James Keyte, Director of Fordham University’s Competition Law Center, writes about the 45thinstalment of the Annual Conference on Competition Law and Policy.
On September 5-7, Fordham will host its 45thInternational Antitrust Law and Policy Conference, which is free for young attorneys (years 1-3) and all in-house counsel. When I was a young attorney, I learned an enormous amount by attending conferences where there were high-level discussions on antitrust policy, enforcement and practical issues around the globe. At Fordham, we want to encourage young antitrust lawyers to add to their practices and encourage them to be part of the international antitrust dialogue. This is also why, four years ago, we started the Antitrust Economics Workshop, which this year is hosted by Compass Lexecon and The Brattle Group (conference and workshop programs can be downloaded below).
While there has been a steady buildup in antitrust legislation worldwide over the past two or three decades, the speed at which new business models have gained powerful marketplace positions across borders and the international scrutiny faced by even medium sized companies, has increased the urgency for attorneys and economists to look beyond their jurisdictions. The past few months alone have been witness to a growing debate on populism and antitrust, a reevaluation of vertical mergers and the definition of relevant markets in platform businesses that will reverberate worldwide, investigations into the impact of new business models on traditional industries, and a questioning of due process across jurisdictions and the role of comity in harmonizing competition law enforcement both for mergers and conduct, among other pressing questions with international repercussions.
The main program of this years Fordham conference addresses these issues. We continue to take the lead in focusing on cutting-edge antitrust issues that are relevant to practitioners, enforcers and academics alike. Day 1 starts with keynotes from Makan Delrahim (DOJ) and Johannes Laitenberger (DG Comp), including a question and answer period open to the audience. This is followed by a highly relevant panel on “Antitrust and Populism” (moderated by Eleanor Fox . The remainder of the day includes a program of vertical restraints (moderated by Judge Douglas Ginsburg), which is particularly timely given recent EU developments. And the afternoon addresses emerging issues in antitrust and healthcare (moderated by Dan Sokol).
Day 2, kicks off with two more incredible keynote speakers, Andrea Coscelli (MA) and Maureen Ohlhausen (FTC), followed again by an open question and answer session. The panels on day 2 are equally topical and forward-looking. Deb Feinstein will moderate a panel on international merger enforcement, and Sharis Pozen will host this year In-House Counsel Roundtable, which will present a conversation between two leading enforcers and two in-house counsel on the challenges of dealing with multi-jurisdictional investigations and actions.
In my fifth year as Director of the Fordham Competition Law Institute, I believe this is the best program yet. I hope that all will continue to see the Fordham Conference as the fall, international meeting place to exchange and debate critical antitrust issues and, of course, to interact with colleagues, academics and enforcers from around the world.
