Symposium Fall 2008
Antitrust Policy in the New Administration
Sponsored by WilmerHale & Criterion Economics
December 4, 2008
8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center, Washington, D.C.
| 8:00 a.m. | Registration & Continental Breakfast |
| 8:30 a.m. | Welcome |
| Daniel D. Polsby, Dean & Foundation Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law | |
| Opening Remarks & Introduction | |
| A. Douglas Melamed, Partner, WilmerHale | |
| Keynote Address | |
| Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
| 9:30 a.m. | Panel One | The Rule of Reason – How Can It Be Strengthened? |
| Moderator | |
| William J. Kolasky, Partner, WilmerHale | |
| Speakers | |
| Einer Elhauge, Petrie Professor of Law, Harvard Law School | |
| Abbott (“Tad”) B. Lipsky, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP | |
| Discussants | |
| Michael A. Carrier, Professor of Law, Rutgers University School of Law – Camden | |
| Eric L. Cramer, Shareholder, Berger & Montague, P.C. | |
| Over the last thirty years, the Supreme Court has greatly narrowed the types of conduct that are per se unlawful under the antitrust laws and thereby expanded the scope of the rule of reason. In this panel, Professor Einer Elhauge and Tad B. Lipsky will present papers examining how the courts and the federal antitrust agencies should structure their rule of reason analysis in order to make the rule of reason a more effective enforcement tool. Professor Michael Carrier and Eric L. Cramer, will comment on these papers and will share their insights into how the courts and agencies apply the rule of reason in practice. | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Panel Two | Merger Enforcement: Emerging Issues |
| Moderator | |
| Alden F. Abbott, Associate Director, Bureau of Competition, U.S. Federal Trade Commission | |
| Speakers | |
| James A. Langenfeld, Director, LECG, LLC | |
| J. Gregory Sidak, President, Criterion Economics LLC | |
| Discussants | |
| Deborah Platt Majoras, Vice President and General Counsel, Procter & Gamble Company | |
| Gregory J. Werden, Senior Economic Counsel, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice | |
| This panel will focus on merger enforcement policy in the new administration. Two leading economic experts on merger enforcement, J. Gregory Sidak and James A. Langenfeld (former Director for Antitrust, Bureau of Economics, U.S. Federal Trade Commission), will present papers addressing possible reforms of the merger analysis process. Mr. Sidak will argue that there is a significant divergence between the standards set forth in the Justice Department-FTC Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the actual way in which the courts and the federal antitrust agencies assess mergers. Dr. Langenfeld will discuss the possible benefits that might flow from promulgation of new non-horizontal merger guidelines, which would replace guidelines that have not been revised since 1984. Antitrust authorities Gregory J. Werden and Deborah Platt Majoras (former Chairman, U.S. Federal Trade Commission), will comment on these papers. | |
| 12:45 p.m. | Introduction |
| George Mason Law Review | |
| Luncheon Address | |
| Robert Pitofsky, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center | |
| 2:15 p.m. | Introduction |
| J. Gregory Sidak, President, Criterion Economics LLP | |
| Closing Address | |
| William E. Kovacic, Chairman, U.S. Federal Trade Commission |
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.
CLE
The Symposium has applied for 3.5 VA MCLE credit hours (0.0 ethics).
Contact Information
Symposium Editor
George Mason Law Review
3301 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, Virginia 22201-4498
