Angela Tse

The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) is pleased to announce that it has awarded Public Service Fellowships to Tom Dahdouh, Michael Swerdlow, and Trevor Young, the first such awards under AAI’s new Public Service Fellowship Program. Dahdouh recently served at the Federal Trade Commission, Swerdlow recently was accepted to the Attorney General’s Honors Program at the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, and Young recently served at the Antitrust Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

“We are delighted to welcome Tom, Michael, and Trevor,” said AAI President Randy Stutz. “Each is emblematic of the talented public servants we had in mind when we created this program.”

The AAI Public Service Fellowship Program provides an opportunity for antitrust lawyers, economists, and other competition experts who have recently left government service to continue protecting and promoting competition. Fellows selected by a Fellowship Committee work on approved public interest research, writing, or other projects that encourage vigorous competition, improve the administration of the antitrust laws, or otherwise advance AAI’s mission. Fellows receive guidance from volunteer experts who are members of the AAI Advisory Board.

Tom Dahdouh was an attorney at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for 33 years. From 2021-2024, he served as an Attorney Advisor to FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. From 2013-2021, he was the Regional Director of the Western Region, overseeing and managing investigations and litigations in the FTC’s San Francisco and Los Angeles offices. Before holding those positions, he served as an Attorney Advisor to two other FTC Commissioners in the 1990’s and as a staff attorney in the Western Region. In 2024, he received the FTC’s Robert L. Pitofsky Lifetime Achievement Award. The California Lawyers Association’s Antitrust and Consumer Protection Section recently named him “California Antitrust Lawyer of the Year” for 2025.

Research Project: The Future of the FTC if Humphrey’s Executor is Overruled

Fellowship Advisor: Stephen Calkins, Professor of Law, Wayne State University Law School

Michael Swerdlow is a former Summer Law Clerk at the FTC, Intern at the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department (DOJ), and Antimonopoly Director of the Democracy Policy Network. In these roles he has assisted with various federal antitrust investigations and advised policymakers on antitrust reform at the state and fed­eral level. He has also made significant contributions to the literature on labor antitrust, co-authoring a piece on merger remedies in labor markets and authoring an article on antitrust standards for unilateral conduct in labor markets. Prior to the government-wide hiring freeze implemented in January 2025, he was admitted to the prestigious DOJ Attorney General’s Honors Program.

Research Project: Resurrecting Section 3 of the Clayton Act

Fellowship Advisor: John Newman, Herbert Herff Chair of Excellence, University of Memphis School of Law

Trevor Young has over a decade of experience with antitrust litigation and complex enforcement matters. He most recently served as Deputy Division Chief of the Antitrust Division at the Texas Office of the Attorney General, where he was at the forefront of some of the nation’s most significant antitrust actions, including antitrust and consumer protection litigation against Google for monopolization and deceptive trade practices in digital advertising. Trevor has experience leading large multistate actions and helped draft legislation in Texas that increased civil penalty amounts for antitrust violations.

Research Project: State Antitrust Modernization Project

Fellowship Advisor: Andrew I. Gavil, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law

AAI actively seeks Fellowship applicants to work on approved public interest research, writing, or other projects. Eligible fellowship applicants must be lawyers, economists or other competition experts who left a government agency within the last year. Included among the eligible applicants are former probationary federal employees and entry-level attorneys whose offers from the DOJ or FTC Honors Programs were rescinded. For more information and to apply, visit us at AAI Public Service Fellowship.

The American Antitrust Institute 2025 Antitrust Enforcement Awards will recognize achievements in antitrust litigation by legal practitioners and economists. Honorees will be recognized in three categories, the requirements and criteria for which are outlined in detail below. To enter, please complete the entry form no later than July 31, 2025.

View Award Procedures & Entry Form

Who can nominate?
Both third-party and self-nominations are accepted. Entrants may submit multiple nominations. Anonymous nominations will not be accepted. There is no submission fee.

Nominations must be certified and signed by an attorney or economist (“practitioner”) who is familiar with the case. If a marketing, public relations, or other consultant participates in preparing the nomination form, the certifying practitioner who signs the form attests that he or she has carefully reviewed the nomination for accuracy and completeness. All nominations must include a complete list of the team members, including individuals and their firms who worked on the case and deserve to be recognized. Nominees are strongly encouraged to scrupulously avoid excluding deserving individuals or firms from a nomination.

