Our Curious Amalgam

The 2023 Annual Spring Meeting of the ABA Antitrust Law Section offered the Our Curious Amalgam team a chance to speak with international competition law enforcers from around the world. In this episode, we ask Natalie Harsdorf-Borsch, acting director of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority, Laura Melusine Baudenbacher, president of the Swiss Competition Commission, and Šarūnas Keserauskas,...

Section 230 generally shields online platforms from liability for third-party content. It has been widely credited with enabling the growth of the internet, but to what extent does it apply to the latest disruptive technology --- generative AI? Jess Miers, Legal Advocacy Counsel at the Chamber of Progress, discusses the applicability of Section 230 to generative AI with hosts Christina Ma and Serg...

There are many debates in the antitrust world today, but none is as fundamental as the discussion over the core purpose of antitrust. Should antitrust law be solely concerned with economic efficiency, or is it also a tool for upholding and promoting our democratic political values? Spencer Waller, law professor at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and Geoffrey Manne, founder of the Inte...

The 2023 Annual Spring Meeting of the ABA Antitrust Law Section offered the Our Curious Amalgam team a chance to speak with international competition law enforcers from around the world, including Germany and Spain. In this episode, we ask Andreas Mundt, the president of the German Bundeskartellamt and Cani Fernández, the president of the Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission, about...

The 2023 Annual Spring Meeting of the ABA Antitrust Law Section offered the Our Curious Amalgam team a chance to speak with international competition law enforcers from around the world. In this episode--one in a series of episodes featuring interviews recorded live at the 2023 Spring Meeting--host Sergei Zaslavsky speaks with Willard Mwemba, the Director and CEO of the COMESA Competition Commissi...

The 2023 Annual Spring Meeting of the ABA Antitrust Law Section offered the Our Curious Amalgam team a chance to speak with international competition law enforcers from around the world. What are their enforcement priorities, what trends do they see on the horizon, and what should advocates with matters before their agencies do to be most effective? Discover the answers to these questions in this...

LIV Golf is the most serious threat the PGA has ever faced, and the fight between the two professional golf tours has grown increasingly personal and bitter. But is the PGA defending itself through illegal anticompetitive tactics? Michael McCann, one of the nation's foremost sports law experts and Kail Jethmalani join Anant Raut and Anora Wang to discuss the life of a professional golfer, what mak...

It seems that metaverses will soon be ubiquitous. What are the competition law issues? Dr. Yusuke Takamiya, the antitrust/competition law partner at Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, joins Matthew Hall and Anora Wang to discuss what metaverses are, how they are structured, the parallels with existing competition law analysis of technology markets and the specific issues raised by metaverses. Listen to this...

For 30 years, companies in healthcare and other industries have relied on agency guidance immunizing certain kinds of information exchanges with competitors. How does DOJ's recent withdrawal of these safe harbors change the landscape? Leslie Overton, former DOJ official and currently a partner at Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider, joins Sergei Zaslavsky and Jaclyn Phillips to discuss DOJ's policy change....

There are many ways to make a career engaging with competition law. Guest Mark Meador, Deputy Chief Counsel for Antitrust and Competition Policy to Senator Mike Lee, has forged a unique path working on and off the Hill. What exactly does antitrust counsel to a United States Senator do? Mark discusses the various functions of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and C...

European competition regulators are increasingly focused on sustainability agreements and have published guidance. What are these documents saying and are they consistent? Jay Modrall, Brussels-based competition lawyer, joins Matthew Hall and Aaron Yeater to discuss the current position in the EU and UK. Listen to this episode to learn more about the application of EU and UK competition law to sus...

Demand for diverse economists has exploded, but institutions still fail to recruit, retain, and promote women long term. Are issues of abuse and harassment deterring women from the field? In this episode, co-hosts Elyse Dorsey and Jana Seidl speak with Paola Valenti, Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia Business School, and Kellie Kemp, Senior Counsel at Uber about the struggles women fa...

Drug prices are top of mind for numerous patients, legislators, policy experts, and antitrust enforcers these days. But what role do pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play in determining the price and availability of drugs at the pharmacy counter, and why do PBMs find themselves in the middle of an FTC market study looking into their business practices? Join Alicia Downey and Jeny Maier as they tal...

