Our Curious Amalgam

Our Curious Amalgam is having a party and you're invited! In this special one-year anniversary episode, host Alicia Downey speaks with guests Brian Henry, immediate past chair of the ABA Antitrust Law Section, and John Roberti, the regular co-host of OCA, about how they created a podcast from scratch, including the origin story of our curious name. Listen to this episode to hear about our curious co-hosts' favorite episodes over the past year. Hosted by: Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC

There has been substantial discussion of enhanced antitrust enforcement by what has been referred to as the “new” Brandeis School of Antitrust; but that implies that there was an original Brandeis School of Antitrust. What can we learn from this original school? Storied antitrust enforcer, academic and practitioner Tim Muris joins John Roberti and Christina Ma for a discussion of the last great effort to enhance antitrust enforcement and how it developed. Listen to this episode to learn more about the past and whether it may repeat itself. Related Links: Timothy J. Muris and J. Howard Beales III, FTC Consumer Protection at 100: 1970s Redux or Protecting Markets To Protect Consumers, 83 George Washington Law Review 2157  Timothy J. Muris and Jonathan E. Nuechterlein, Chicago and Its Discontents (with) (Forthcoming University of Chicago Law Review) Timothy J. Muris , Will the FTC’s Success Continue? Timothy J. Muris and Jonathan E. Nuechterlein, Antitrust in the Internet Era: The Legacy of United States v. A&P, 54 Rev. of Industrial Org. 651 (2019) Hosted by: Christina C. Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP

Agriculture sits at the center of the U.S. economy and has witnessed increased consolidation in the last several decades. How can antitrust law and merger policy protect competition in agriculture, from fair terms for seed purchasers to ensuring ample processors? Mark Tobey, former special counsel for agriculture at the U.S. Department of Justice, joins Tammy Zhu and John Roberti to discuss the past, present, and future of competition concerns in agriculture. Listen to this episode to learn how to analyze an agricultural merger and issues to spot when negotiating an agtech partnership. Related Links: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/atr/legacy/2012/05/16/283291.pdf Hosted by: Tammy Zhu, Legal Counsel, Medallia, Inc. and John Roberti, Partner, Allen & Overy LLP

The European Commission's EU State aid investigations into the tax ruling practices of EU countries are highly controversial - none more so than its ruling, overturned in court, that Apple pay back multi-billion Euros to Ireland. What is EU State aid law and what are these cases about? Alfonso Lamadrid, Brussels-based lawyer with Garrigues, joins Christina Ma and Matthew Hall to discuss the background to the Apple/Ireland case, the findings in the case, why it was overturned and the implications of this. Listen to this episode to learn more about the critical area of EU State aid law and its application to tax rulings in the EU. Related Links: European Commission 2016 press release on Apple/Ireland State aid decision European Commission 2016 Apple/Ireland State aid decision European Commission 2020 statement (Commissioner Vestager) on General Court judgment overturning 2016 Apple/Ireland State aid decision General Court of the European Union 2020 press release on Apple/Ireland judgment General Court of the European Union 2020 Apple/Ireland judgment Hosted by: Christina Ma, Associate, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Matthew Hall, Partner, McGuireWoods London LLP

Although there is little question as to the need for affordable, accessible, and high-quality pharmaceuticals, there is immense disagreement as to how best to achieve that end. What are the key issues facing pharmaceutical antitrust enforcement today? Michael Kades, Director of Markets and Competition Policy for the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, joins Christina Ma and John Roberti to discuss the current state of pay-for-delay, the FTC's Daraprim case, FTC restitution before SCOTUS, and biologics. Listen to this episode for a quick primer on things to pass and things to come in pharmaceutical antitrust enforcement. Related Links: https://equitablegrowth.org/competitive-edge-underestimating-the-cost-of-underenforcing-u-s-antitrust-laws/ https://equitablegrowth.org/congress-adopts-historic-prescription-drug-pricing-reform/ https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/2020.01.27_daraprim_complaint_final_redacted.pdf https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/19/19-825/126165/20191219140044609_No.%2019-__%20PetitionForAWritOfCertiorari%20and%20Appendix%20FTC%20v.%20Credit%20Bureau%20Center.pdf Hosted by: Christina Ma, Associate, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and John Roberti, Partner, Allen & Overy

Battles in the pharmaceutical antitrust world have been increasingly heated, and to a great extent rightly so, as people have devoted more attention to this space in the past decades. But as measured against the U.S. antitrust laws, what has changed or will change in the scrutiny of pharmaceutical companies’ conduct? Eric Grannon, a leading defense practitioner, joins Anora Wang and John Roberti to discuss three main areas—reverse payment, product hopping, and class certification—that get the most heat. Listen to this episode to learn what is about to come in the U.S. pharmaceutical antitrust wars. Related Links: Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al. (FTC v. Actavis) Hosted by: John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP and Anora Wang, Winston & Strawn LLP

U.S. antitrust dealing with tech ranges from early government cases involving punch cards to the current government probe into various platforms. But while the tech evolves, has the antitrust concern with monopolization by big tech changed? Prof. Randy Picker, a leading scholar studying antitrust and tech, joins Anora Wang and John Roberti to discuss the once epic, 13-year-long, U.S. antitrust case against IBM, and whether antitrust actions could have impacted the tech landscape for decades to come. Listen to this episode if you wonder whether the antitrust past will repeat itself in the tech world. Related Links: United States' Memorandum On The 1969 Case Hosted by: John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP and Anora Wang, Winston & Strawn LLP

Privacy and competition both have been hot subjects, especially when discussing the new digital economy. But will the two doctrines inevitably converge, or are they in fundamental tension with each other? FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips joins Sergei Zaslavsky and John Roberti to discuss this timely subject and share his views on when privacy should (and should not) play a role in antitrust analysis. Listen to this episode for Commissioner Phillips' take on privacy considerations in merger review, differences between privacy and price competition, federal privacy legislation, and more. Related Links: Commissioner Phillips' January 30, 2020 Speech - "Should We Block This Merger? Some Thoughts on Converging Antitrust and Privacy" Hosted by: John Roberti, Allen & Overy and Sergei Zaslavsky, O'Melveny & Myers

The Federal antitrust laws reach the entire United States. But what is the state of antitrust law outside of the largest metropolitan areas? Longtime ABA Antitrust Law Section members Marguerite Willis and Travis Wheeler of Nexsen Pruet in South Carolina join John Roberti and Kayla Odom to discuss what it's like to build an antitrust law practice in a smaller antitrust community and how antitrust law in the South has changed over the last decades. Listen in for perspectives from these pioneering practitioners and for tips all practitioners can use in their antitrust law practice. Hosted by: John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP and Kayla Odom, Freitas & Weinberg LLP

Many discussions on U.S. merger control focus on proposals of drastic changes. But can U.S. merger enforcement be improved by just having the agencies committed to making better use of their exiting tools? John Kwoka, a leading economist and antitrust scholar, joins Anora Wang and John Roberti to discuss the weaknesses of U.S. merger enforcement, the role of the merger guidelines as tools available to the agencies, and specific areas for improvement. Listen to this episode to learn about the past, present, and future enforcement of U.S. antitrust agencies as measured against their merger guidelines. Related Links: Horizontal Merger Guidelines (08/19/2010) Hosted by: John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP and Anora Wang, Winston & Strawn LLP