what is in the draft? Rona Bar-Isaac, head of competition at Addleshaw Goddard in London, joins Matthew Hall and Derek Jackson to discuss the draft guidelines and a controversial European Court of Justice judgment which was released soon after t...

Can a Big Law antitrust practitioner have a successful career as a solo or small firm lawyer? In this episode, antitrust trial lawyer Sean Gates and co-hosts Alicia Downey and Matt Reynolds talk about their experiences leaving large firms to strike out on their own in the middle of their careers. Listen to this episode to learn what motivated them to "go small," and why antitrust law offers unique...

What were the cases and controversies that defined a decades-long career as an antitrust lawyer and scholar? Hosts Alicia Downey and Subrata Bhattacharjee welcome former Antitrust Law Section Chair Jon Jacobson back to the podcast to talk about his newly-published memoir of the highs and lows of litigating some of the biggest antitrust cases in U.S. legal history. Listen to this episode to learn h...

Antitrust and competition lawyers have a choice of career paths, including private practice, in-house, and public sector. What about the increasingly-important area of litigation finance? Aviva Will, Co-Chief Operating Officer of Burford Capital, joins Alicia Downey and Matthew Hall to discuss her career journey from a law firm to a senior executive role at a publicly traded, global litigation fin...

The failing firm defense can be viewed skeptically when put forward by merging parties. But when can it be used successfully to save a deal that may otherwise be found to be anticompetitive? Chris Wilson, partner in the antitrust group of Paul Weiss, joins Jaclyn Phillips and Anora Wang to discuss the current state of the failing firm defense. Listen to this episode if you want to learn more about...

The Antitrust Law Section's new Chair is a lawyer, professor, and author of countless books and articles, with decades of leadership experience in the Section. What changes will he bring? In this episode, co-hosts Alicia Downey and Puja Patel ask Steve Cernak about his unusual career path, the priorities and initiatives he is planning to pursue in his one-year term, and the legal trends that he be...

Most agree that children's online privacy is important. But how should it be protected? Ryan Durrie, Associate Director of the Cordell Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, joins Christina Ma and Anora Wang to discuss how the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (or COPPA) protects online privacy today and how it could be reformed. Listen to this episode if you want to learn about t...

Privacy law has become increasingly relevant and important with the advent of the internet and all things digital and most agree that these laws should protect children's privacy, in particular. But what are the tradeoffs? James Cooper, Professor of Law and Economics at Scalia Law School at George Mason University, joins Christina Ma and Anora Wang to discuss the Children's Online Privacy and Prot...

Federal and State antitrust authorities have started to take closer looks into mergers of hospitals that are in different geographic areas. What are the theories of harm behind such investigations, and what does the economics literature have to say about those cross-market theories? Join Anora Wang and Jeny Maier as they hear from leading healthcare economist Cory Capps about recent academic resea...

When analyzing the competitive effects of a proposed transaction, the U.S. antitrust agencies may attempt to define and assess the potential loss of innovation in a relevant market. But what exactly is "innovation," and how can potential losses (or gains) in innovation be measured? In this episode Alicia Downey and Lijun Zhang speak with Cornerstone Research economist Penka Kovacheva about how eco...

Labour markets are in the focus of competition law regulators worldwide and companies and their advisers need to know what the issues are. What is the situation in the EU and its member states? Johanna Kübler, partner at German competition law firm Commeo, joins Jaclyn Phillips and Matthew Hall to discuss the background to this current focus in the EU, the legal rules that apply, the current statu...

Private equity and health care are important aspects of the U.S. economy. Why are antitrust enforcers focused on the intersection of these two areas? Carla Hine, an antitrust attorney well-versed in both industries, joins Jaclyn Phillips and Jeny Maier to discuss the role PE plays in health care transactions and what antitrust enforcers' recent focus means for such transactions. Listen to this epi...

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's enforcement and policy priorities for 2024-2025 reflect a focus on a wide range of conduct in many industries. What does this mean for practitioners, market participants, and consumers in Australia? Peta Stevenson, a competition attorney with more than two decades of experience, joins Jaclyn Phillips and Anant Raut to discuss the takeaways and i...

The Federal Trade Commission's non-compete ban has stirred vigorous discussion in the antitrust bar and beyond. What do economic theory and empirical analysis tell us about the effects of non-competes, and whether a ban is justified? Economists Evan Starr and Brian Albrecht join co-hosts Sergei Zaslavsky and Anora Wang to debate the state of economic evidence on non-competes, the implications for...

The preservation of competition in agricultural markets has been identified as as one of the Biden Administration's highest enforcement priorities. In this episode, co-hosts Alicia Downey and Barry Nigro talk to Professor Kelly Nuckolls of the University of Arkansas School of Law about recent enforcement actions and rulemaking efforts targeting anticompetitive practices in the agriculture sector....

Not many antitrust lawyers have a front row seat to competition law and policy around the globe. But have you met Krisztian Katona? Krisztian Katona, an international competition lawyer, speaks with Anora Wang and Jaclyn Phillips about the trajectory of his career, insights about competition law and trends, and how the ABA provides opportunities for international lawyers. With special guest: Krisz...

The EU's merger control law--the Merger Regulation--was revised in 2004, and 2024 is therefore the 20th anniversary of the changes. What prompted those changes? Sir Philip Lowe, Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Competition from 2002-2010, joins Matthew Reynolds and Matthew Hall to discuss the background to the changes and what else in EU merger control changed...

An important component of U.S. consumer protection law includes the regulation of endorsements, a form of advertising where someone other than the seller of a product or service—such as an athlete, a celebrity, or an influencer—is compensated to promote that product or service. In this episode, co-hosts Alicia Downey and Matt Reynolds talk to consumer protection lawyer Caiti Zeytoonian about the F...

While on site at the ABA Antitrust Law Section's Annual Spring Meeting in April 2024, the Our Curious Amalgam team sat down with competition regulators from around the world to talk about their current and future enforcement priorities. We also got to know them a little better as people. In this episode, Alicia Downey finds out what's happening in New Zealand with Andrew Riseley, the General Couns...