Who is eligible?
To become eligible for consideration, nominations must relate to antitrust-focused litigation that:
(a)  was initiated in or appealed in any U.S. state or federal court; and
(b)  resulted (whether or not subject to appeal) in a final judgment, verdict, dismissal, conviction, injunction, order, or settlement between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.[1]

Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice
This award is limited to private civil actions. Nominees may include a law firm, a law firm team, or individual practitioner(s). Nominees will be judged on:
(a)  the benefit realized by the client, victims, or class; and
(b)  the positive development of antitrust policy.

Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement by a Young or Newly Admitted Lawyer
This award is limited to private civil actions. Nominees should be individual practitioner(s) under 40 years old or admitted to practice for 10 years or less. Nominees will be judged on:
(a)  the individual’s contribution to the case;
(b)  the benefit realized by the client, victims, or class; and
(c)  the positive development of antitrust policy.

Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Economics
This award is limited to contributions within government or private civil or criminal antitrust litigation by an individual economist, team of economists, or economic consulting firm. Nominees will be judged on:
(a)  contribution to the development of antitrust-related economic methodology, analysis, and/or presentation; and
(b) the positive development of antitrust policy.

Both third-party and self-nominations are accepted. Entrants may submit multiple nominations. Anonymous nominations will not be accepted. There is no submission fee.

Save the Date: Antitrust Awards Night 2025
Honorees will be notified of their selection on or about September 26, 2025. If conditions permit, honorees are requested to be present at a November 6, 2025 gala dinner to accept their award.

Antitrust Awards Night 2025
Wednesday, November 6, 2025
5:00-8:30 pm
Hamilton Live, Washington, D.C.

[1] Any settlement qualifies as a “final” settlement for purposes of this provision if it has been awarded final approval by a court during the eligibility period; it need not be the ultimate settlement that finally ends the case to qualify for eligibility. Where a motion for final approval is pending during the eligibility period and the settlement is approved by the court (1) after the eligibility period expires, but (2) before the Judging Committee has convened, the Judging Committee may, in its discretion, choose either to consider the nomination or defer its consideration until the following year’s Awards Program.

The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) and Cohen Milstein announce outstanding contributions to antitrust scholarship.

In recognition of his outstanding contribution to antitrust scholarship, the author listed below has been selected as recipient of the 23rd Annual Jerry S. Cohen Memorial Fund Writing Award:

• Daniel Francis, Assistant Professor of Law, NYU School of Law

The award will be presented during the gala luncheon at AAI’s 26th Annual Policy Conference on May 29, 2025 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Professor Francis will be honored for his article:

“Monopolizing by Conditioning,” 124 Colum. L. Rev. 1917 (2024). Professor Francis demonstrates that conditional dealing should be recognized as its own, separate form of monopolistic conduct. For too long, courts have attempted to squeeze conditioning into ill-fitting categories in existing monopolization law, leading to poor results. In his article, Professor Francis provides a new analytical framework for evaluating conditional dealing, including a definition of conditioning, as well as standards for gauging its exclusionary impact, contribution to power, and procompetitive justifications. Also, he explains why courts’ current criteria for evaluating claims based on conditional dealing should be jettisoned. Professor Francis’ article meaningfully advances our understanding of the harms that arise from monopolists’ conditional dealing, why the current legal regime has failed to confront those harms, and how to fix the problem.

Professor Francis will receive a $12,500 prize and a specially commissioned and inscribed artwork by Lori Milstein, artist and daughter of Herb Milstein, co-founder of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.

In addition, this year’s award selection committee conferred nine category awards recognizing numerous other outstanding contributions to antitrust scholarship in 2024:

