Our Curious Amalgam - American Bar Association

Latest Episodes:

#86 Can They Really Do That? The Use of Advanced Analytics by Antitrust and Consumer Regulators Nov 09, 2020

Show notes

Data and technology issues are behind many antitrust/competition and consumer law cases. How are regulators responding to this and what are their capabilities? Stefan Hunt, Chief Data and Technology Insights Officer at the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), joins Christina Ma and Matthew Hall to discuss the activities of the CMA's Data, Technology and Analytics unit (DaTA). Listen to this episode to learn more about the work going on inside antitrust and consumer regulators as they use technology and data to their advantage.

Related Links:

Blog 1: UK CMA DaTA unit

Blog 2: UK CMA DaTA unit

UK CMA Online platforms and digital advertising market study UK CMA Fake and misleading online reviews trading

Hosted by:

Christina Ma and Matthew Hall

#85 Who Does Antitrust Work For? An Exploration of Labor Antitrust. Nov 02, 2020

Show notes

Antitrust is usually focused on consumers, but increasingly, effects of competition on workers have been a focus of scholarship, policy, and enforcement. What is behind the growing prominence of labor antitrust, and what can we expect going forward? Hiba Hafiz, a professor at BC Law, joins Sergei Zaslavsky and John Roberti to discuss how labor antitrust applies in different contexts and the tensions courts are grappling with in applying consumer-focused antitrust doctrine to cases involving workers. Listen to this episode for an engaging introduction to this important topic.

Hiba Hafiz, Labor's Antitrust Paradox Todd v. Exxon Corporation DOJ and FTC 2016 Antitrust Guidance for HR Professionals

Hosted by:

John Roberti, Allen & Overy and Sergei Zaslavsky, O'Melveny & Myers

#84 What's the Fix? Understanding the Antitrust Cases Against Platforms and Desired Remedies Oct 26, 2020

Show notes

Digital platforms are under immense public scrutiny, in the United States and elsewhere, leading to investigations and cases likely to be filed. But how to understand the complex antitrust analysis relevant to platforms including the measurement of power and relevant markets? And if an antitrust case is made against platforms, what's the fix? Prof. Herbert Hovenkamp, a leading scholar, joins Anora Wang and Christina Ma to discuss the U.S. congressional investigation of platforms as reported in October 2020 and considerations that should go in the design of antitrust remedies involving platforms.

Hosted by:

Anora Wang, Winston & Strawn LLP and Christina Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

#83 How Was the Case Won? The Processed Egg Products Antitrust Trials. Oct 19, 2020

Show notes

Antitrust class actions are rarely tried all the way through to a jury verdict. How did a team of lawyers from Columbus, Ohio and Washington, D.C. win a defense verdict in not one, but two antitrust trials in an 18-month period? Jim King and Jay Levine talk with Alicia Downey and John Roberti about how the cases were won. Hear from their younger colleagues about the lessons they learned and the most memorable moments in the courtroom. Listen to this episode to catch up with a case that has been ongoing since 2008, with yet more twists and turns to come.

Featured Guests: Allen Carter, Senior Associate, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP and Arlene Boruchowitz, Associate, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP

Hosted by:

Alicia L. Downey, Downey Law LLC and John Roberti, Partner, Allen & Overy LLP

#82 All Bundled Up? Making Antitrust Sense of Product Bundles and Clusters. Oct 12, 2020

Show notes

Market definition is a core concept in antitrust law. While product markets are usually defined based on substitutability, are there situations where products that are not substitutes belong in the same market? Kevin Hahm, a partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth and a long-time FTC enforcer, joins Sergei Zaslavsky and Christina Ma to discuss bundle and cluster markets --- those unique situations where products that are not substitutes are grouped in the same market. Listen to the podcast to learn what bundle and cluster markets are and why they matter.

Hosted by:

Christina Ma, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Sergei Zaslavsky, O'Melveny & Myers

#81 Do You Really Know All 54? Antitrust Law in Africa Oct 05, 2020

Show notes

The 54 African countries are becoming increasingly important from a competition law point of view. But can we assume the rules are the same as elsewhere? George Lipimile of COMESA and Jocelyn Katz of ENSafrica join John Roberti and Matthew Hall to discuss key issues in African competition law. Listen to this episode to learn about some of the features that make the law on the African continent unique.

Related Links:

COMESA Competition Commission

South Africa: Babelegi excessive pricing case

South Africa: Dis-Chem excessive pricing case

South Africa: ENS newsflash on competition exemptions for banking and retail property sectors to support the Coronavirus fallout

South Africa: ENS newsflash on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the Competition Act

Namibian Competition Commission: update on Consumer Exploitation Complaints (May 2020)

Malawi CFTC: Excessive Pricing Of Bus Services Due To Covid 19 And Enforcement Of Bus Fare Tables (June 2020)

South Africa: Competition Commission's Guidelines for the Assessment of Public Interest Provisions in Mergers

Kenya: Telkom-Airtel merger review decision

Nigeria: FCCP Act

Namibia: Draft Competition Bill

eSwatini: Draft Competition Bill

Malawi CFTC: Suspected Collusive Practices And Unconscionable Conduct By Independent Schools (May 2020)

South Africa: Competition Tribunal Confirms 14th Settlement In Maize Cartel Case

Mauritius: Fines of Rs 76 million recommended, on two suppliers of chemical fertilisers for illegal cartel conducts

International: ICN Guidance on Enhancing Cross-Border Leniency Cooperation

Nigeria: Businesses tighten as Commission plans to embark on raids

Hosted by:

John Roberti, Partner, Allen & Overy LLP and Matthew Hall, Partner, McGuireWoods London LLP

#80 It's Been a Year Already? Welcome to Our Curious First Birthday. Sep 28, 2020

Show notes

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

#79 Will the Past Be Prologue? Understanding the History of Enforcement of the 1970s. Sep 21, 2020

Show notes

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

#78 What Seeds Need to Be Sown? The Role of Antitrust in Agriculture Sep 14, 2020

Show notes

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.

Hosted by:

Tammy Zhu, Legal Counsel, Medallia, Inc. and John Roberti, Partner, Allen & Overy LLP

#77 Still The Largest Taxpayer in the World? Apple Avoids Massive Tax Payment to Ireland Sep 07, 2020

Show notes

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.

Hosted by:

Christina Ma, Associate, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Matthew Hall, Partner, McGuireWoods London LLP