Podcast appearances and mentions of William E Kovacic

This episode is from the Keynote Speech of the Gray Center’s October 14 conference, “The Administration of Antitrust: The FTC and the Rule of Law.” It was given by William E. Kovacic, Director, Competition Law Center; Global Competition Professor of Law and Policy; Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School; former Chairman... Source

This episode is from the Keynote Speech of the Gray Center's October 14 conference, “The Administration of Antitrust: The FTC and the Rule of Law.” It was given by William E. Kovacic, Director, Competition Law Center; Global Competition Professor of Law and Policy; Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School; former Chairman... Source

This special episode is the audio of a program that ran during the ABA Antitrust Section’s popular Virtual Spring Meeting April 20-May 1, 2020 – enjoy! Investigations have been launched into whether Big Tech firms are violating antitrust laws, and Congress has initiated a bipartisan investigation into competition in digital markets. The panel will examine the range of outcomes that could result from the Big Tech investigations, drawing comparisons to past investigations of companies that were thought to be Too Big to Break Up. SESSION CHAIR / MODERATOR Anant RAUT / Director of Competition Policy, Facebook, Washington, DC SPEAKERS Nicholas BANASEVIC / Head of Unit, DG Competition, European Commission, Brussels William E. KOVACIC / George Washington University, Washington, DC Maureen K. OHLHAUSEN / Baker Botts LLP, Washington, DC

In this episode, Hugh sits down with former Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Prof. William E. Kovacic. Bill is the Global Competition Professor of Law and Policy and Director of the Competition Law Center at The George Washington University Law School. Currently he travels back and forth each week to Kings College London, where he is its Dickson Poon School of Law visiting professor of Global Competition Law. Hugh and Bill discuss a wide variety of topics starting with his idyllic childhood in upstate New York and his early cultural and familial influences. Not surprising that Bill was drawn to the law, and competition law in particular, with a family of lawyers and a very unusual year off from law school working in the U.S. Senate on its subcommittee on antitrust. You’ll learn what has kept him interested in it all these years. Bill had three separate periods working in the FTC, including one where he served as its Chair. These have given him valuable insights into the workings of the FTC. For instance, what role does the FTC administrative structure, including the fact that there are five commissioners, play? What is the current state of the FTC and its leadership? Is the pay-for-delay FTC approach of filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court better than the traditional administrative law model of ALJ opinion, full Commission opinion, appeal to federal court of appeals of party’s choice? Hugh asks Bill whether the long-standing existence in the U.S. of both the DOJ’s Antitrust Division and the FTC makes sense today. Bill’s answer might surprise you. Next, Bill and Hugh look to the future and around the globe to discuss current effects on competition law including private actions, the gig economy, monopolistic tech giants, developing countries, the European Commission and China. Finally, Bill states that competition law should shift away from its consumer-based framework and be reshaped to give more emphasis on real workers affected by price-cutting market competition. How likely is this to happen? They discuss the role that Congress and the judges play in shaping competition law and what this means for the future, including his suggested change in the law.

Some antitrust lawyers often say the federal government’s decisions about which mergers to challenge, which monopolists to rein in, and which price-fixers to send to jail are relatively consistent regardless of who occupies the White House. But has federal antitrust enforcement really been entirely apolitical, based on economics, and divorced from other issues such as trade, job creation, and national security? Should it be? A panel of distinguished practitioners and former top government officials from both parties discussed these issues in our Teleforum, which was especially timely given calls by Senate Democrats for increased antitrust enforcement as part of “A Better Deal” and the increasing use of competition law by foreign governments against U.S. companies. -- Featuring: Jon Leibowitz, Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, and Former Chair, Federal Trade Commission; William E. Kovacic, Global Competition Professor of Law and Policy & Director, Competition Law Center, The George Washington University Law School, and Former Chair, Federal Trade Commission; Seth Bloom, President & Founder, Bloom Strategic Counsel PLLC, and Former General Counsel, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Antitrust Subcommittee; and Tad Lipsky, Former Senior Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Justice Department Antitrust Division Official, and Retired Partner, Latham & Watkins. Moderator: Richard M. Steuer, Senior Counsel, Mayer Brown LLP, and Former Chair, American Bar Association Antitrust Section.