what kind of degree should an antitrust lawyer have

What does it take to become an antitrust lawyer?

A keen intellect and a strong sense of curiosity will ensure that a candidate continues to learn and enjoy practicing for many years. Good judgment is essential to be able to sort through the many gray areas that arise in antitrust and provide useful advice to clients. The candidate should also be comfortable with economics.

Can antitrust attorneys be in-house?

And some antitrust attorneys land in-house positions, though only certain industries need in-house antitrust specialists, like pharmaceutical and tech companies. If variety is the spice of life, how spicy is this practice area?

Do I need an antitrust lawyer for a merger?

If the antitrust agency actually challenges the transaction, then your antitrust attorney gets to wear his or her litigation or administrative agency hat—depending upon which agency challenges the merger. The FTC or DOJ might even call you about a merger in your industry that doesn’t involve you. If that happens, an antitrust lawyer can help you.

What is antitrust litigation like?

Antitrust litigation itself is great fun. The cases are usually significant, document heavy, with difficult legal questions and an emphasis on economic testimony. Some of them even involve class actions or multi-district litigation.

What type of law is antitrust law?

What Are Antitrust Laws? Antitrust laws also referred to as competition laws, are statutes developed by the U.S. government to protect consumers from predatory business practices. They ensure that fair competition exists in an open-market economy.

Is Antitrust Law civil or criminal?

Although most enforcement actions are civil, the Sherman Act is also a criminal law, and individuals and businesses that violate it may be prosecuted by the Department of Justice. Criminal prosecutions are typically limited to intentional and clear violations such as when competitors fix prices or rig bids.

What does antitrust lawyer do?

Antitrust attorneys help companies navigate competition issues created by organic growth or acquisition under national and international laws and regulations. Antitrust attorneys straddle the line between litigation and corporate attorneys.

Is Antitrust Law difficult?

U.S. antitrust law, however, is not that complicated. It is, for good reasons, based upon a handful of rather simple rules whose application does not always require deep understanding of the implications of market power and often calls for a separate assessment of certain kinds of market power.

What are the 3 main antitrust statutes?

The three major Federal antitrust laws are:The Sherman Antitrust Act.The Clayton Act.The Federal Trade Commission Act.

What are the 3 antitrust laws?

Antitrust refers to the regulation of the concentration of economic power, particularly with regard to trusts and monopolies. Antitrust laws exist as both federal statutes and state statutes. The three key federal statutes in Antitrust Law are the Sherman Act Section 1, the Sherman Act Section 2, and the Clayton Act.

Is Antitrust Law growing?

The agency's antitrust bureau is more than doubling in size, from 40 to 100 officials, and it plans to expand to 150.

Which type of attorney makes the most money?

Some of the highest-paid lawyers are:Medical Lawyers – Average $138,431. Medical lawyers make one of the highest median wages in the legal field. ... Intellectual Property Attorneys – Average $128,913. ... Trial Attorneys – Average $97,158. ... Tax Attorneys – Average $101,204. ... Corporate Lawyers – $116,361.

What is antitrust law practice?

Antitrust law – sometimes referred to as "competition law" – focuses on the statutes and regulations that promote fair and open competition within different industries and geographic markets.

What is an example of an antitrust law?

An example of behavior that antitrust laws prohibit is lowering the price in a certain geographic area in order to push out the competition. For example, a large company sells widgets for $1.00 each throughout the country. Another company goes into business and sells widgets just in California or $. 90 each.

Is antitrust too complicated for generalist judges?

Our analysis supports the hypothesis that some antitrust cases are too complicated for generalist judges. Antitrust analysis is becoming increasingly complex. Modern antitrust litigation and agency practice typically involve judicial evaluation of economic and econ- ometric analysis.

What do competition lawyers do?

A competition lawyer usually does antitrust and merger control, and advising clients on day-to-day compliance – often at the same time. Matters tend to involve large, well-known companies that are more likely to influence competition on markets and include large M&A transactions and global cartel investigations.

