Federal Trade Commission/Department of Justice Hearings on Single-Firm Conduct to Conclude on May 8

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division today announced that the final session in a series of joint public hearings designed to examine the implications of single-firm conduct under the antitrust laws will take place on May 8, 2007, in Washington, DC.

These hearings have examined whether and when specific types of single-firm conduct may violate Section 2 of the Sherman Act (which prohibits monopolization and attempted monopolization) by harming competition and consumer welfare and when they are procompetitive and lawful. This final session will review a wide range of enforcement and policy issues regarding single-firm conduct, including analysis of monopoly power, various proposed standards for exclusionary conduct, and challenges in applying those standards to specific practices.

Since June 2006, there have been 18 days of hearings, 28 different panels, and 130 panelists – including lawyers, economists, academics, business historians, and members of the business community – participating in these discussions and presenting their perspectives on Section 2 enforcement.

The final session on May 8 will be conducted in a roundtable format and moderated by FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras and Assistant Attorney General Thomas O. Barnett. The session will be held at the FTC Headquarters Building, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, Room 432.

Further information is provided below:

Susan A. Creighton is a Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC and former Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition.

Jeffrey A. Eisenach is the Chairman of Criterion Economics, L.L.C. and an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University School of Law.

A. Douglas Melamed is a Partner and Co-chair of WilmerHale’s Antitrust and Competition Department and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.

Timothy J. Muris is a George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law, Of Counsel at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, and former Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.

Robert Pitofsky is the Joseph and Madeline Sheehy professor in Antitrust and Trade Regulation Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Counsel at Arnold & Porter LLP, and former Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.

James F. Rill is a Partner at Howrey LLP and former Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.

Charles F. (Rick) Rule is a Partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP and former Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.

J. Gregory Sidak is a Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center and Founder of Criterion Economics, L.L.C.

The public and press are invited to attend all of the hearings. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested parties may submit written comments to the FTC and the Antitrust Division. The workshop also will be webcast starting at 9 am. To access the webcast on the FTC’s Web site, click on the following link: http://htc-01.media.globix.net/COMP008760MOD1/ftc_web/FTCindex.html and select the direct link to the workshop feed.

Further information about these hearings will be posted on the FTC’s Web site, http://www.ftc.gov/os/sectiontwohearings/index.htm and the Antitrust Division’s Web site,
http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/hearings/single_firm/sfchearing.htm. Individuals seeking more information on the hearings should contact Patricia Schultheiss, FTC, at section2hearings@ftc.gov, or Gail Kursh, Deputy Chief, Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, at singlefirmconduct@usdoj.gov.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to thousands of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.