• Best Antitrust Publication of 2024 on Burdens of Proof: Christopher R. Leslie, “False Analogies to Predatory Pricing,” 172 U. Pa. L. Rev. 329 (2024)
• Best Antitrust Publication of 2024 on Healthcare: Zarek Brot, Zack Cooper, Stuart V. Craig and Lev Klarnet, “Is There Too Little Antitrust Enforcement in the Hospital Sector?,” American Economic Review: Insights 6 (4): 526–42
• Best Antitrust Publication of 2024 on Merger Enforcement: Daniel Sokol & Sean Sullivan, “The Decline of Coordinated Effects Enforcement and How to Reverse It,” 76 Fla. L. Rev. 265 (2024)
• Best Antitrust Publication of 2024 on Noncompete Agreements: Michael Lipsitz & Mark J. Tremblay, “Noncompete Agreements and the Welfare of Consumers,” American Economic Journal: Microeconomics 16 (4): 112–53
• Best Antitrust Publication of 2024 on Non-Price Effects: Christopher R. Leslie, “Pharmacy Deserts and Antitrust Law,” 104 Boston L. Rev. 1593 (2024)
• Best Publication of 2024 on Antitrust and Intellectual Property: Christopher Buccafusco, Jonathan S. Masur, Mark P. McKenna, “Competition and Congestion in Trademark Law,” 102 Tex. L. Rev. 437 (2024)
• Best Publication of 2024 on Antitrust Remedies: Ian Ayres, C. Scott Hemphill, Abraham L. Wickelgren, “Shorting Your Rivals: Negative Ownership as an Antitrust Remedy,” 86 Antitrust L.J. 317 (2024)
• Best Publication of 2024 on Labor Antitrust: Eric Posner, “The New Labor Antitrust,” 86 Antitrust L.J. 503 (2024)
• Best Antitrust Student Publication of 2024: Frank Schulze, “Old, Not Odd: Running Laches Against the States and the Future of Antitrust After New York v. Meta Platforms,” 123 Mich. L. Rev. 111 (2024)

This year’s award selection committee consisted of Zachary Caplan, Shareholder at Berger Montague; Warren Grimes, Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School; John Kirkwood, Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law; Roger Noll, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Stanford University; Leslie Marx, Professor of Economics at Duke Fuqua School of Business; Robert Lande, Emeritus Professor of Law at University of Baltimore School of Law; Daniel H. Silverman, Partner at Cohen Milstein; and Daniel A. Small, Of Counsel at Cohen Milstein.

About the Award
The Jerry S. Cohen Memorial Fund Writing Award was created through a trust established in memory of Jerry S. Cohen, an outstanding trial lawyer and antitrust scholar. The award is administered by the law firm he founded, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.

The award honors the best antitrust writing published during the prior year that is consistent with the values that animated Jerry S. Cohen’s professional life – a genuine concern for economic justice, the dispersal of economic power, effective limitations upon economic power, and the vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws.

About Cohen Milstein
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a premier U.S. plaintiffs’ law firm, with over 100 attorneys across eight offices, champions the causes of real people – workers, consumers, small business owners, investors, and whistleblowers – working to deliver corporate reforms and fair markets for the common good. For more information, visit www.cohenmilstein.com or call (202) 408-4600.

About the American Antitrust Institute
AAI is an independent, nonprofit organization devoted to promoting competition that protects consumers, businesses, and society. AAI serves the public through research, education, and advocacy on the benefits of competition and the use of antitrust enforcement as a vital component of national and international competition policy. For more information, visit www.antitrustinstitute.org or call (202) 828-1226.

The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) is proud to recognize the achievements of a member of its Board of Directors, Ellen Meriwether, who is a Partner at Cafferty Clobes Meriwether Sprengel LLP and this year’s winner of the ABA Antitrust Section’s Tina Miller Award for Outstanding Contributions to Antitrust Section Publications. The Tina Miller Award was created to honor Tina M. Miller on the occasion of her retirement. The award is presented annually at the Antitrust Section’s Annual Spring Meeting to recognize outstanding contributions to the editorial or publication process of the Section’s principal publications.

Criteria for judging nominations include specific examples of exceptional contributions to the editing and publication process, such as assisting in the organizing and editing of symposia issues; active and productive participation and a commitment to meticulous editing; the nature, frequency, and quality of volunteer contributions; and commitment over time to the success of the Section’s publications.

Meriwether was selected because she has been an important contributor to Antitrust Magazine for many years. She received the award on April 2, 2025, at the American Bar Association’s 73rd Annual Antitrust Spring Meeting.

“Ellen has devoted countless hours to serving the antitrust community and advancing competition policy despite maintaining an extremely busy and successful practice,” said AAI President Randy Stutz. “We extend our warmest congratulations to our valued friend and colleague on this well-deserved recognition.”

The American Antitrust Institute (“AAI”) is pleased to announce the creation of the AAI Public Service Fellowship, a new fellowship program for antitrust lawyers, economists, and other competition experts who have recently left the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, or another government agency. Successful applicants will receive a stipend for completing approved public interest research, writing, or other projects that promote vigorous competition, improve the administration of the antitrust laws, or otherwise advance AAI’s mission.

