Two Watersheds: The New Case Law of Bundles, Rebates and Class Certification
Sponsored by Empiris LLC & O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Thursday, February 4, 2010
8:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Willard InterContinental Washington
The Willard Room
1401 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004
- From left: Mark Cowen (ME, 2009-10), Ashley Sprague (ACE, 2009-10), Alyssa DaCunha (EiC, 2009-10), Laura O’Brien (SE, 2009-10), Darren Weiss (EE, 2009-10)
| 7:30 a.m. | Registration & Continental Breakfast |
| 8:30 a.m. | Welcoming Remarks |
| Daniel D. Polsby, Dean & Foundation Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law | |
| Opening Remarks | |
| Jeffrey A. Eisenach, Chairman & Managing Partner, Empiris LLC and Adjunct Professor, George Mason University School of Law | |
| Introduction of Judge Hogan | |
| Ian Simmons, Partner, O’Melveny & Myers LLP | |
| 8:45 a.m. | Keynote Address |
| The Honorable Thomas F. Hogan, United States District Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia | |
| 9:30 a.m. | Panel One | Evaluating Bundling and Share-Based Rebates in High-Tech Industries |
| Moderator | |
| Alden F. Abbott, Deputy Director, Office of International Affairs, U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Adjunct Professor, George Mason University School of Law | |
| Speakers | |
| Thomas Brown, Partner, O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Nicholas S. Economides, Professor of Economics, New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business Joseph Kattan, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Kevin M. Murphy, George J. Stigler Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business |
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| Our first panel will address one of the hottest topics in contemporary antitrust – the assessment of bundling and share-based rebates in high tech industries. The antitrust status of discounts applied to sales of bundled products is subject to substantial uncertainty, at least in the United States. Federal court opinions in this area are in obvious tension, as is scholarly commentary. | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Panel Two | Class Action in the Wake of Monsanto, IPO and Hydrogen Peroxide |
| Moderator | |
| Peter C. Thomas, Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP | |
| Speakers | |
| Eric L. Cramer, Shareholder, Berger & Montague, P.C.
Ian Simmons, Partner, O’Melveny & Myers LLP Hal J. Singer, President & Managing Partner, Empiris LLC and Adjunct Professor, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University Edward A. Snyder, Dean & George Pratt Shultz Professor of Economics, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business |
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| If the rule of thumb in merger cases once was, to paraphrase Justice Stewart, “the government always wins,” then one might state a similar rule to the effect that “antitrust cases are always certified as class actions” prevailed. Starting with the Monsanto case in 2005, defendants began to have a fighting chance to defeat class certification. Although antitrust cases remain amongst the most common cases to be certified, over the last several years key decisions have altered the battlefield. This panel will discuss the case law, economic analysis of, and strategies behind prosecuting and defending antitrust class certification motions. |
General Information
Registration
To register for this Event, please download our Registration Brochure and follow the instructions on page 3.
Registration Fees
| General Admission | $345 |
| Government/Academic | $150 |
| Student | $50 |
Federal Tax ID Number 54-1603842.
W-9 Form
CLE
The Symposium has applied for 3.5 VA MCLE credit hours (0.0 ethics).
Contact Information:
Laura O’Brien, Symposium Editor
George Mason Law Review
3301 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, Virginia 22201-4498
gmusymposium@gmail.com
Previous Symposia: Fall 2008, Fall 2007, Fall 2006, Fall 2005, Fall 2004, Spring 2004, Winter 2003
