CHICAGO, Aug. 15, 2024 — The American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section will convene its next Global Seminar Series in Sydney, Australia, bringing together a group of distinguished speakers on Aug. 21 to discuss competition, consumer protection and data privacy.
What:
2024 Antitrust Global Seminar Series: Sydney
Sponsored by the ABA Antitrust Law Section
When:
Thursday, Aug. 21 (local time – in person only)
Where:
The Fullerton Hotel Sydney
No. 1 Martin Place
Sydney, Australia
The half-day program begins at 1:30 p.m. and includes regulators from the U.S. and Australia, as well as a host of practitioners from both countries. A keynote address by Justice Jacqueline Gleeson of the High Court of Australia, Canberra, focuses on Australia’s competition law, which imposes both criminal sanctions and civil penalties — sometimes for the same conduct — and how the methods of sanctioning unlawful conduct are managed. She is scheduled to speak from 1:45-2 p.m.
Other programs include:
- “Judicial Views: Achieving the Most Effective Remedies for Breaches of Competition Law” ── While fines and jail sentences capture attention, there is a broader range of remedies available to courts and enforcers for breaches of competition law. The panel will explore whether the full range of options is being utilized and the potential for and enforceability of global remedies, such as injunctions. Speakers are Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland; and Michael Andrew Wigney, justice, Federal Court of Australia, Sydney.
2-2:50 p.m. - “Practitioners’ Views: Achieving the Most Effective Remedies for Breaches of Competition Law” ── Australia is ramping up enforcement of its criminal powers to prosecute hardcore breaches of competition law. The panel of practitioners will examine the optimal balance between criminal and civil enforcement and whether greater deterrence is achievable through criminal enforcement, but with what costs. Speakers are Liza Carver, commissioner, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Sydney; Andrew Heimert, counsel for Asian Competition Affairs, Federal Trade Commission, Washington; Kate Patchen, Covington & Burling LLP, San Francisco; and Peta Stevenson, King & Wood Mallesons, Sydney
2:50-3:30 p.m. - “ACCC and U.S. DOJ Views on Merger Reforms: Aspirational or Game-Changing?” ── Competition enforcers in the U.S. and Australia are considering and making significant changes to their assessment of mergers ── in the U.S. through guidelines and in Australia through a new administrative decision framework. Regulators will explore what is driving these changes and the implications for enforcement. Speakers are Gina Cass-Gottlieb, chair, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Sydney; and John W. Elias, deputy assistant attorney general for International, Appellate and Policy, U.S. DOJ Antitrust Division, Washington. Justice Michael O’Bryan, Federal Court of Australia and president, Australian Competition Tribunal, Melbourne, will moderate.
3:50-4:40 p.m. - “Practitioners’ View on Merger Reforms: Aspirational or Game-Changing?” ── As competition enforcers in Australia, the U.S. and elsewhere look to overhaul their assessment of mergers, clients want to know what the changes mean for their ability to get deals cleared and whether changes will achieve meaningfully different results in transactions as well as strategies for navigating the new landscape. Speakers include Melanie L. Aitken, Bennett Jones (U.S.) LLP, Washington; Elizabeth Avery, Gilbert & Tobin, Sydney; Annalisa Heger, deputy chief advisor, Competition Task Force, Australian Treasury, Melbourne.
4:40-5:20 p.m.
The conference schedule is here and profiles of speakers here. The Global Seminar Series is open to the media, but reporters are required to register in advance by noon EDT, Monday, Aug.19, by emailing Bill Choyke at [email protected].
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