Our Curious Amalgam

The DOJ, FBI, and other enforcement partners have announced DOJ's Procurement Collusion Strike Force to combat antitrust crimes in government procurement at a national level. How does the government detect and investigate these crimes and who are the prosecutors and FBI agents that work these cases? DOJ Strike Force Director Daniel Glad and Supervisory Special Agent Kelvin Ortiz join John Roberti and Wendy Huang Waszmer to discuss the government's effort on a national level to combat collusion, antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes. Listen to this episode to learn more about the DOJ's Strike Force and the crimes being investigated and prosecuted Related Links: FBI Tips Procurement Collusion Strike Force Page FBI's International Public Corruption Page Dan Glad speech to the ABA’s Section of Public Contract Law about the PCSF: The Procurement Collusion Strike Force: A Whole-of-Government Approach to Combating a Whole-of-Government Problem A quick summary of the per se violations and red flags: Price Fixing, Bid Rigging, and Market Allocation Schemes: What They Are and What to Look For  The criminal enforcement program’s public page: Criminal Enforcement  The Antitrust Division’s Leniency Program: Leniency Program The new compliance policy: Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs in Criminal Antitrust Investigations  Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act (“CAARA”), 15 U.S.C. § 7a-3, full text: Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act (CAARA) | Whistleblower Protection Program Hosted by: Wendy Huang Waszmer and John Roberti

Prosecutors investigating misconduct among financial institutions have in the past considered both antitrust and fraud theories in prosecuting claims. But is antitrust law the right tool (or is it a better tool)? Benjamin Sirota joins Jana Seidl and John Roberti to discuss lessons learned from the DOJ's LIBOR and FX prosecutions - the first in terms of close cooperation between fraud and antitrust prosecutors - and predictions for what we may see next. Listen to this episode to learn more about the history of applying antitrust to financial services and how antitrust may fit in future cases involving financial services companies. Related Links: https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/deputy-assistant-attorney-general-michael-murray-delivers-remarks-university-michigan-law https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/file/1310506/download https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-s-antitrust-division-and-securities-and-exchange-commission-sign-historic https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-joins-computational-antitrust-project-stanford-law-school Hosted by: John Roberti, Partner, Allen & Overy LLP and Jana Seidl, Senior Associate, Baker Botts LLP

As millions of consumers around the world interact daily with online businesses and social media platforms, the call for Congress to enact enhanced data privacy and security laws at the federal level has grown louder. How far should federal legislation go in preempting the emerging patchwork of state data privacy laws? In this episode, hosts Alicia Downey and John Roberti talk with Maureen Ohlhausen, former Acting Chairman of the FTC, about whether comprehensive federal data privacy legislation is a better approach to regulating the collection, use, and sharing of consumers’ personal data. Listen to this episode to learn more about the FTC's role in enforcing existing consumer data privacy laws and the key differences among the current proposals for broader federal legislation. Related Links: July 28, 2021 Press Release, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation September 29, 2021, Senate Hearing on Protecting Consumer Privacy, on C-Span Congress Should Enact a National, Comprehensive Consumer Privacy Framework, Testimony of Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Former Acting Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (September 29, 2021) Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Matthew R. Baker, & Jonathan J. Duzak-Forestier, A Once and Future Federal Privacy Law?, The Antitrust Source (April 2020) Hosted by: Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC and John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP

While it may seem that the current foment of change in the antitrust world is unprecedented, this is not the first time that antitrust has undergone a period of profound reexamination and change. What can we learn from previous shifts in antitrust doctrine? Jonathan Baker, law professor at American University and author of The Antitrust Paradigm: Restoring a Competitive Economy, joins Christina Ma and Sergei Zaslavsky to discuss the lessons from the past and what they mean for the current antitrust reform movement. Listen to this podcast for a historical perspective that clarifies the current antitrust debate by placing it in the context of decades-old trends and a political compromise dating back to the 1940s. Related Links: The Antitrust Paradigm: Restoring a Competitive Economy United States v. Microsoft DC Circuit en banc opinion Hosted by: Sergei Zaslavsky, O'Melveny & Myers and Christina Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