What is antitrust law?

Antitrust law is what prevents unfair business acts such as: Price -fixing: When a rival business colludes with one another to keep prices at a certain level, it is known as price-fixing. This practice enables the companies concerned to achieve higher profit margins to the detriment of the consumer.

Why is antitrust important?

Antitrust ensures that the market will remain a fair place to conduct business where every business has a chance, and every consumer has choices. Because antitrust law deals with business and economic knowledge, knowing specific market details could benefit antitrust lawyers when building a case.

What is the Clayton Antitrust Act?

The Clayton Antitrust Act is an expansion into an area the Sherman Act does not cover. This act explicitly prevents mergers and acquisitions that lessen competition that could lead to a monopoly. It also allows private parties to sue for damages and requires businesses to let the government know of mergers.

How much is the Sherman Act fine?

Fines for violating this act can span from $1 million to $100 million. The upper end of this range is usually reserved for corporations.

Is antitrust law a form of law?

Antitrust law can be an exciting form of law to practice . There are so many opportunities here and so many varied cases. If you're prosecuting offenders , finding sufficient evidence can be tricky. The large companies will usually try to bury you in paperwork to cloud the issue. So, do be prepared for doing a lot of research and digging.

Do attorneys have small teams?

Most firms of attorneys have very small teams working in this area. Where you are going to need help is in wading through all the paperwork. This is a job that most firms will set to their research teams or interns. It's not glamorous or particularly difficult research, but it is an essential part of the process.

Can an antitrust lawyer help with mergers?

You could also offer counsel to different parties on what to do and what ways to proceed without violating antitrust laws. Antitrust lawyers could also aid with mergers and acquisitions. In these cases, they either advise clients or even go as far as filing the documents with the proper antitrust authorities.

What Does an Antitrust Lawyer Do?

An antitrust lawyer is employed by individuals, businesses, and the government to make sure that companies follow antitrust laws. Some activities include:

How Can an Antitrust Lawyer Help Me?

Do you own a growing business? You may want to prevent future legal issues by hiring an antitrust lawyer advise your business transactions. A lawyer can give antitrust counseling, such as in a distribution agreement, a joint venture or merger. An antitrust lawyer can also represent you if your business is accused of violating antitrust laws.

How Much Does an Antitrust Lawyer Cost?

Typically, antitrust attorneys charge by the hour. Some may charge on a contingency basis, which means that you’re billed a percentage only if you win your case. If you don’t win, your lawyer won’t receive any payment. Since a lawyer runs the risk of not being paid, it’s likely you will only be charged a contingency if you have a very strong case.

What Should I Expect When Working with an Antitrust Lawyer?

An antitrust attorney should be honest about your chance winning your case and how long the process will take. If you do end up going to court, it’s a long and expensive proceeding. Even though your attorney will be able to guide you, you have to commit a lot to the case. Expert testimonies are necessary and will add additional costs.

How many credit hours are required for an antitrust law and economics degree?

To earn an LLM in Antitrust Law & Economics, students must complete 24-26 credit hours of coursework. These hours will be made up of required courses and restricted electives to fulfill the LLM requirements.

How many credits are required for Global Antitrust Law and Economics?

In order to graduate with a Global Antitrust Law & Economics LLM degree in the Practical Skills Track, students must be ready to complete a total of 26-28 credit hours (24-26 credits composed of the required and elective courses as listed in the Global Antitrust Law & Economics LLM degree curriculum, plus 2 credits for the supervised externship seminar required of this track).

How long does it take to complete LLM?

Students may be able to complete the program in one academic year, though most will take a year and a half to two years to do so.

Does LLM require a thesis?

Students who have completed the JD degree at a United States Law school will receive a waiver of the Introduction to United States Law 2 credit course requirement. All LLM students must complete a writing requirement. The writing requirement can be satisfied through the completion of a thesis or through completion of the restricted elective ...

Is antitrust compliance a smart idea?

