Antitrust Scholarship Symposium

• This symposium is a live in-person public event in Washington, DC with no cost.
• It is open to the public but requires advance registration.
• Breakfast and lunch will be served.
• You can drop by in and out throughout the day to check out the sessions that interest you.

Hosted by the USC Marshall Initiative on Digital Competition, will be held on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 in Washington, D.C at USC Capital Campus.

Bringing together leading scholars to discuss their articles—recently published or forthcoming in the —addressing current issues in antitrust law, merger enforcement, labor, and competition.

Attendees are welcome to join throughout the day – attend for the entire day or drop in for the panels that interest you most.

The program will feature scholarly presentations and discussions on labor and antitrust, merger review, countervailing power, consumer protection, the Robinson-Patman Act, antitrust litigation, and merger enforcement in the U.S. and EU.

The conference is designed for academics, policymakers, legal professionals, and others interested in current antitrust research and its implications for law, regulation, and enforcement.

• 8:30 - 9:00 Registration & Breakfast
• 9:00 - 9:10 Welcome Remarks, Daniel Sokol, USC Gould School of Law and Marshall School of Business
• 9:10 - 9:25 The Antitrust Law Journal In Shaping Scholarship And Judicial Opinions, J,Robert Robertson, Antitrust Law Journal (Editorial Board Chair) and Nick Grimmer, Antitrust Law Journal (Managing Editor)
• 9:25 - 9:45 Keynote, Ted Rosenbaum, FTC
• 9:45 - 10:15 Should Unions Play a Role in Merger Review? Eric Posner, University of Chicago Law School
• 10:15 - 10:45 Countervailing Exploitative Pricing with Joint Negotiation Entities, Steven Salop, Georgetown University Law Center
• 10:45 - 11:15 Competition and Countervailing Power, Laura Alexander, The Ohio State Moritz College of Law
• 11:15 - 11:45 An Institution-Focused Labor Exemption to Antitrust Law, Hiba Hafiz, Boston College Law School
• 11:45 - 1:10 Lunch Break
• 1:10 - 1:30 Keynote, Devesh R: Raval, FTC
• 1:30 - 2:00 Conduct That Increases Market Power Without Lessening Competition: A Challenge to Antitrust Law, Jonathan Baker, American University Washington College of Law
• 2:00 - 2:30 From Protecting Competitors to Protecting Competition: The Past, Present, and Future of the Robinson-Patman Act, Melissa Holyoak, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah
• 2:30 - 3:00 Economic Experts In Antitrust Litigation: Empirical Evidence from Courts, 1890-2018, Daniel Sokol, USC Gould School of Law, Kenneth Elzinga, University of Virginia, Federico Ciliberto, University of Virginia
• 3:00 - 3:30 Confronting Consummated Mergers: An Inquiry into Policy and Practice, John Kwoka, Northeastern University
• 3:30 - 4:00 Afternoon Coffee
• 4:00 - 4:30 Dynamism and Politics In EU Merger Control: The Perils and Promise of a Killer Acquisitions Solution Through a Law & Economics Lens, Anna Tzanaki, University Of Leeds
• 4:30 - 4:40 Closing Remarks, Lee Greenfield, Antitrust Law Journal (Editorial Board Chair)

The continued and rapid growth of digital platforms has generated questions about the consequences for society, business, and the global economy.

The USC Marshall Initiative on Digital Competition aims to discover insights on these questions through a collaboration of industry practitioners and academics from business disciplines as well as non-business disciplines (e.g. computer science, economics, law, communications); and disseminate these insights to a broad set of audiences that includes academics, business leaders, and the public.

Learn more at bit.ly/USC_IDC

This program is open to all eligible individuals. USC Marshall Initiative on Digital Competition operates all of its programs and activities consistent with . Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.

Individuals with disabilities who need accommodations to attend this event may contact Emily Chang at [email protected]. We request that individuals requiring accommodations or auxiliary aids such as sign language interpreters and alternative format materials notify us at least 7 days prior to the event. Every reasonable effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodations in an effective and timely manner.

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Host or Publisher USC Marshall Initiative on Digital Competition