Government civil servants are essential to protecting competition and free markets. The United States has long benefitted from a culture of service at the federal antitrust agencies, which has led many of the world’s foremost antitrust experts to work for the American public at substantially below-market pay. The current presidential administration’s policies have led to the dismissal of many of these specialists or induced them to resign from the federal government, hindering their ability to contribute to the public good.
On April 1, 2025, the American Antitrust Institute (“AAI”) announced the creation of the AAI Public Service Fellowship, a new fellowship program for antitrust lawyers, economists, and other competition experts who have left or been dismissed from the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, or another government agency. This fellowship program responds to the current administration’s policies in two ways. First, it offers support, community, and a temporary home to public servants during a period of instability. Second, it helps prevent valuable expertise from going to waste by enabling displaced competition experts to continue serving the public interest.
About the Fellowship
AAI actively seeks former governmental competition experts to work on approved public interest research, writing, or other projects as soon as possible. Eligible fellowship applicants must be lawyers, economists or other competition experts who resigned or were dismissed from 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former probationary federal employees and entry-level attorneys whose offers from the DOJ or FTC Honors Programs were rescinded.
Approved applicants will receive a stipend of at least $5,000 for timely completion of approved public interest projects. They will be given the title of “Public Service Fellow” and will work full time or part time on approved 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. Approved projects must promote vigorous competition, improve the administration of the antitrust laws, or otherwise advance AAI’s mission.
Projects may involve, but are not limited to, research and writing or empirical studies in the following areas:
- Legal or Economic Analysis of Doctrine, including with respect to the evidentiary, liability, or remedial standards for collusion, monopolization, mergers, or unfair methods of competition under the Sherman, Clayton, or FTC Acts.
- Important Markets or Sectors, such as, for example, food & agriculture, healthcare, energy, banking, transportation, or communications.
- The Intersection of Antitrust and Other Bodies of Law, such as intellectual property law, environmental law, national security law, civil rights law, labor law, or sectoral regulation.
- The Application of Antitrust Law to Novel Technologies, such as artificial intelligence, algorithmic price setting, cloud computing, chipsets, data processing, crypto currency, or blockchain.
- The Application of Other Academic or Professional Disciplines to Antitrust Law, such as strategic management, business administration, behavioral economics, or labor economics.
- Legislation, such as past, present, or future proposed antitrust legislation involving evidentiary, liability, or remedial standards, important markets or sectors, whistleblower protections and rewards, funding for the antitrust agencies, or structural or institutional changes to the antitrust agencies.
Fellowship Terms and Conditions
Fellows will be subject to AAI’s policies regarding independence, transparency, conflicts of interest, document retention, and reporting. They must sign a Memorandum of Understanding that, among other things, certifies compliance with these policies and with all restrictions and obligations applicable to former government employees.
At AAI’s discretion, completed projects may be published under the researcher’s name(s) on AAI’s website, including as a working paper. Researchers also will be free to seek outside publication of their work, under their own name, in a law review, economics journal, or other publication of their choosing.
Fellows will work out of their homes or another location of their choosing. AAI will endeavor to provide fellows with access to legal research databases. Other reasonably necessary expenses approved in advance also may be reimbursed.
AAI understands that most fellows will be actively looking for permanent employment while they complete their fellowships. We will work with fellows to ensure a smooth transition if they obtain permanent employment during the fellowship term. However, fellows must complete their fellowship projects in a timely manner to receive a stipend.
How to Apply
To apply, submit a résumé and cover letter to aai@antitrustinstitute.org. The cover letter should (1) summarize the nature and timing of your relevant government service, and (2) describe your areas of subject matter interest and expertise. If you intend to propose your own public interest project, please also include a written description of the project in 2-3 pages or less. If you wish to work with the Fellowship Committee to design a new project, please indicate subject matter areas of interest in your cover letter. We will consider applications on a rolling basis.
The Committee would like to award fellowships and have fellows begin work on their projects as soon as possible. Our goal is for some fellows to begin work in April 2025. We will work flexibly with applicants to find agreeable timeframes for completing approved projects.
Fellowship Funding
To date, the AAI Public Service Fellowship has been funded entirely by charitable contributions, including contributions from former federal antitrust enforcers. Additional funding is still needed. If you are willing to help support this program by making a contribution, please visit the Support page of our website or contact AAI President Randy Stutz. AAI is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible. Donors will receive a report on the use of Fellowship funds at the conclusion of the project.
Contact Information
For general questions about this fellowship program or to help support it, please contact AAI President Randy Stutz, rstutz@antitrustinstitute.org.
For questions about the terms of the fellowship or the application process, please contact AAI Vice President & Director of Legal Advocacy Kathleen Bradish, kbradish@antitrustinstitute.org.
To brainstorm or discuss the content of project proposals, please contact the Fellowship Committee Co-Chairs, Albert A. Foer, bert.foer@gmail.com, and Robert H. Lande, rlande@ubalt.edu.