Sometimes a company or association will want to develop an antitrust compliance policy. That is a smart idea, by the way. Other times the company will want to know if taking a certain action or developing the business a certain way carries antitrust risks.

Is the Federal Trade Commission an antitrust agency?

Finally, the Federal Trade Commission is kind of a big deal in the antitrust world. They are one of two federal antitrust agencies, along with the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. An antitrust attorney becomes an administrative lawyer when they have a client with FTC-dealings.

Who was the last Supreme Court Justice to not graduate law school?

In 1931, Jackson, the last Supreme Court not to graduate from law school, attacked the professionalization of the legal arena into corporate shock troops as a threat to a free society. “We believe in an independent bar, free not only from government control, but intellectually independent of client control,” he said.

When were big corporate law firms created?

Big corporate urban law firms were created in the 1880s and 1890s, and grew concurrently with trusts like Standard Oil and General Electric.

Is the legal services industry competitive?

The legal services industry market is competitive in a toxic way, with big law antitrust defense lawyers competing with one another not on whether they can give the best advice on how to follow the law, but on whether they can help their clients break the law.

Is legal ethics always clear?

Now, legal ethics are blurry, since laws and regulations aren’t always clear. But sometimes, lines are clear, and too often, the antitrust defense bar forgets that there is a distinction between advocating for a white collar client and acting as an accomplice to lawbreaking.

Is antitrust illegal?

Antitrust enforcers are dealing with a lot of deals like this, ones that would radically consolidate industries. These deals are blatantly illegal, but the hope from dominant firms is that enforcers might let a few of them slip by, or not have the resources to litigate them all.

A Tale of Two Presidents

It is notoriously difficult to empirically measure the effect of political discretion on economic regulation, even in the present day. “We can measure how many people work at an agency like the Federal Trade Commission or the Securities and Exchange Commission, and how much funding they get.

Measuring Discretion

Furthermore, the McKinley assassination, quite literally, did not happen overnight: he was shot on Sept. 7, and his health wavered up and down for days before he finally died a week later. Roosevelt took the oath of office on Sept. 14.

A Smoking Gun

Indeed, all stocks plunged in value following McKinley’s shooting: the NYSE lost an average of 6.2 percentage points, by far the biggest drop in value associated with any presidential assassination attempt by gunshot in U.S. history.

Enforcing versus Changing Antitrust Laws

So what does this strange episode from 1901 have to do with how politics and economics intersect today? Many economists and policymakers have argued that antitrust laws should be updated to better reign in today’s tech monopolies.

Where do antitrust attorneys work?

Plenty of antitrust attorneys also spend their whole careers in government, including at state attorney general’s offices. And some antitrust attorneys land in-house positions, though only certain industries need in-house antitrust specialists, like pharmaceutical and tech companies.

What is antitrust law?

The practice of antitrust falls into several big categories: civil and criminal litigation, merger and transactional work, and counseling. Some antitrust lawyers specialize in one or two of these areas, while others maintain broad practices that cover all of them.

What is the importance of good judgment in antitrust?

Good judgment is essential to be able to sort through the many gray areas that arise in antitrust and provide useful advice to clients.

What is the strong public policy element of antitrust?

The strong public policy element of antitrust means there are always interesting debates to be had about how aggressive enforcement should be, what types of business conduct the antitrust laws should address, and which economic and legal tools should be applied.

What is the best thing about antitrust?

Besides that, one of the best things about antitrust is that each new matter is an opportunity to learn an industry from top to bottom. Antitrust lawyers become experts in all kinds of surprising areas.

Is antitrust practice global?

The practice of antitrust is also ever more global, thanks to growing international operations and transactions, aggressive enforcers in Europe, and countries like China increasingly flexing antitrust enforcement muscle.

Can an antitrust attorney go back to law firm?

Antitrust attorneys who reach a management position or otherwise burnish their reputation at one of the agencies may return to a law firm as counsel or partner. That said, antitrust litigators – especially outside of Washington, D.C. – are less likely to have spent time working in government.