Trust and Trade

US v AU Optronics, or, the LCD screens case, is one of the most important price-fixing cartel cases of the last 25 years. Now, for the first time, co-hosts Anant Raut and Anna Pletcher bring together lawyers from the prosecution, defense, and presiding Judge Susan Illston to recount some of the case's historic firsts, including the size of the financial harm, the extraterritorial reach of the Sherman Act, and the unique sentencing imposed. Get an inside take on the litigation strategies, the legal arguments, and the view from the bench in a one-of-its-kind account of this watershed case! With special guests: Hon. Susan Illston, Senior Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Heather Nyong'o, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Brent Snyder, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and Patrick Robbins, former Partner, Shearman & Sterling LLP Related Links: United States' Sentencing Memorandum Hosted by: Anant Raut and Anna Pletcher

The word "privacy" doesn't appear in the FTC Act, yet for 25 years, the FTC has used its limited resources and enforcement tools to act as the country's privacy enforcer. Past and current FTC leadership join host Anant Raut for this rousing look at the history of privacy enforcement by the FTC, and contemplate its future. In a world where the threats to privacy have grown manifold, has the Commission stretched the handful of words passed by Congress in 1938 as far as they can, and is it time for a new agency, empowered with fit-to-purpose authority, to take the baton for the next 25? With special guests: Samuel Levine, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Daniel Kaufman, Partner, BakerHostetler, and Maneesha Mithal, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati LLP Hosted by: Anant Raut

Look around you - almost everything in your home or office was once on an ocean shipping vessel. Yet this essential area of commerce continues to enjoy one of the oldest exemptions from US antitrust law. Does this loophole keep prices low for consumers? Or does it raise prices for shippers and make supply shocks worse? Hosts Anant Raut and David Golden are joined by Shipping Act expert Melissa Maxman and the American Antitrust Institute's Kathleen Bradish to debate whether it's time to deep-six the Shipping Act antitrust exemption. With special guests: Kathleen Bradish, Acting President, American Antitrust Institute and Melissa Maxman, Partner, Cohen & Gresser LLP Related Links: American Antitrust Institute report on "Competition Enforcement, Private Actions, and the Shipping Act" Hosted by: Anant Raut and David Golden

Season 3 of Trust and Trade kicks off with an in-depth look at the heated turn in the relationship between the Federal Trade Commission and Congress, which broke into public view during a July oversight hearing by the House Judiciary Committee. Host Anant Raut and guest host John Villafranco welcome Katie McInnis (Chief Democratic Counsel to the subcommittee) and Nina Frant (former counsel to Commissioner Wilson) to discuss their insights from the hearing - what was said, how Chair Khan responded, and what this might mean for the FTC going forward. With special guests: Katie McInnis, Chief Democratic Counsel, House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust and Nina Frant, Vice President for Consumer Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hosted by: Anant Raut, John Villafranco, and Greg Fortsch

It was a Supreme Court case about 1 word, worth $1.2 billion dollars. But after SCOTUS killed the Federal Trade Commission's ability to get scam victims their money back, the FTC got creative. On this episode of Trust and Trade, Anant and Rich talk to a panel of former FTC-ers, including former Commissioner Phillips, about the FTC's ability to make fraud victims whole under Section 13b of the FTC Act. We learn about the history of this law, as well as the rise, fall, and resurgence of the FTC's monetary restitution authority. With special guests: Hon. Noah J. Phillips, Co-Chair of the Antitrust Practice, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Maneesha Mithal, Partner, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati and Ioana Gorecki, Special Counsel, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP Hosted by: Anant Raut and Richard H. Cunningham

In this episode of Trust and Trade, Anant and Anna take us into the inner workings of joint defense groups, discussing the unique challenges of working together as a band of equals behind a common goal but sometimes with differing approaches and client interests. Guests David Cross and Dr. Laila Haider offer insights on decision-making, trust, and transparency when working in a joint defense group, and offer practice pointers on how to make them work more smoothly. With special guests: David Cross, Chair of the Antitrust Litigation Practice, Morrison & Foerster LLP and Dr. Laila Haider, Economist and Vice President, Charles River Associates Hosted by: Anant Raut and Anna Pletcher

To change antitrust policy, you have to win in court, and a key part of any civil trial is the expert witness. We invited a couple of veteran prosecutors to share their best tips and secrets. Whether you're preparing for your first trial or are a seasoned litigator seeking an edge in the courtroom, whether your next trial is bench or jury, there's something useful and surprising for everyone in this episode. With special guests: Steve Tugander, Acting Assistant Chief, US Department of Justice (New York office) and Bob Hubbard, Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Bureau, New York Attorney General's Office Hosted by: Chris Young and Kathleen McMahon