From crypto enthusiasts to supply chain gurus, it seems everyone is talking about blockchain these days. What makes this technology so potentially impactful, and what does it have to do with antitrust? Thibault Schrepel, author of Blockchain + Antitrust: The Decentralization Formula, joins Sergei Zaslavsky and John Roberti to demystify blockchain, explain the significance of this technology, and discuss why antitrust regulators and practitioners need to take note. Listen to this episode for a clear elucidation of what blockchain is (and even where the name comes from), and how it will impact antitrust enforcement. Related Links: Thibault Shrepel, Blockchain + Antitrust: The Decentralization Formula Blockchain Antitrust (open source academic studies on blockchain and antitrust) Hosted by: John Roberti, Allen & Overy and Sergei Zaslavsky, O'Melveny & Myers

Extreme inequality of wealth and income has been identified as a societal failure and a threat to democracy all over the world. Is competition law the cause or the cure for that inequality? In this episode, we talk with Professor Eleanor Fox of New York University School of Law about her research into the deep connections between wealth and income inequality and competition law in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. Listen to this episode to learn about these connections and the case for including an "equality value" in antitrust analysis. Related Links: Abstract: Antitrust and Inequality: The History of (In)equality in Competition Law and Its Guide to the Future, by Eleanor M. Fox and Philipp Bazenov W.L. Esquire (1977), a novel by Eleanor M. Fox Hosted by: Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC and John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP

The Biden Administration has made its picks for antitrust leadership, and they are all members of an intellectual movement to increase antitrust enforcement in big tech and beyond. What broader impacts will these appointments have and what are some of the challenges they will face? Bill Kovacic, Director of the Competition Law Center at George Washington University and the Former Chair of the FTC, joins Christina Ma and Melissa Maxman to discuss how the near decade-long debate about antitrust reform may play out in the new administration. Listen to this episode to learn more about what to expect for antitrust reform and enforcement going forward. Related Links: Epic Games, Inc. vs Apple, Inc. Hosted by: Christina Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Melissa Maxman, Cohen & Gresser

The Trump Administration's antitrust enforcers were active in challenging mergers on competition grounds. But what were the key drivers in choosing which matters to challenge? Katie Drummonds and Peter McCormack, authors of a recent article in Antitrust Magazine on the Trump Administration's merger enforcement record, join John Roberti to discuss their retrospective and insights on whether politics, populism or other factors may have played a role in merger enforcement. Listen to this episode to learn more about the evolution of merger enforcement policy in the Trump Administration and beyond. Related Links: Andrea Murino, Peter McCormick, Katie Drummonds and Emily Hsu, Populist Instincts: A Trump Administration Antitrust Merger Retrospective, Antitrust Magazine Summer 2021 FTC and DOJ, Annual Hart Scott Rodino Report 2019 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines 2017 Merger Remedies Report 2020 Comments on Merger Guidelines Hosted by: John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP

“Right to repair” has been highlighted by the new administration and federal enforcers as a competition and consumer protection issue in the American economy. But what exactly does this term mean for consumers? Gay Gordon-Byrne, Executive Director of the Repair Association, a grassroot organization advocating for repair-friendly policies, speaks to Anora Wang and Christina Ma about her involvement, objectives, and predictions. Listen to this episode to learn about the still evolving “right to repair” issue. Related Links: Nixing the Fix: An FTC Report to Congress on Repair Restrictions (May 2021) Hosted by: Christina Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Anora Wang, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP  

Influential writers, from Ida Tarbell to John McGee to Lina Khan, have inspired sweeping changes to antitrust laws, but not all influential writing should be relied upon as the basis for change. What happens when we rely on the wrong argument? Antitrust scholar Christopher Leslie goes back 100 years in antitrust law history with Tammy Zhu and John Roberti to dissect the work of influential writers who have shaped the course of antitrust law. Listen to this episode to learn about the fascinating collision courses between facts and theory in antitrust law history. Related Links: Christopher Leslie, Revisiting the Revisionist History of Standard Oil Christopher Leslie, Faculty webpage Hosted by: John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP and Tammy Zhu, Sourcegraph