Our Curious Amalgam

American Bar Association

Our Curious Amalgam explores topics in antitrust, competition, consumer protection, data protection, and privacy law around the world with leading experts in those areas. It is an amalgam because it is a group of diverse topics all in one place. It is curious because it gets the experts and asks them in-depth questions.

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391 episodes
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Episodes391

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Oct 7, 2019 · 25 min
#10 Caught in the Crosshairs? Representing Individuals in Criminal Cartel Matters
In criminal cartel actions, individual executives face prosecution and potential jail time. Defending whose life and liberty are at stake in these matters creates unique challenges. Former prosecutor Doug Tween speaks with John Roberti and Wendy Huang Waszmer about the strategy and psychology necessary to defend individual defendants when everything in their lives is in jeopardy. Hosted by: John Roberti, Partner, Allen & Overy and Wendy Huang Waszmer, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Sep 30, 2019 · 28 min
#9 What Should Be Done? The Debate on How EU Competition Law Should Respond to China
A discussion of the increasing impact of Chinese companies on the EU and worldwide and how if at all EU competition law should adapt to take this into account. Can and should EU competition law react to the rise of China? Our guest, Georgios Petropoulos, is an economist who has written extensively on the role of competition law in ensuring fair competition. In this episode, Georgios speaks with John Roberti and Matthew Hall about whether EU competition law and policies should be modified to allow for European champions to compete more robustly, and what other changes might be made. Listen to this episode to learn more about the options—and potential risks—to creating competition law exceptions to meet Chinese competition and the other EU law mechanisms that can be used instead. Related Links: Georgios Petropoulos blog 15 July 2019 "How should the relationship between competition policy and industrial policy evolve in the European Union?" European Commission press release 6 February 2019 "Mergers: Commission prohibits Siemens' proposed acquisition of Alstom" Statement by Commissioner Vestager on the proposed acquisition of Alstom by Siemens and the proposed acquisition of Aurubis Rolled Products and Schwermetall by Wieland 6 February 2019 Commission Vestager speech 1 April 2019 "Finding the right European industrial strategy" A Franco-German Manifesto for a European industrial policy fit for the 21st Century EU Industrial Policy After Siemens-Alstom 18 March 2019 Hosted by: John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP and Matthew Hall, McGuireWoods London LLP
Sep 23, 2019 · 20 min
#8 What is the Secret Sauce? Behind Developing a Complaint.
Where do plaintiffs get the information they put into their pleadings? Melinda Coolidge, a leading lawyer who represents plaintiffs, will explain how she researches, develops and diligences antitrust complaints. Private enforcement plays an important role in antitrust law, and private enforcement starts with the complaint. Our guest is leading plaintiffs' lawyer Melinda Coolidge, who has developed a number of complaints. In this episode, Melinda talks with John Roberti and Sergei Zaslavsky about how she researches, develops and diligences antitrust complaints. Listen to this episode to learn where plaintiffs get the information they put into their pleadings (hint: if a press release announces you plan to fix prices, Melinda will probably find it). Related Links: Chinese Vitamin C Antitrust Litigation Research on Effects of Twombly and Iqbal Hosted by: John Roberti, Partner, Allen & Overy and Sergei Zaslavsky, Counsel, O'Melveny & Myers
Sep 16, 2019 · 25 min
#7 Too Much Influence? Consumer Protection for Online Reviews and Influencers.
How can you tell if a review is truly genuine? Learn about who is regulating online reviews and influencers, and how these regulations affect what you see online. Lauren Aronson, an expert in the regulation of online reviews and influencers, speaks with John Roberti and Elyse Dorsey about these issues. We all read – and often rely on – online reviews. But how can you tell if a review is truly genuine? Our guest, Lauren Aronson, is an expert in the regulation of online reviews and influencers. Lauren speaks with John Roberti and Elyse Dorsey about who is regulating online reviews and influencers, and how these regulations affect what you see online. Listen to this episode and you may learn more about what a trustworthy review looks like. Some interesting links: The FTC Endorsement Guides FTC's FAQs on the Endorsement Guides Hosted by: John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP and Elyse Dorsey, Federal Trade Commission
