Forum to Examine the Obama Enforcement Agenda and New Directions for Antitrust Policy Nationwide and Abroad

CHICAGO, Oct. 20, 2009 – What does the Obama administration’s agenda for change in antitrust enforcement mean for high-tech, financial services and other industries? How will the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department examine mergers, and will they challenge conduct that has not been challenged for the last eight years? What role are the states playing, and how will initiatives in Canada, Europe and China affect U.S.-based companies?

Senior officials and policymakers from the United States and abroad will join leading practitioners and academics to address these questions and more at the Fall Forum of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law, Nov 12-13, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The focus will be to explore recent developments in antitrust law and policy and examine the Obama administration’s antitrust policies and their implications.

Highlighting the conference are opening remarks by the Antitrust Division’s head economist, Carl Shapiro, and a keynote address at the Nov. 12 luncheon by Commissioner William E. Kovacic from the Federal Trade Commission, who will speak on the controversial application of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act to competition matters.

Other speakers include deputy assistant attorneys general from the Department of Justice Molly S. Boast, William F. Cavanaugh Jr. and Philip J. Weiser and FTC bureau heads Joseph Farrell, Richard A. Feinstein and David C. Vladeck. They will be joined by Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia; Commissioner Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. Sentencing Commission; James R. Bird of the office of general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission; Patricia A. Robinson, assistant general counsel for the Federal Reserve; Sean Hagan, general counsel and director, International Monetary Fund; and David Hunger, deputy director, Division of Tariffs and Market Development at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as well as other key staff from the antitrust agencies and the House and Senate and representatives of the state attorneys general.

International speakers include Melanie L. Aitken, commissioner of competition, Canada, and Nadia Calviño, deputy director general for antitrust and mergers for the European Commission.

Programs on Nov.12 include:

• Opening Remarks by Carl Shapiro, deputy assistant attorney general for economic analysis
• The Obama Enforcement Agenda: Presentations from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission
• Luncheon address by FTC Commissioner William E. Kovacic
• “Shaping Antitrust Policies: The Role of the Courts”
• “The Legislative Agenda.”

Programs on Nov.13 include:

• “Adapting to a New Enforcement Environment: What Changes in Enforcement Priorities Should We Expect From State Attorneys General?”
• “Major Developments Abroad: Recent Developments in EC Enforcement, Early Returns on Chinese Enforcement and Developments in China”
• “Will Non-Antitrust Considerations Impact Competition Law Enforcement; and, “Analysis in the Current Global Recessionary Environment? Views from Around the World”
• “The Role of Sector Specific Regulators in Merger Review.”
  Section Chair Ilene Knable Gotts and conference chair Deborah A. Garza will preside over this year’s sessions.

For a complete and updated list of speakers and the full schedule for the fall forum visit the section’s Web site at http://www.abanet.org/antitrust/fallforum2009.html.

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

With nearly 400,000 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.

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Editor’s Note: Reporters are invited to cover any or all program sessions for free.  Course materials are available to reporters upon request.  To obtain press credentials or to make arrangements for electronic coverage of any sessions, or for more information, call Deborah Weixl at 312/988-6126, or weixld@staff.abanet.org.  On site registration for reporters will open at 8:15 a.m. on Nov. 12 at the National Press Club.