Brian Albrecht on Merger Guidelines

Law360 – ICLE Chief Economist Brian Albrecht was quoted by Law360 in a story about the FTC and DOJ’s finalized merger guidelines. You can read full piece here.

The International Center for Law & Economics in turn blasted the final guidelines as unlikely to be adopted by judges; courts often cite the old guidelines, but agency critics have argued that pushing the law too far could turn judges off.

“While the final guidelines appear to have softened some of the most bellicose language contained in the draft, and to place slightly more emphasis on market power, they still lack clarity in many areas, and particularly with respect to when merging parties can invoke pro-competitive efficiencies as a defense,” ICLE Chief Economist Brian Albrecht said in a statement. “They focus on the thousand ways the agencies could bring a case and what does not count as a defense, instead of offering real guidance reflecting the state of antitrust law.”