LAW 553 - Current Topics in Antitrust

Prereq/Corequisite(s): LAW 411 LAW 411 - Antitrust

This class will examine current Antitrust controversies. The class will begin by examining recent debates regarding possible normative standards governing antitrust enforcement under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, Section 7 of the Clayton Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act, using the treatment of mergers as the paradigm case. The class will then examine modern antitrust treatment of horizontal and vertical mergers, including through application of the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines and 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines. Building on this foundation, the class will also examine proposals by the Biden Administration and FTC to adopt more aggressive enforcement policies vis a vis both types of transactions, including any recent amendments to enforcement guidelines. The class will then examine other possible innovations in enforcement policy, including the proper antitrust treatment of employee noncompete agreements, the role of labor market impacts when assessing various transactions and agreements, and proposals to regulate high tech platforms and two-sided markets more aggressively. The course will draw upon a wider range of materials than the basic antitrust course, including enforcement guidelines, petitions for rulemaking, cases, administrative decisions, briefs and proposed legislation. Completion of Antitrust (Law 411) is a prerequisite to enrolling in this course.