Serving on the bench is a challenge and a privilege. For certain communities in our society, the path to the bench was a never traveled one until recently. What are some of the most valuable experiences that have prepared a judge for the bench? The honorable Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers speaks with Melissa Maxman and Anora Wang on her professional experiences including prior private practice and s...

In January 2023, the FTC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would ban virtually all non-compete agreements between employers and workers, both retroactively and going forward, categorizing them as an "unfair method of competition" under Section 5 of the FTC Act. What does the FTC's proposed rule look like, and is it destined to succeed? In this episode, co-hosts Jana Seidl and Elyse Dorse...

Deon Woods Bell and Laura Wilkinson join Our Curious Amalgam and Diversity. Advanced to celebrate Black History Month. What can we learn about diversity from two legends of the antitrust and consumer protection bars? Alicia Downey and Jaclyn Phillips talk with Deon and Laura about their storied careers, inclusion, and the importance of engaging with the community. Listen to this episode and be ins...

Mandatory treble damages awards have been a feature of U.S. antitrust law for more than a century. Why do we have treble damages and what are the benefits and unintended consequences of treble damages? Counsel at Perkins Coie and adjunct professor at University of Colorado Law School, Henry Hauser, joins Christina Ma and Matt Michaloski to discuss how we should think about treble damages in antitr...

The 2023 Appropriations Act included three antitrust laws dealing with merger fees, merger subsidy disclosure, and venue. What are the implications of these laws? Laura Alexander joins hosts Christina Ma and Jaclyn Phillips to discuss what these laws do, how we got them, and whether we may see substantive antitrust reform in the future. Listen to this episode to learn more about how we finally saw...

The ABA Antitrust Law Section's Spring Meeting is the largest annual gathering of competition, consumer protection, and data privacy professionals globally, with lawyers, academics, economists, enforcers, journalists, and students from around the world. Curious about what's anticipated for this year's meeting? Spring Meeting Co-Chairs Doug Tween and Sheila Adams join hosts Alicia Downey and Kayla...

Major League Baseball ("MLB") is big business, with revenues that exceeded $10 billion in 2019. How and why is MLB immune from liability under the U.S. federal antitrust laws? Co-hosts Alicia Downey and Melissa Maxman invited guests Julian Perlman and Sathya Gosselin to debate the pros and cons of the Baseball Exemption from a policy and practical perspective. Listen to this episode to learn about...

The debate about the role of government in regulating monopolies is getting more heated by the day. How do historical concepts of "monopoly" fit into the discussion? Veteran antitrust scholar, practitioner, and author Barry Hawk joins Alicia Downey and Matt Reynolds to discuss his latest foray into legal history in his new book, "Monopoly in America." Listen to this episode to learn about how popu...

Plaintiffs in consumer data privacy class action lawsuits may demand money damages for the loss of the value of their personal information. But how much money is that personal information really worth? And what was lost? In this episode, hosts Alicia Downey and Aaron Yeater talk to economist Mike Kheyfets of Edgeworth Economics about these and other questions to which there are no simple answers,...

As 2022 comes to an end, the Antitrust Law Section's sector committees tell us which notable antitrust cases and investigations affected key industries and what they predict will make headlines in 2023. In this two-part special episode, hosts Alicia Downey, Sergei Zaslavsky, and Jaclyn Phillips speak with leaders of the committees responsible for providing Section members with programs and publica...

As 2022 comes to an end, the Antitrust Law Section's sector committees tell us which notable antitrust cases and investigations affected key industries and what they predict will make headlines in 2023. In this two-part special episode, hosts Alicia Downey, Sergei Zaslavsky, and Jaclyn Phillips speak with leaders of the committees responsible for providing Section members with programs and publica...

Merger control analysis and clearance worldwide is becoming ever more difficult, complex and uncertain, with Illumina/Grail perhaps the standout recent example. Following the previous episode on this case (#141: A Power Grab Too Far? The European Commission Extends Its Merger Control Reach), what developments have there been and what can we learn from them? Philippe Chappatte, partner at Slaughter...