“President Trump’s current policies have led to unprecedented turnover in the federal workforce, including at the federal antitrust agencies,” said AAI President Randy Stutz. “AAI would like to put these competition experts to work on public interest projects as soon as possible, so they can continue using their valuable skillsets to prevent anticompetitive behavior.”

About the Fellowship

Eligible Fellowship applicants must be lawyers, economists or other competition experts who worked at a government agency within the last year. Approved applicants will be given the title of “Public Service Fellow” and will work full time or part time on projects to be completed within 3-6 months. Project selection and work will be overseen by a Fellowship Committee comprised of specialists from AAI’s Advisory Board and co-chaired by AAI founder and former president, Albert A. Foer, and AAI Director and Venable Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Baltimore School of Law, Robert H. Lande. Applicants may propose their own individual or small-group projects, or work with the Fellowship Committee to design a new project. Fellows will receive a stipend of at least $5,000 contingent on the timely completion of approved projects.

More Information and How to Apply

For more information about the Fellowship program and how to apply, visit the AAI Public Service Fellowship page.

Fellowship Funding

The AAI Public Service Fellowship has been funded entirely by charitable contributions. Additional funding is still needed. If you are interested in supporting this program by making a contribution to AAI, please visit our Support page or contact AAI President Randy Stutz. AAI is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible.

Contacts

Randy Stutz, President, AAI, rstutz@antitrustinstitute.org

Kathleen Bradish, Vice President & Director of Legal Advocacy, AAI, kbradish@antitrustinstitute.org

On February 25, 2025, the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) announced that Nicholas Goldberg, Joshua Sarnoff, and Jennifer Sturiale have joined the AAI Advisory Board. Nicholas Goldberg is a partner at Keker, Van Nest & Peters and specializes in high-stakes complex civil litigation. Professor Joshua Sarnoff is the Raymond P. Niro Professor of Intellectual Property Law at DePaul University College of Law, with deep expertise on the intersections of intellectual property law, environmental law, health law, and constitutional, administrative, and international law. Professor Jennifer Sturiale is Associate Professor of Law at the Widener University Delaware School of Law, where her scholarship focuses on the intersections of antitrust, civil procedure, complex litigation, and intellectual property.

“We are delighted that Nicholas, Joshua, and Jennifer have joined the AAI Advisory Board,” said AAI President Randy Stutz. “They bring important perspectives and insights into antitrust and complex litigation, intellectual property, patent law, and much more.” AAI’s volunteer Advisory Board consists of outstanding experts in the fields of antitrust law, economics, and business in the United States and abroad.

Nicholas Goldberg focuses on high-stakes complex civil litigation and white-collar criminal defense. A partner at Keker, Van Nest & Peters, he represents established companies, startups, government entities, and executives across industries such as software, financial services, internet security, pharmaceuticals, professional sports, and venture capital. His practice spans intellectual property, fraud, antitrust, securities, and corporate disputes in federal and state courts, at both trial and appellate levels, and in arbitration. Goldberg also advises venture-backed companies, founders, and investors on trade secrets, employee mobility, and fiduciary duties. His criminal practice includes internal and government investigations involving the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and California Attorney General. In 2018, he received the California Lawyer of the Year award.

Joshua Sarnoff is a Professor of Law at DePaul University and an internationally recognized expert in intellectual property, environmental, health, and constitutional law. He has testified before Congress on patent law reform and served as the Thomas A. Edison Distinguished Scholar at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Professor Sarnoff has taught at numerous institutions and directed the DePaul Center for Intellectual Property and Information Technology. He has clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and has substantial litigation, counseling, and advocacy experience in the public and private sectors. His research focuses on innovation policy, climate change technology, patent law, and intellectual property rights in genetics and natural resources. He is the editor and co-author of the Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Climate Change and has published extensively in law reviews and peer-reviewed journals.

Jennifer Sturiale specializes in antitrust, civil procedure, complex litigation, and intellectual property. An Associate Professor of Law at Widener University Delaware School of Law, her scholarship appears in law journals, including the Antitrust Law Journal and Alabama Law Review. Before academia, she practiced complex commercial litigation at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Quinn Emanuel, focusing on antitrust and intellectual property matters. She has clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

In 2024, AAI continued to serve as the leading voice in promoting vigorous antitrust enforcement and sound, progressive competition policy. We thank our sponsors, donors, staff, leadership, advisors, volunteers, and friends who make our critical work possible. What follows is an “at-a-glance” summary of AAI’s major activities in 2024–across all areas of our education, research, and advocacy programs. 

