Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law
Competition: Spring 2020, Vol 30, No. 1
Content
- California and Federal Antitrust Law Update: Procedural Developments
- The Road To Acquittal: Takeaways From U.S. V. Usher, Et Al.
- Fireside Chat With U.S. Doj Antitrust Division Chief of Technology & Financial Services Section Aaron Hoag
- Editor's Note
- In the Clash Between the Venerable Per Se Rule and the Constitution, the Constitution Shall Prevail (In Time)
- Chair's Column
- Masthead
- Keynote Address: a Conversation With Justice Ming W. Chin
- California and Federal Antitrust Law Update: Procedural Developments
- In the Clash Between the Venerable Per Se Rule and the Constitution, the Constitution Shall Prevail (In Time)
- An Economic Treatment of Pass Through In Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litigation
- California Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Update: Substantive Law
- An Economic Treatment of Pass Through In Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litigation
- In re: Korean Ramen Antitrust Litigation: a Panel Discussion With Trial Counsel
- Promoting Competition In Competition Law: the Role of Third-party Funding In Overcoming Competitive Barriers In Private Antitrust Enforcement Practice
- Masthead
- Keynote Address: a Conversation With Justice Ming W. Chin
- California Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Update: Substantive Law
- Criminal Antitrust Enforcement: Recent Highlights, Policy Initiatives, and What's To Come
- Fireside Chat With U.S. Doj Antitrust Division Chief of Technology & Financial Services Section Aaron Hoag
- Managing Antitrust and Complex Business Trials—a View From the Bench
- In re: Korean Ramen Antitrust Litigation: a Panel Discussion With Trial Counsel
- Promoting Competition In Competition Law: the Role of Third-party Funding In Overcoming Competitive Barriers In Private Antitrust Enforcement Practice
- Chair's Column
- The Road To Acquittal: Takeaways From U.S. V. Usher, Et Al.
- Editor's Note
- Criminal Antitrust Enforcement: Recent Highlights, Policy Initiatives, and What's To Come
- Managing Antitrust and Complex Business Trials—a View From the Bench
PROMOTING COMPETITION IN COMPETITION LAW: THE ROLE OF THIRD-PARTY FUNDING IN OVERCOMING COMPETITIVE BARRIERS IN PRIVATE ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT PRACTICE
By Jiamie Chen1
I. INTRODUCTION
Among the most fundamental antitrust concerns are barriers to entry in concentrated markets. Yet antitrust practice itself——specifically big-ticket private enforcement—remains a concentrated market subject to longstanding competitive barriers within the greater legal industry. Private enforcement contingency practice inherently involves high risks and high rewards. Recent developments have driven contingency risks even higher, requiring greater investments at early stages of litigation while creating more ways for plaintiffs to lose. No one can meaningfully compete—or continue competing—in the private enforcement market without effectively managing the financial risks of the practice.
But the private enforcement world is changing. The targeted conduct itself is evolving, from proverbial smoke-filled rooms to computer algorithms2 and two-sided e-commerce platforms.3 New thought leaders like Lena Kahn4 and Dina Srinivasan5 are shifting the conversation on how traditional antitrust principles apply to today’s economic and commercial realities. In addition, key precedents in antitrust collective actions are developing abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom.6