#272 What’s Happening in the EU? A Conversation With DG COMP Director-General Olivier Guersent at the 2024 Spring Meeting
Release Date: 05/06/2024
#300 What’s on the Radar? Legal and Regulatory Analysis of Airline Mergers in the U.S.
Our Curious Amalgam
The U.S. passenger airlines have seen waves of active mergers and acquisitions including in 2009 through 2013 and again recently since 2023. But who is involved in the legal and regulatory reviews of an airline merger? Courtney Dyer of O'Melveny and David Heffernan of Cozen O'Connor, both with extensive experiences guiding airlines through regulatory processes, speak to Kelsey Paine and Anora Wang about their deal experiences and insights. Listen to learn about origin-destination pair, route overlap, recent matters including the Alaska Airlines' acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines completed in...
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#299 Who Is Lesley Fair? A Conversation With a Consumer Protection Law Legend
Our Curious Amalgam
On the occasion of Lesley Fair's retirement after 37 years in the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, she returns to Our Curious Amalgam to talk with co-hosts Alicia Downey and Jaclyn Phillips about some of the highlights of her illustrious career. Lesley has been described as “the voice of the FTC,” with a unique ability to translate the agency’s work into plain English. Listen to this episode to learn about Lesley's contributions to the evolution of U.S. consumer protection law, as well as her work with the Antitrust Law Section's Janet Steiger Fellowship...
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#298 What Has Happened to Merger Control in India? The Impact of the September 2024 Changes
Our Curious Amalgam
Significant changes to the Indian merger control regime came into effect in September 2024. But what has happened? Nisha Kaur Uberoi, partner at JSA law firm in Mumbai, joins Puja Patel and Matthew Hall to discuss the changes and their likely practical impact on transactions affecting India. Listen to this episode to learn more about the changes including the new deal value threshold, the codification of the material influence test for control, new timelines and procedure and the impact of new definitions on the use of the Green Channel route for approval. With special guest: Nisha Kaur...
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#297 HSR You Kidding Me? Unpacking the New Requirements for Merging Parties in the U.S.
Our Curious Amalgam
Over a year after the FTC and DOJ first announced changes to the premerger notification form and associated rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, the final rules were released in October 2024. What do these new HSR rules mean in practice for parties to transactions that must make an HSR filing? Daniel Rosenthal, Special Counsel at Milbank, joins hosts Jaclyn Phillips and Matt Tabas to discuss these changes in detail. Listen to this episode to learn more about what has changed, what hasn't, and how you can start to prepare. With special guest: Daniel J. Rosenthal, Special Counsel, Milbank LLP...
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#296 How Should Competition Law Be Dealing With AI and Climate Change?
Our Curious Amalgam
Can competition law save humanity? Over the past two years, Fiona Schaeffer has spurred on the lawyers, regulators, and economists of the ABA Antitrust Law Section to examine the role that antitrust law has, or potentially will have, in dealing with the existential challenges posed by climate change and the rise of artificial intelligence. In this episode, co-hosts Alicia Downey and Anora Wang talk with Fiona about why she chose to focus attention on these two issues during her recent term as Section Chair, and the insights that listeners should take away from the Section's work to date. With...
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#295 More or (Even) Less Certainty in EU Merger Control? The European Court of Justice Judgment in Illumina/GRAIL
Our Curious Amalgam
The European Commission's attempt to claim jurisdiction under the EU merger rules over Illumina's acquisition of GRAIL ultimately resulted in a stinging court defeat for the regulator. But why did it lose and what will happen now to merger reviews of "below threshold" transactions in the EU? Nicole Kar, partner at Paul, Weiss in London, joins Matthew Hall and James Hunsberger to discuss the Commission's 2021 re-interpretation of its powers under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation, the European Court of Justice judgment striking that down and the alternative avenues for the Commission or EU...
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#294 Acquisitions or Not? Big Tech's Big Problems Investing in Artificial Intelligence
Our Curious Amalgam
It's no secret that competition agencies in the U.S. and elsewhere have been scrutinizing Big Tech's efforts to acquire emerging players in the AI space. In this episode, Luis Blanquez of Bona Law, P.C., talks to co-hosts Alicia Downey and Anant Raut about how the enforcers' concerns are now extending to investments, licensing deals, and other types of transactions that fall outside merger clearance review. Will recently announced investigations into such transactions protect future rivals from Big Tech’s dominance or chill investments in AI technology innovation? Listen to this episode to...
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#293 Is the EU Position Now Clear? The European Commission’s Draft Guidelines on Exclusionary Abuses of Dominance
Our Curious Amalgam
The European Commission's draft guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance will, once adopted, be a key document when applying EU competition law. But what is in the draft? Rona Bar-Isaac, head of competition at Addleshaw Goddard in London, joins Matthew Hall and Derek Jackson to discuss the draft guidelines and a controversial European Court of Justice judgment which was released soon after the publication of the guidelines. Listen to this episode to learn more about the components of the draft, including the Commission's two-stage approach for analysing potential exclusionary abuses of...
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#292 Thinking About Going Small? Starting Up a Solo or Small Firm Antitrust Practice
Our Curious Amalgam
Can a Big Law antitrust practitioner have a successful career as a solo or small firm lawyer? In this episode, antitrust trial lawyer Sean Gates and co-hosts Alicia Downey and Matt Reynolds talk about their experiences leaving large firms to strike out on their own in the middle of their careers. Listen to this episode to learn what motivated them to "go small," and why antitrust law offers unique challenges, opportunities, and rewards to those looking for an alternative to Big Law practice. With special guest: Sean Gates, Partner, Illovsky Gates & Calia LLP Hosted by: Alicia Downey,...
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#291 How Was Your Life In Antitrust? A Conversation With Jon Jacobson
Our Curious Amalgam
What were the cases and controversies that defined a decades-long career as an antitrust lawyer and scholar? Hosts Alicia Downey and Subrata Bhattacharjee welcome former Antitrust Law Section Chair Jon Jacobson back to the podcast to talk about his newly-published memoir of the highs and lows of litigating some of the biggest antitrust cases in U.S. legal history. Listen to this episode to learn how trial lawyers like Jon have helped to shape U.S. competition law and public policy. With special guest: Jonathan Jacobson, Partner (retired), Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Related Links: ...
info_outlineThe 2024 Spring Meeting of the ABA Antitrust Law Section offered the Our Curious Amalgam team a chance to speak with competition law enforcers from around the world. In this episode, host Matthew Hall asks Olivier Guersent, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission (DG COMP), about what’s been happening in the European Union since we interviewed him at the 2023 Spring Meeting. Listen and learn about DG COMP’s current and recent work and what competition law policy and enforcement trends the Director-General sees on the horizon.
With special guest:
Olivier Guersent, Director-General, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Related Links:
European Commission DG COMP website
2023 Spring Meeting interview with Olivier Guersent
2022 Spring Meeting interview with Olivier Guersent
Hosted by:
Matthew Hall, McGuireWoods London LLP