Our Curious Amalgam

Fiona Schaeffer, a prominent antitrust lawyer, has taken on the big job of leading the ABA Antitrust Law Section in 2023-24. In this episode, co-hosts Alicia Downey and Anora Wang interview Fiona about her goals for the year and the initiatives she is leading to explore the relationship between antitrust and consumer protection law and sustainability, as well as the impact of artificial intelligence on the law and the legal profession. Listen to this episode to get to know Fiona and, as a bonus, meet Anne Catherine Faye, the first economist appointed to serve in the important role of Counsel to the Chair.

With special guests:

Fiona Schaeffer, Milbank LLP and Anne Catherine Faye, Analysis Group

Related Links:

Upcoming ABA Antitrust Law Section events

Hosted by:

Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC and Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

Bank failures in 2023 led to renewed interest in bank consolidation and debate over the role of antitrust in bank policy. But does this mean we can expect the DOJ Antitrust Division to change the way they are approaching bank mergers? Damian Didden, Partner at Wachtell, joins Jaclyn Phillips and Sergei Zaslavsky to explain the debate about bank consolidation and what we can glean from the Antitrust Division's statements about its approach to bank merger review. Tune in to learn more about whether you can bank on changes in this space.

With special guest:

Damian Didden, Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

Related Links:

Wachtell Comments on Revisions to the 1995 Banking Guidelines

Wachtell Lipton Criticizes Putting Politics in Bank Merger Antitrust Policy

Hosted by:

Jaclyn Phillips, White & Case LLP and Sergei Zaslavsky, O'Melveny & Myers

Private equity has been in the hot seat at the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division lately. Both agencies have increasingly expressed skepticism regarding PE buyers and owners, and have devoted more resources to investigating matters where PE parties are involved. But what exactly is PE? And how does it fit into the antitrust regulatory landscape? In this episode, co-hosts Elyse Dorsey and Jana Seidl speak with Sarahi Constantine Padilla, Senior Counsel at Warburg Pincus, about all-things private equity—and ask all the burning questions you might have been afraid to ask.

With special guest:

Sarahi Constantine Padilla, Senior Counsel at Warburg Pincus

Related Links:

U.S. v. UnitedHealth Group and Change Healthcare - Memorandum Opinion

FTC's Khan puts private equity 'on notice' that roll-up strategies could be illegal

Chair Lina Khan, Memorandum to Commission Staff and Commissioners

Hosted by:

Elyse Dorsey, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Jana Seidl, Baker Botts LLP

Ten years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 5-3 decision in FTC v. Actavis, which held that the rule of reason should govern so-called "pay-for-delay" patent litigation settlement agreements between brand name and generic pharmaceutical manufacturers. In this episode, hosts Aaron Yeater and Alicia Downey talk to Kristen O'Shaughnessy and Dan Grossbaum about how the decision has shaped litigation in the years since and its implications for antitrust challenges in other industries. Listen to this episode to learn about the impact of the Actavis decision in the past ten years and in the future.

With special guests:

Kristen O'Shaughnessy, Partner, White & Case and Daniel Grossbaum, Associate, White & Case

Related Links:

FTC v. Actavis: Opinions and Oral Arguments

Hosted by:

Alicia Downey, Principal, Downey Law LLC and Aaron Yeater, Managing Principal, Analysis Group

Employment data is a critical component of the financial ecosystem—it's required documentation if you want to rent or buy a home, purchase a car, apply for a new job, or get a loan. As digital technology is transforming the manner in which payroll information is collected and leveraged, we're faced with important questions, the answers to which will shape the framework going forward. In this episode, we speak with Nick Lawson, General Counsel at Argyle, about all things employment data, including the current framework, what's happening with the CFPB's rulemaking on personal financial data rights, and predictions for what might be ahead.

With special guest:

Nicholas Lawson, General Counsel, Argyle Systems Inc.

Related Links:

CFPB Newsroom - CFPB Kicks Off Personal Financial Data Rights Rulemaking

Argyle - Let's Make Consumer Permissions Fundamental to Payroll Data

Hosted by:

Jana Seidl, Senior Associate, Baker Botts LLP and Elyse Dorsey, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

On July 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission issued the long-awaited draft Merger Guidelines. How should you approach the draft guidelines? The DOJ Antitrust Division's Deputy Assistant Attorney Generals Andy Forman and Michael Kades speak with Melissa Maxman and Anora Wang about the background, guiding principles, and some specific languages. Listen and engage in the constructive process of commenting on the guidelines.

With special guests:

Andrew Forman, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice and Michael Kades, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice

Related Links:

DOJ-FTC 2023 Draft Merger Guidelines (July 19, 2023) "Look Mickey" by Roy Lichtenstein (National Gallery of Art)

Hosted by:

Melissa Maxman, Cohen & Gresser LLP and Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

Antitrust cases are often complex and technical, which invites suspicion that such cases should be decided by specialists rather than generalist judges. Would a judge who is truly an antitrust expert think the same? The honorable Judge Douglas Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, speaks with Melissa Maxman and Anora Wang with the utmost candor and (at times) unexpected humor reflecting his decades of experiences, observations, and scholarship.

With special guests:

Judge Douglas Ginsburg, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Related Links:

Antitrust Courts: Specialists versus Generalists, 36 FORDHAM INT'L. L.J. 788 (2013) (with Joshua D. Wright)

Antitrust Courts: Specialists versus Generalists, 36 FORDHAM INT'L. L.J. 788 (2013) (with Joshua D. Wright) - alternate location

Hosted by:

Melissa Maxman, Cohen & Gresser LLP and Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

Merger control and antitrust enforcement continues to expand around the world. Is MENA ahead of or behind the curve? Nicolas Bremer, partner at law firm Bremer, joins Matthew Hall and Jeny Maier to discuss developments in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Listen to this episode to learn more about merger control and antitrust rules in those jurisdictions and gain practical knowledge of how the regimes really work there.

With special guest:

Nicolas Bremer, Partner, Bremer

Related Links:

Bremer law firm resources

Hosted by:

Matthew Hall, partner, McGuireWoods London LLP and Jeny Maier, partner, Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP

The credit card industry has been the subject of increased antitrust scrutiny in recent years, even as consumer understanding of its inner workings remains low. But how did the American credit card system come to be, and are there changes for it on the horizon? Doug Kantor, General Counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores, speaks with Christina Ma and Matt Reynolds about the history of credit and debit card payment systems, the "swipe fees" on which those systems are built, and the justifications offered over the years for those fees. Tune in to learn more about the development of card payment systems in the United States and the antitrust considerations that continue to influence their development even today.

With special guest:

Doug Kantor, General Counsel, National Association of Convenience Stores

Related Links:

https://www.convenience.org/Advocacy/Issues/SwipeFees https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1838

Hosted by:

Christina Ma, Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Matthew Reynolds, Partner, Huth Reynolds LLP

The 2023 Annual Spring Meeting of the ABA Antitrust Law Section offered the Our Curious Amalgam team a chance to speak with competition law enforcers from around the world. In this episode, host Matthew Hall asks Olivier Guersent, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission (DG COMP), about what's been happening in the European Union since we interviewed him at the 2022 Spring Meeting. Listen and learn about DG COMP's current work, the most important anticipated developments of 2023, and what competition law policy and enforcement trends the Director-General sees on the horizon.

With special guest:

Olivier Guersent, Director-General, DG COMP, European Commission

Related Links:

EU Digital Markets Act EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation EU Horizontal Guidelines and Block Exemption #165 What Say You? International Enforcers Live at Spring Meeting 2022

Hosted by:

Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC and Matthew Hall, McGuireWoods London LLP