Applying Antitrust Law Effectively - The Importance of Simplifying Complexity

Overview

Stephen Paul Mahinka
Manager, Antitrust Practice Group & Chair, Life Sciences Interdisciplinary Group
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

The importance of obtaining effective antitrust advice and assistance has never been greater for business. Restructuring of industries deriving from numerous sources, including increased internationalization, deregulation , and more rapid evolution of the technological bases of competition, results in more merger, joint venture, and licensing activity. The internationalization of antitrust review by numerous national regulators also has increased the complexity of satisfying competition concerns. Further, the expansion of the range and types of antitrust litigation, particularly regarding cartels, pricing in several high profile industries such as pharmaceuticals , and by state attorneys general, has further increased the prominence of antitrust concerns. The explosion of data, readily available through the Internet, paradoxically adds to the difficulty of properly analyzing situations and providing practical and effective resolutions to competition issues.

All of these developments, and the continued evolution of antitrust analysis and its supporting economics, make simplifying complexity “ the ability to understand the data and the dynamics of the industry and develop practical solutions “ the overwhelming imperative today for the antitrust practitioner.