RESOURCES
Client Talk Outlines
Antitrust and Distribution, a succinct PowerPoint treatment of the issues
Cartels and Strategic Alliances, a bullet point presentation of the similarities and differences (the subject is also addressed on the Joint Ventures page of this site)
Talking with Competitors, a fairly meaty PowerPoint presentation on the do's and don'ts
Trade Associations, a short bullet point summary of antitrust considerations
Antitrust Dialogs
Wrapping one's mind around antitrust law is not the easiest thing in the world to do. These materials give a highly colloquial explanation, in the form of a Socratic dialog, of some of the key concepts and issues in the law of competition. They show how I explain the law to myself, and try to explain it to others.
Some additional materials will be added in due course. At present, this site has Antitrust Dialogs on the following:
Meaning of “competition”; the two kinds of “injury to competition”; the three branches of antitrust law; problematic role of case law; the goals of antitrust law.
The Structure of U.S. Antitrust
Sherman Act; Clayton Act; Robinson-Patman Act; Federal Trade Commission Act; civil and criminal violations; treble damages and injunctions; relation between U.S. federal antitrust law and other legal regimes.
“Concerted action”; the per se doctrine; distinguishing cartels from lawful oligopoly; hard and loose cartels; legal risks from cartel behavior; what to tell your clients about interacting with their competitors.
Restraints of Trade, the Rule of Reason, and Relations with Customers
Identifying “concerted action in restraint of trade”; factors involved in a rule of reason analysis; controversies over the proper application of the rule of reason.
Elements of the offenses of “monopolization” and “attempt to monopolize” under Sherman Act § 2; lawfully acquired vs. unlawfully acquired monopoly power; lawfully maintained vs. unlawfully maintained monopoly power; “predatory” strategies; unlawfully exclusionary strategies; determining when your company has a real monopoly issue; antitrust strategies to deal with market dominance; challenges to anticompetitive practices by others.