Amicus Briefs

Mosaic Health v. Sanofi June 20, 2024

Simon & Simon v. Align August 8, 2024

Gibson v. Cendyn Group October 3, 2024

Seagate v. NHK November 8, 2024

FuboTv v. Disney November 20, 2024

In re Merck Mumps Vaccine Antitrust Litigation December 4, 2024

Comments, Commentaries, Statements, and Articles

Pleading Standards for Market Definition in Monopolization Cases March 19, 2024

Statement on the Department of Justice’s Lawsuit to Break Up Ticketmaster and Live Nation May 24, 2024

Statement on the District Court’s Ruling in United States v. Google August 6, 2024

Monopolization Standards for Refusal-to-Deal and Course-of-Conduct Claims August 8, 2024

Comments on USDA’s Proposed Rulemaking on Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets September 12, 2024

Key Findings and Takeaways from Battleground Polling of Voter Attitudes Toward Aggressive Antitrust Enforcement October 21, 2024

Reports and White Papers

Report on Private Equity Ownership in Healthcare: Addenda February 20, 2024

Class Action Issues Update Spring 2024 May 8, 2024

Voter Support for Antitrust Enforcement and Litigation October 21, 2024

Class Action Issues Update Fall 2024 October 28, 2024

Podcasts

Default Status/De Facto Exclusion: What does a Rival Search Company Have to Say About the Google Case? February 6, 2024

International Update: Checking in with ICN’s Cartel Working Group June 20, 2024

How Exactly Does Common Ownership Harm Competition? A Conversation with Florian Ederer, Jerry S. Cohen Award Winner for Antitrust Scholarship August 13, 2024

Competition, Fairness, and Regulation in Food & Agriculture: A Conversation with Andy Green, Senior Advisor for Fair and Competitive Markets at the U.S. Department of Agriculture August 22, 2024

How the Agri-Stats Case Can Help Shape Treatment of Anticompetitive Information Exchanges: A Discussion Between Emily Bridges of the Food and Agriculture Impact Project and Professor Peter Carstensen September 12, 2024

Virtual Programs and Conferences

Virtual CLE Lunch & Learn: I Won the Motion to Dismiss – Now How Do I Get the Discovery Train Down the Tracks? January 18, 2024

Virtual CLE Lunch & Learn: Discovery Has Started, How and When Do I Involve My Experts? April 17, 2024

25th AAI Annual Policy Conference – New Thinking on the Antitrust Treatment of Collective Action: Organized Labor, Countervailing Power, and Algorithmic Price Setting May 22, 2024

Virtual CLE Lunch & Learn: Massive Data Discovery and Disputes July 25, 2024

Virtual CLE Lunch & Learn: Planning, Preparing and Taking Important Fact Depositions in an Antitrust Case September 25, 2024

18th AAI Annual Private Antitrust Enforcement Conference October 30, 2024

Major Presentations and Speeches

The Proposed Kroger-Albertsons Merger, NPR’s All Things Considered January 9, 2024

Swifties Revenge: The Case for Breaking Up Live Nation-Ticketmaster, American Economic Liberties Project January 23, 2024

Mergers: Evolution or Revolution in Evidentiary Trends, GCR Live February 1, 2024

Q&A: Exploring Antitrust and Health Care, American Bar Association March 11, 2024

U.S. v. Apple, the Meaning of Competition, and AAI’s Future, The Slingshot April 1, 2024

Airline Mergers: Flying High or Flying Blind?, ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting April 10, 2024

Revising Antitrust to Rein In Big Tech Platforms: What Role Should Antitrust Play Regarding Big Tech?, Consumer Federation of America’s Consumer Assembly June 5, 2024

The FTC’s Noncompete Rulemaking & Impact, American Bar Association June 28, 2024

The Next U.S. Administration, Concurrences’ Bill Kovacic Antitrust Salon September 9, 2024

The Google Monopoly Ruling and the Future of Tech Competition, IPWatchdog LIVE 2024 September 30, 2024

Diversity and Opportunity at the ABA, American Bar Association October 28, 2024

Trade and Professional Associations: What You Need to Know about Antitrust Law, D.C. Bar December 12, 2024