ABA Antitrust Section's Presidential Transition Report to highlight meeting in Washington

Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, and attorneys Theodore Voorhees of Covington & Burling LLP and Mary Ellen Callahan of Jenner & Block LLP,  will give a briefing on  the upcoming Presidential Transition Report from the Antitrust Section during the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law 2016 Fall Forum on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The report will be presented to President-Elect Donald Trump’s administration in January.

Some of the most important assessments and recommendations of competition and consumer policy and practice have come from the section’s Transition Task Forces. Hear the experts heading this quadrennial project give the first preview of the issues they are considering for their upcoming report during their panel discussion on Thursday, Nov. 17, from 4:15-5 p.m.

Also, Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith B. Ramirez and Renata B. Hesse, acting assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, will be among the nation’s leading antitrust enforcement officials along with other current and former federal and state enforcement officials discussing competition policy, innovation and regulation during the daylong conference.

Hesse will get the day started at 9:15 a.m. with a presentation entitled, “Then and Now: The Relationship between State and Federal Antitrust Enforcement.”

Then at 1:45 p.m., Ramirez will sit down with Section of Antitrust Law Chair William C. MacLeod for a “One-on-One Conversation with the Chairwoman.”

Conference highlights include:

• “The Feds v. Competitors and Regulators: Investigating and Litigating Restrictions on Cutting Edge and Disruptive Technologies” — The impact of state and local regulatory measures upon competition is a growing policy concern. From licenses to certificates to mandates, these state actions have collided with federal competition policy causing enforcers to take a closer look at the rationale for sheltering mergers and conduct behind traditional antitrust exemptions. Those on the front lines will reflect on their experiences and their objectives. Moderator: Tara Koslov, deputy director, Office of Policy Planning, FTC, Washington, D.C.; Speakers: Sarah O. Allen, senior assistant attorney general and antitrust unit manager, Office of the Attorney General, Richmond, Va.; Richard M. Brunell, vice president and general counsel, American Antitrust Institute, Washington; and Gregory V.S. McCurdy, director of global competition law, Uber Technology Inc., San Francisco.

• “‘Front Office’ Policy Collision”  — The tension between antitrust interests and the exercise of a state’s police power raises complex policy choices, especially when public safety concerns are present. Top enforcers, including a former state attorney general and a former FTC chairman, will discuss the stakes and debate the realistic options.
• “Resolving the Conflict by Litigation” — When antitrust prosecutions challenge state administrative actions, whether in the context of a merger or a conduct case, the litigation can take unexpected paths to unintended consequences. Whose job is it to consider them, and how should they be resolved? Watch current and former federal and state enforcers argue the issues that advance and encumber the cases. Moderator: Sean Gates, Charis Lex PC, Pasadena, Calif. Speakers: Victor J. Domen, senior antitrust counsel, Office of the Attorney General, Nashville, Tenn.; Tara Reinhart, deputy chief trial counsel, Bureau of Competition, FTC, Washington; and Marguerite M. Sullivan, Latham & Watkins LLP, Washington.

After lunch, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Litigation Jonathan Sallet will speak on one of the hot issues of the day, “Division Perspectives on Vertical Issues.”

• “Public Interest v. Competition Policy in the Appellate Courts” — This panel of experts is uniquely equipped to work through the complexities associated with issues relating to conduct and mergers after North Carolina Dental Examiners and Phoebe Putney Health System. Veterans fresh from these trenches will discuss the procedural and substantive options the appellate courts may consider, and the precedents they may set.

• “Reconciling the Conflict between the Feds and the Regulators” — Uber, AirBnB, Amazon and other disruptive technologies have blessed consumers and producers with vast new markets amid corresponding public concerns about labor, property rights and market power. Leading government and industry officials will reflect on the new challenges these changes bring to both the antitrust and regulatory worlds. Moderator: Kevin O’Connor, Godfrey & Kahn SC, Madison, Wis. Speakers: Patricia A. Conners, deputy attorney general, Office of the Attorney General, Tallahassee, Fla.; John T. Delacourt, vice president, legal affairs and global operations, Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association, Washington; and Maureen K. Ohlhausen, commissioner, FTC, Washington.