We debate the hits and misses from the first two years of antitrust enforcement under the Biden Administration, and make some predictions about what to expect in the next two years. With special guests: Eyitayo St. Matthew-Daniel, Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Lauren Willard, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP Hosted by: Anant Raut and Michael Murray

Have judges gone too far and become too reliant on economic experts in antitrust cases? Legendary plaintiffs' attorney Michael Hausfeld joins hosts Anant Raut and Travis Wheeler to talk about whether dueling professional economists either cancel each other out or decide the fate of antitrust cases, and the right way for judges and practitioners to think about their testimony. With special guest: Michael Hausfeld, Hausfeld LLP Hosted by: Anant Raut and Travis Wheeler

Would-be monopolists have traditionally faced fines and civil remedies; under the Biden Administration's more muscular enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act, they could face jail time as well. Law professor Travis Wheeler walks the former acting head of the DOJ Antitrust Division Richard Powers through some of the most famous monopolization cases in US legal history to help us understand where we could see criminal charges under the new regime. With special guests: Travis C. Wheeler, Nexsen | Pruet and Richard A. Powers, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP Hosted by: Anant Raut

Dual challenges to the Illumina/GRAIL merger on both sides of the Atlantic underscore the differences between US and European approaches to mergers. A group of experts featuring a veteran of DG Comp and an FTC alum walk us through the procedural and litigation intricacies, what happened on both sides of the pond, and key lessons for practitioners about proposed behavioral fixes to embattled mergers. With special guests: Paul Csiszar, Unit Director, DG Comp and Jennifer Milici, Partner, WilmerHale Hosted by: Anant Raut and Bill Batchelor

This past February, Amara reported on a panel discussion hosted by the ABA Antitrust Law Section on attorney-economist communications and how to enhance efficiency in the relationship between attorneys and economists. We provide a recap of that programming. With special guest: Amara Conteh, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati Hosted by: Gabriela Antonie, Cornerstone Research

Summary of a recent panel on ML and antitrust. With special guest: Masha Melkonyan Hosted by: Gabriela Antonie

This podcast will cover the basics of cryptocurrency, discuss recent regulatory developments in this area, provide an overview of what keeps in-house counsel dealing with cryptocurrency issues up at night and tips on how to navigate the challenging space. With special guest: Nguyen Vu, Associate General Counsel – Payments, Bolt Hosted by: Annie M. Ugurlayan, Assistant Director, BBB National Programs' National Advertising Division

Tips and tricks for lawyers who are new to presenting expert witnesses at trial and reflections on the importance of eliciting effective expert testimony in antitrust cases. With special guest: Eric Hochstadt, Partner, Weil, Gotshal and Manges LLP Hosted by: Katherine Kelly Fell, Associate, Milbank LLP, Vice President of Trial Practice Committee of ABA Antitrust Section

Dr. Caminade discusses the basic economics behind two-sided platforms and its implications for antitrust. With special guest: Juliette Caminade, Vice President, Analysis Group Hosted by: Gabriela Antonie, Manager, Cornerstone Research

On behalf of the ABA Antitrust Section’s Privacy Legislation Task Force, Kathleen Benway (Alston & Bird), JeanAnn Tabbaa (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher), and Joshua Wade (McGuireWoods) host a conversation about the possibility of privacy rulemaking at the FTC, and specifically Magnuson-Moss rulemaking. They cover the sources of authority for FTC rulemaking (starting at the two-minute mark), Magnuson-Moss rulemaking generally (at the eight-minute mark), the FTC's recent changes to the Magnuson-Moss rulemaking process (at the 22-minute mark), and the potential substance of a privacy rulemaking (at the 28-minute mark). Hosted by: JeanAnn Tabbaa and Joshua Wade

Andrea Rivers walks us through a publicly available tool developed by Prof Luke Froeb to teach non-economists about regression analysis. Hosted by: Gabriela Antonie, Cornerstone Research

Two seasonal antitrust trial lawyers, Barbara Hart and Debra Brookes, share their insights into how minority women thrive as antitrust trial lawyers in the private and public sectors. They address the unique issues that minority women face when practicing antitrust law, advise on how to succeed while handling these issues, and suggest how minority women promote their presence in the world of antitrust litigation. Hosted by: Yi-Hsin Wu, Judicial Law Clerk, New Jersey Superior Court

A former antitrust prosecutor will share insights on how to use trial exhibits effectively. Most antitrust trials involve hundreds or even thousands of exhibits—often admitted under the business records exception to the hearsay rule—and liberal use of summary exhibits. The speaker will share helpful tips for identifying high-impact exhibits, laying the foundation for their admissibility, and using them persuasively before a lay judge or jury. Hosted by: Pete Schwingler