Sep 9, 2019 · 30 min
#6 A Unique Case? The EU Takes on Amazon.
The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into Amazon in order to assess whether its use of data from independent retailers who sell on its marketplace is in breach of EU competition rules. This raises interesting issues about the intersection of competition law and data collection issues. What precisely are the potential concerns and what are the wider implications? Hosted by: John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP and Matthew Hall, McGuireWoods London LLP
Sep 2, 2019 · 26 min
#5 Where in the World? Understanding the Web of Global Antitrust.
In the past 30 years, antitrust regimes have been widely adopted around the world. Our guest, Randy Tritell, is the Director of the Office of International Affairs at the Federal Trade Commission. In this episode, Randy talks with John Roberti and Ricardo Woolery about the growth of antitrust internationally. Randy will explain how the agencies around the world work together and share information during investigations and develop policies through multilateral organizations such as the ICN and OECD. Listen to this episode for an overview of how agencies cooperate on enforcement and how the FTC promotes policy convergence. Hosted by: John Roberti, Allen & Overy LLP and Ricardo Woolery, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Some interesting links: FTC Office of International Affairs International Competition Network OECD Competition Committee
Aug 26, 2019 · 25 min
#4 Can We Have Mergers Without Tears? Understanding the Basics of Merger Review.
Merger control is one of the most high-profile areas of antitrust law, but jargon can all too easily obscure the key issues in this domain. Our guest, ABA Antitrust Section Merger Committee Co-Chair Mike Keeley, is an expert in getting mergers cleared by the antitrust agencies. In this episode, Mike talks with John Roberti and Sergei Zaslavsky about the process and substance of shepherding a merger from inception to approval. Listen to this episode for an (almost) jargon-free demystification of mergers, and to learn about the "freak-out" test for market definition. Hosted by: John Roberti and Sergei Zaslavsky
Aug 19, 2019 · 26 min
#3 Privacy for the General Public? The Expansion of Privacy Regulation in California & Beyond
Privacy law is developing quickly in the United States and is becoming all the more important with the development of California's Privacy Law. Our guest, Alysa Hutnik, is the Consumer Protection Officer for the Antitrust Section and an expert on privacy law. In this episode, Alysa speaks with John Roberti and Anora Wang about privacy law generally and California's new privacy law, its substance and relationship to other laws. Listen to this episode to learn more about how California and other states are shaping an expansive privacy regulatory regime in the United States. Hosted by: John Roberti and Anora Wang
Aug 13, 2019 · 30 min
#2 Is Leniency Dead? Long Live Leniency.
Companies and individuals in criminal cartels can avoid prosecution if they self-report to the leniency program at the U.S. Department of Justice. While this program has been hugely successful in cracking cartels for decades, a number of reports suggest that leniency applications and large-scale investigations are down overall. Our guests, Lisa Phelan and Craig Lee, are former prosecutors who have been at the center of a number of the key cases driven by leniency. In this episode, Lisa and Craig talks with John Roberti and Wendy Waszmer about whether they believe that leniency applications may be down and, if so, what that means for cartel enforcement. Listen to this episode to learn more about these global criminal investigations, how companies make decisions about whether or not to self-report criminal conduct, and the implications for a drop off in leniency applications.
Aug 12, 2019 · 23 min
#1 Rock Can't Get No Satisfaction? Antitrust and Rock 'n' Roll.
Rock music has been the subject of a number of antitrust investigations over the years and on this episode, we talk about why that is. Our guest, Jonathan Jacobson is not only an enormous fan of rock music, has been in the middle of a number of them. Jon speaks with John Roberti and Elyse Dorsey about these investigations and litigations, starting with Pearl Jam and going through the present day. Listen to this episode to learn more about how antitrust theories apply to rock'n'roll.
Aug 6, 2019 · 4 min
What is Our Curious Amalgam?
Our Curious Amalgam explores topics in antitrust, consumer protection, and privacy law around the world, discussed by leading experts in the areas. It is an amalgam because it is a group of diverse topics all in one place; it is curious because it gets the experts and asks them the in-depth questions.