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    Economics Ambassador Program of the Antitrust Law Section

    What is the program?

    The Economics Ambassador Program is a working group within the ABA Antitrust Law Section (the “Section”) composed of economics students or recent graduates of economics programs who are interested in careers in antitrust and/or consumer protection. The program’s main goal is to introduce Ambassadors to a broad range of antitrust and consumer protection issues and to the practitioner perspective of these professions. As part of the program, Ambassadors will be assigned to mid-career or senior antitrust and consumer protection professionals who will guide them through the program. They will hold regular virtual calls to discuss Section events and opportunities, provide updates, and attend presentations and lectures by guest speakers.

    What are the benefits?

    The Ambassadors will have the opportunity to interact with peers with similar backgrounds and interests and to network and engage with experienced antitrust and consumer protection professionals from academia, economic consulting firms, law firms, government and other industries. These opportunities will provide the Ambassadors with insights on the profession and expose them to major policy issues in the fields of antitrust and consumer protection. In addition, Ambassadors will have the opportunity to be mentored by professionals and will receive input on their research as well as career coaching. 

    What are the responsibilities?

    The Economics Ambassadors’ main responsibility is to serve as the Section’s liaison to their school or organization, and to be involved in Section activities (e.g.,  help produce Section content, organize career panels). Economic Ambassadors will be assigned to key committees of the Section, such as Consumer Protection; Health Care and Pharmaceuticals; Intellectual Property; Media and Technology; Mergers and Acquisitions; Privacy and Information Security; Trade, Sports & Professional Associations. In this role,  Ambassadors will write in the Section’s newsletters or publications, coordinate or edit handbooks, organize or host podcasts, or organize substantive panels and career events.

    What is the time commitment?

    Outside of the 60-minute calls every other month, we expect that the average time commitment will be between 4 to 6 hours per month. However, the program is flexible, and Ambassadors can pick their activities according to their own schedules and interests. Ambassadors will collaborate with each other and with other experienced professionals in all of their activities and thus, will receive feedback that they need to complete the program successfully.

    Our Economics Ambassadors have participated in a range of different ABA-related activities and broadened their experiences and portfolios in a number of ways over the years:

    • Attended regular meetings of the ABA subcommittees, participated in the discussions, took meeting notes, and contributed to the agenda.
    • As part of the Federal Civil Enforcement Committee, drafted updates for the DOJ Civil Antitrust Practice and Procedure Manual, with a focus on the section on Non-Prosecutorial Activities. (2023-2024)
    • Organized a webinar on vertical mergers after the FTC challenged the acquisition of Grail by Illumina. (2023-2024)
    • Helped produce an episode on merger simulations and researched potential speakers as a part of the Mergers & Acquisitions Committee. (2023-2024)
    • Wrote an article summarizing the Intellectual Property panels from the ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting. (2023-2024)
    • Attended ABA events such as the ABA Antitrust Fall Forum, which focused on the future of Artificial Intelligence and its implications in the legal space, the Clifford Chance’s Antitrust Roundtable in DC during the ABA Spring Meet, and an ABA panel discussion about Antitrust Health Care Law organized by the Health Care & Pharmaceuticals Committee. (2023-2024)
    • Helped put together materials for a webinar on navigating privacy regulations’ impact on businesses and consumers as a part of the Privacy & Information Security Committee. (2023-2024)
    • Contributed to CLE materials for the panelists on the ABA Spring Meet, including the preparation of documents related to the theoretical and empirical economics literature on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and to the Implicit Bias on Trial panel. (2022-2023)
    • As part of the Trial Practice Committee, contributed to the draft fact pattern that would be used as the primary document by both sides of lawyers/testifying experts in the Mock Trial event at the ABA Spring Meeting. (2022-2023)
    • Authored two articles for the ABA’s Antitrust Section newsletter. The first on the ABA panel discussion on the 2022 FTC inquiry on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and the second on the background behind that inquiry, with summarized research on drug formulary placement and its effect on drug prices. (2022-2023)
    • Organized and moderated ABA Economics Ambassador panels. Among others, one with Vandy Howell, senior Vice-President at Cornerstone, another with Professor Florian Ederer, the Allen and Kelli Questrom Professor in Markets, Public Policy & Law at Boston University, as well as a panel with various practitioners in the antitrust industry. (2022-2023, 2023-2024)
    •  Contributed to the Pricing Conduct Committee’s newsletter with multiple briefs, including one covering an antitrust class action against the JetBlue-American Northeast Alliance and another covering the NY AG’s suit against CVS for its drug subsidy tying practices. (2022-2023, 2023-2024)
    • Wrote a panel summary brief on non-compete agreements and conducted an interview with Professor Eric Posner for the Unilateral Conduct Committee’s newsletter. (2022-2023)
    • Through the chair of a subcommittee, had the opportunity to present their own economic research on pharmaceutical mergers to the Department of Justice. (2022-2023)
    • Wrote a webinar recap on airline common subcontracting. (2022-2023)
    • Recorded a podcast on machine learning and antitrust. (2021-2022)
    • Helped organize panels on monopsony and racial equity considerations, ride-sharing, and retail deserts. (2021-2022)
    • Co-authored a variety of articles such as “Conduct and Structural Merger Remedies in Recent Healthcare Provider Deals,” an article in the Feb. 2022 edition of the Antitrust Health Care Chronicle, and “The Effect of a Leniency Policy on Cartels”. (2021-2022)

    More Information

    For more information about the Economics Ambassador Program or to apply, please contact Antara Dutta, [email protected]; Gabriela Antonie, [email protected]; Claire Buehler, [email protected], Miriam Goldgeil, [email protected]; Virginia Caspard, [email protected]; Eddie Hasdoo, [email protected].