CHICAGO, May 11, 2022 - The American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section will offer a unique glimpse into the life cycle of a merger under investigation through a practice workshop, providing an opportunity to witness some of the most accomplished U.S. private practitioners, corporate counsel and government enforcers engage in a mock review process.
What:
2022 Antitrust Mergers Practice Workshop
Sponsored by the ABA Antitrust Law Section
When:
May 19, 2022, 8:15 a.m.-5 p.m. EDT
Where:
Martin Luther King Library
901 G Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
The one-day practice workshop, the fifth offered by the Antitrust Law Section, will look at various elements of the merger review process, including:
- Strategy sessions among antitrust counsel
- The initial pitch to U.S. antitrust enforcers
- Internal conferences among agency staff
- Meetings to develop economic evidence, customer support and documentary evidence
- A front office presentation with a “hot bench,” where questions are peppered at the parties
- An internal decisional meeting among staff and the front office
While intended for practitioners, the step-by-step illustration of the merger review process will be beneficial to anyone seeking an insight into how a mega-major transaction is put together and how government enforcers analyze it.
Among the confirmed participants are Suzanne Morris, chief, Premerger & Division Statistics Unit, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division; Kathleen S. O'Neill, DOJ senior director of Investigations and Litigation; Antitrust Division; and Gwendolyn Cooley, National Association of Attorneys General Antitrust Task Force chair and assistant attorney general for the state of Wisconsin. Also, a host of well-known practitioners from law firms mostly throughout the Washington area will perform in “buyer” and “seller” roles in the daylong exercise.
The merger review program with a list of key participants can be found online here. All sessions are open to the media, but reporters are required to register in advance by 5 p.m. EDT, Monday, May 16, by contacting Bill Choyke at [email protected]. All attendees must provide proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test within 72 hours of the start of the meeting. Once you have requested registration, confirmation and further COVID-related instructions will be sent to you by email.
The ABA is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.