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Competition and Enforcement Lawyers From Around the World to Meet In Washington, D.C.

56th Annual ABA Section of Antitrust Law Spring Meeting will examine key antitrust and consumer protection issues and address issues facing the next administration

CHICAGO, February 29, 2008 – More than 2,000 antitrust practitioners from the United States and around the world will convene for the 56^th Spring Meeting of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law, March 26-28 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C.  The Spring Meeting offers programming led by top enforcement officials, consumer protection and competition lawyers, as well as jurists and academics in the antitrust community from the U.S. and more than 39 countries. 

“Our spring conference is the largest international gathering of lawyers, government officials and academics in the antitrust and competition field.  Once again, our programming will provide attendees with tools to better their practices, information on trends, as well as access to policymakers from around the world,” said Section Chair Kathryn M. Fenton, of Washington, D.C.  “This meeting is the primary source of the latest information on antitrust issues and law and policy for the legal profession and government officials.”

The meeting offers more than 50 programs and features more than 150 speakers from government, corporations, the private bar and academia, making it the most comprehensive conference exploring antitrust law.  Sessions will provide expert analysis and facilitate the exchange of ideas on key trends in global antitrust issues, enforcement, economics and consumer protection through tracks in international law, litigation and consumer protection and policy and case study.

This year’s Chair’s Showcase Program on March 27, “Antitrust Advice for the New Administration,” will tackle key issues that will face the new president in 2009.  Kathryn M. Fenton will lead former enforcement officials in a discussion of trends and concerns that face antitrust practitioners.  The panel features A. Douglas Melamed, Timothy Muris, R. Hewitt Pate and Georgetown University Law Professor Robert Pitofsky, all of Washington, D.C.  All previously served in senior positions at the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission and are among the most respected names in the field. Also participating to offer a non-U.S. perspective is former EU Competition Commissioner Mario Monti, president of Bocconi University in Milan, Italy.

A federal judicial roundtable will be the centerpiece of the Luncheon on March 26.  Moderated by Joseph Angland of New York, immediate past chair of the section, participants include Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; Judge Lee Rosenthal, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas; and Judge Sarah Vance, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.  

On March 27 Professor Stephen Calkins of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, a member of the section council, will provide his popular annual review of antitrust developments over the last year in a session on “hot topics.” 

Rounding out two days of programming is the annual roundtable conference with enforcement officials, which will be held on March 28.  Section Chair Kathryn M. Fenton will moderate the roundtable.  Participants include Deborah Platt Majoras, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission; Thomas O. Barnett, assistant attorney general of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice; Neelie Kroes, commissioner for competition of the European Commission; and Robert L. Hubbard, chair of the Multistate Antitrust Task Force of the National Association of Attorneys General. 

Other highlights of the three-day meeting include:

March 26

• Breakfast with the Deputy Assistant Attorneys General of the Antitrust Division
• Antitrust Fundamentals and Economics Fundamentals
• Consumer Protection and Consumer Welfare in Information and Communications Technology Markets
• Counseling Clients after Leegin: Proceed with Caution
• Jury Consultants in Antitrust Litigation: Value Added?
• Ethics: The Interplay of Tactics and Ethics in Criminal Antitrust Investigations
• Unilateral Conduct in a Multilateral World
• Live from the Courtroom: Trying Privacy and Consumer Protection Litigation

March 27

• Breakfast with State Enforcers
• EC Court of First Instance Weighs In:  For Global Interoperability, Compulsory Licensing and Bundling
• Ethics: Gathering Competitive Intelligence – Where’s the Line?
• From Standard Oil to Today: Antitrust Enforcement in the Oil Industry
• Special Problems in Internet Market Structure
• What Will be Retired Next in the Closet of Old Antitrust Doctrines?
• Whose Data is it? Competition, Privacy and Consumer Protection Perspectives in Electronic Data Markets.
• Mock Trial – Trying a Rule of Reason Resale Price Maintenance Case
• Antitrust Issues for International Air Carriers: Is there Turbulence Ahead?

March 28 

• Breakfast with the FTC Bureau Directors
• Breakfast with International Enforcers
• Redial: 25^th Anniversary of the AT & T Divestiture Decision

The complete program and updates can be found at http://www.abanet.org/antitrust/at-spring/2008.html

With more than 9,000 members, the ABA Section of Antitrust Law is the leading national forum for ongoing analysis of policies and developments affecting competition and consumer protection law.

With more than 413,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

Editor’s note: Reporters are welcome to attend the meeting free of charge. To obtain press credentials, contact Debbie Weixl, ABA Division for Media Relations and Communication Services, at 312/988-6126 or weixld@staff.abanet.org. Registration for media will open at 8 a.m. on March 26 in the Ballroom Foyer of the JW Marriott Hotel and will be open throughout the meeting.

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