Wisconsin Assistant AG for Antitrust Cooley Takes on the “State” of State Antitrust Enforcement

In this episode, AAI Vice President of Competition Laura Alexander and Gwendolyn Cooley, Wisconsin’s Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust and Chair of the Multistate Antitrust Task Force for the National Association of Attorneys General discuss the state of state antitrust enforcement.  The conversation covers “antitrust federalism” and the current relationship between state and federal antitrust enforcers, unique hurdles faced by state antitrust enforcers, the special expertise state enforcers bring to antitrust enforcement, and the priorities of states in enforcing state and federal antitrust laws.  State antitrust enforcers have been leading the charge on everything from non-compete clauses to privacy, and with a reinvigoration of antitrust enforcement at the federal level, new avenues for cooperation and coordination are opening up for states to take on an even bigger role.

MODERATOR:

 Laura Alexander, Vice President of Policy, American Antitrust Institute

GUEST:

Gwendolyn Cooley is the Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust. As Chair of the NAAG Multistate Antitrust Task Force and as Wisconsin’s Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust since 2005, Gwendolyn has extensive experience litigating antitrust cases on behalf of the State of Wisconsin- including merger enforcement, cartel prosecutions, and as the lead attorney in State of Wisconsin v. Indivior, where she leads 42 Attorneys General in their case against the manufacturer of Suboxone. Gwendolyn was on the trial team for the States’ challenge to the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. She was co-chair of the Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group in the National Association of Attorneys General Antitrust Task Force, and is a delegate to the “Future of Pharma Mergers” multi-agency initiative spearheaded by the FTC, and leads the Reimagining Pharma Attorney Generals Advisory Group. Active in the American Bar Association, she is Co-Chair of the ABA’s Antitrust Law Section State Enforcement Committee, and is the 2017 recipient of the State State Bar of Wisconsin’s annual Government Lawyers Division Service Award.