Hogan Lovells, Washington, DC and Los Angeles
Edith Ramirez, former Chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is co-head of the Antitrust and Competition practice and a partner in the Privacy and Cybersecurity practice. She has long been a strong presence in the international competition and privacy arena.
Sidley Austin, Brussels and London
Kristina Nordlander, co-leader of Sidley’s Antitrust/Competition group, has a thriving EU competition and litigation practice representing major companies in various sectors. Kristina is a skilled advocate and has led high-stakes antitrust investigations before the European Commission and precedent-setting litigation before the EU Courts. Kristina advises clients on all aspects of EU competition law, including merger control, cartels, abuse of dominance and other anti-competitive behavior. Kristina also focuses on EU competition law enforcement issues impacting the digital single market, online selling, mobile and electronic payments and other technology. Kristina founded the Women’s Competition Network and was named a 2017 “Top 10 Innovator” in Europe by the Financial Times.
MIT Economics, Cambridge
Professor Rose is Economics Department Head and Kindleberger Professor of Applied Economics at MIT. Her current work explores the economic and legal foundations for more effective antitrust enforcement, building on her experience as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economic Analysis in US DOJ Antitrust Division (2014-2016) and as director of the National Bureau of Economic Research research program in Industrial Organization for more than two decades. She is a member of the American Antitrust Institute and Hamilton Project Advisory Boards, fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and past Vice President of the American Economic Association.
Principal Lawyer, Mergers & Authorisation Law Unit, Legal & Economic Division, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), Melbourne
Assistant Director, Technology Task Force, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Washington, DC
Counsel, Federal Trade Commission Detailee, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary
Senior Research Fellow in Competition Law and Director, Competition Law Forum, British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL), London
8.30: Welcome coffee and registration
9.00: Chairs’ welcome
Edith Ramirez, Hogan Lovells, Washington, DC and Los Angeles
Kristina Nordlander, Sidley Austin, Brussels and London
9.15: Keynote address
Nancy Rose, Economics Department Head, Charles P. Kindleberger Professor of Applied Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston
10.00: Where are we today with enforcement against big tech?
Public outcry over the size, power and practices of the world’s largest tech companies is beginning to steer antitrust policy and enforcement in the US, Europe and elsewhere, where enforcers are questioning whether the antitrust and competition laws should be deployed to rein in and regulate that power. Is the public outcry based on legitimate competition concerns? Will action by competition authorities match their rhetoric? In what areas are we likely to see greater enforcement activity?
Moderator:
Kristina Nordlander, Sidley Austin, Brussels and London
Panel:
Patricia Galvan, Assistant Director, Technology Task Force, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Washington, DC
Liza Lovdahl-Gormsen, Senior Research Fellow in Competition Law and Director, Competition Law Forum, British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL), London
Anna Meyendorff, Bates White, Washington, DC
Rima Alaily, Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft, Washington, DC
11.10: Coffee break
11.40: Killer acquisitions and related concepts
Critics of recent merger policy point to perceived failings of enforcers to catch and prevent harmful deals, particularly in the tech space. Should merger control laws and thresholds be altered to better catch so-called “killer acquisitions” of nascent rivals? And should agencies undertake lookbacks that could lead to enforcement against past deals that now appear to be harmful?
Moderator:
Edith Ramirez, Hogan Lovells, Washington, DC and Los Angeles
Panel:
Gabriella Monahova, NERA Economic Consulting, Washington DC
Anna Lyle-Smythe, Slaughter and May, Brussels
Maria Raptis, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, New York
Helen Anness, Principal Lawyer, Mergers & Authorisation Law Unit, Legal & Economic Division, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), Melbourne
12.50: Networking lunch
13.50: When conversation becomes collusion
The point at which the exchange of information becomes anticompetitive conduct - or worst of all, a cartel - can be hard to pin down, especially in the course of a business arrangement such as a vertical relationship, joint venture or pending merger. For example, a few defendants prosecuted in financial benchmark cases around the world have won by claiming that they merely exchanged information to enable a transaction. On the other hand, the collection of data for compensation benchmarks is being increasingly scrutinised as labour draws more antitrust attention. This panel will focus on how the spectrum of information exchange can bleed into a cartel; where competition authorities have drawn the lines in enforcement and guidelines; and what corporate compliance officers and trade associations should know.
Moderator:
Léna Sersiron, Baker McKenzie, Paris
Panel:
Vivian Cao, Linklaters, Beijing
Uta Itzen, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Düsseldorf
Julie Soloway, Blake, Cassels & Graydon, Toronto
Rachel Adcox, Axinn, Washington DC
15.00: Coffee break
15.25: The potential impact of elections on antitrust
Antitrust on the stump: The 2020 US presidential elections are shaping up to be the first in decades in which monopoly power and antitrust enforcement will prominently feature in the platforms of multiple candidates. Are the words and actions of Democratic candidates Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker and others simply ovations to a frustrated electorate? Or is there deeper substance behind their progressive policy proposals? We examine what their proposals would mean for agriculture, health care and big tech should they make it to the White House. How did antitrust concerns play out in Europe in elections for the European Parliament and for top European Commission posts? Have antitrust concerns shaped the new European Commission agenda?
Moderator:
Elaine Ewing, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Washington, DC
Panel:
Maureen Ohlhausen, Baker Botts, Washington, DC
Petra Linsmeier, Gleiss Lutz, Munich
Amanda Lewis, Counsel, Federal Trade Commission Detailee, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary
16.35: Chairs’ closing remarks
Edith Ramirez, Hogan Lovells, Washington, DC and Los Angeles
Kristina Nordlander, Sidley Austin, Brussels and London
17.00 onwards: All delegates are invited to attend the drinks reception hosted by GCR and the all-conference dinner kindly hosted by NERA Economic Consulting