Antitrust 101

What does laundry detergent have to do with modern merger enforcement? Quite a lot, actually. This week on Antitrust 101, host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and guest Paula Pera of the Washington Attorney General's Office revisit  FTC v. Procter & Gamble  (1967), a case that helped define how courts think about conglomerate mergers and potential competition.

If you want to understand Trump v. Slaughter, you must first understand Humphrey's Executor. Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and former FTC Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen for their insights on this important case... and possibly a bit of foreshadowing. Original episode released on 6/20/25.

Are No Poach Agreements a naked restraint or do you have to prove market power?  The Seventh Circuit examined this question and found that these agreements were per se unlawful.  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and guest Brian Yost to find out why.

This Ninth Circuit merger case covers much of the foundations of merger law.  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and frequent guest Victoria Field for an introduction to market definition, HHI, and efficiencies.

What can farriers tell us about Section 2 monopolization?  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and guest Matt Michaloski for a trot through the important elements of a section 2 case.

"Tying" up with the fantastic episode about Ozzy Osbourne for the upcoming American Bar Association's Antitrust Law Section Trust and Trade Podcast, today's episode covers the famous Jefferson Parish case which slides tying toward Rule of Reason.

This grab bag of antitrust immunities is a perfect case to help fill out what listeners have learned from  Parker v. Brown ,  Noerr , and others.  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and Isabella Pitt as we talk about this important issue and Queen Elizabeth I's playing card monopoly.

How do you properly define a geographic market in a hospital merger?  Is this question drier than fruitcake?  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and guest Jen Foley as they discuss  Federal Trade Commission and State of Illinois v. Advocate Health Care Network, 841 F.3d 460 (7th Cir. 2016).

What is protected petitioning conduct and what is just a plain old conspiracy?  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and Columbia Law Student Ludovica Barba for a discussion of both the  Noerr  and  Pennington  cases.

Why would a manufacturer agree to close off a promising business line?  Sometimes it's because there is a hub and spoke conspiracy afoot.  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and Jeff Dan Herrerra for a discussion about Barbies, Power Rangers, and other diversions.

Why don't you ever hear about predatory pricing cases anymore?  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and Vermont Law Student and student contest runner up Julia Wickham for a discussion about pricing below defendants costs, recoupment, and the impossibility of proving these elements.

What is the difference between actual potential competition or perceived potential competition?  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and guests Katherine Krems and Victoria Field for an episode about this tongue twisting antitrust doctrine.

Can the NFL work together on apparel licensure or does that violate the antitrust laws?  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and Antitrust 101 Student Contest Winner Lucas Hayes, a 2L at BYU, for this discussion about when a joint venture is coordinated v. independent economic action.

Can a company conspire with itself?  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley in the new semester of Antitrust 101 as she and Andrea Terreones of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, runner-up in the law student contest, discuss Copperweld v. Independence Tube Corp., 467 US 752 (1984).

Why is Civil Procedure the most important antitrust class you can take?  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley as she shares her top tips for new lawyers and law students in this holiday special.

Are there bright line rules in antitrust- even about price fixing? Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and frequent contributor Matt Michaloski for their in-depth discussion about the various ways courts analyze price fixing cases.

Can you have market power in the aftermarket even if you don't have market power in the original market? That's Eastman Kodak v. Image Technical Services, 504 US 451 (1992), as we hear from host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and guest Zach Biesanz, Minnesota Senior Enforcement Counsel.

This case is a big deal and is top of mind for many current tech cases. Host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley welcomes special guest Jon Sallet, Colorado Special Assistant Attorney General, to discuss this pivotal tech decision and its holdings on tying, foreclosure, and causation.

What is the difference between the Brown Shoe Factors and the Brown Shoe Practical Indicia? Come find out on Antitrust 101 with host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and special guest Shaoul Sussman.

What's one key difference between state and federal antitrust law? Indirect purchaser authority. Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley as she discusses Illinois Brick and Hanover Shoe and the evolution of "pass on" theories.

Cheers, listeners!  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and her guests Katherine Krems from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and Victoria Field of the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office as they discuss US v. Pabst Brewing Company, 384 US 546 (1966).  This decision has everything: consolidated beer markets, dystopian fantasies, and foreshadowing to the 2023 Merger Guidelines Number 7. 

When is a requirements contract a violation of Clayton Act §3?  Not this time!  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and Utah Assistant Attorney General Matt Michaloski as they dig for the seams of this coal case.

What are the origins of the Rule of Reason?  This is one of the cases that created full employment for the antitrust bar.  Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and student contest winner Johannes Alvarez-Rivero for their insights on why after-market bid restrictions are one of the first to be booted out from under the Sherman Act for their reasonableness.

How far would you go to get some elderflower liqueur? Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and guest Nic Stebinger to learn a bit about price discrimination, why it’s illegal, and just enough to kind of know what you are talking about at cocktail parties.  Cheers to the end of summer school!

Ignore the States at your peril, merging parties! Join host Gwendolyn Lindsay Cooley and her guest, Elizabeth Maxeiner, Illinois Attorney General’s Office Antitrust Chief, as they discuss this Supreme Court case that enshrines the divestiture remedy in private enforcement actions.