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When Cartels Unravel, Judicial Clerkship Market Edition

TOTM The National Law Journal reports (HT: Rick Hills): Are the Wild West days of federal clerk hiring back? That’s what some law school administrators and . . .

The National Law Journal reports (HT: Rick Hills):

Are the Wild West days of federal clerk hiring back? That’s what some law school administrators and judges fear. They worry that the voluntary system whereby federal judges wait until September of the 3L year to hire clerks is teetering. Judges are choosing clerks earlier in the year and are being inundated with applications as the legal job market narrows. And a trend toward hiring the already graduated means fewer positions are available for fresh law graduates.

There is a lot of support for “The Plan” in the legal profession, and amongst judges.  Well, for the latter, at least there is a lot of apparent support for it.  There is also, like most cartels, a lot of competition.  Hills’ comment is characteristic of a view often heard within law schools on the clerkship market…

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When governments attack–and delusional law professors find the problem to be corporations

TOTM I find it interesting that many on the left, so intent on maintaining their anti-market narratives, distort reality so badly that black is white and . . .

I find it interesting that many on the left, so intent on maintaining their anti-market narratives, distort reality so badly that black is white and up is down–and “government” is “corporations.”

I’ve highlighted this before when discussing the misdirected criticisms (and solutions) of self-described privacy advocates who point the finger at Google when really they should be concerned about the government.

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Innovation & the New Economy

Antitrust and the Midterm Elections

TOTM What do the midterm election results mean for antitrust, if anything?  According to the American Antitrust Institute, not much… Read the full piece here. 

What do the midterm election results mean for antitrust, if anything?  According to the American Antitrust Institute, not much…

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

CPI Symposium featuring Ginsburg and Wright on Antitrust Sanctions

TOTM Competition Policy International’s newest issue has been released.  The issue is focused on cartel sanctions and features a colloquium on a piece co-authored by Judge . . .

Competition Policy International’s newest issue has been released.  The issue is focused on cartel sanctions and features a colloquium on a piece co-authored by Judge Douglas Ginsburg and me on Antitrust Sanctions, with comments from a fantastic lineup of antitrust economists and lawyers: Joseph Harrington (Johns Hopkins), Pieter Kalbfleisch (Netherlands Competition Authority), Mariana Tavares de Araujo (SDE, Brazil), and Donald Klawiter (Sheppard Mullin).  The comments are interesting and agree and disagree with a variety of features of the Ginsburg & Wright proposal for even further (but not completely) shifting the focus of antitrust sanctions from the corporation toward responsible individuals, and adding debarment to the cartel enforcement toolkit.

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Business Law and the Austrian Theory of the Firm

TOTM My Missouri colleague, Peter Klein, of Organizations and Markets fame (and, like Larry, a proud non-voter), has been asked to contribute a book chapter on . . .

My Missouri colleague, Peter Klein, of Organizations and Markets fame (and, like Larry, a proud non-voter), has been asked to contribute a book chapter on the Austrian theory of the firm and the law. Peter, who has written extensively on the Austrian theory of the firm and maintains an online bibliography on the subject, is an expert on the economics. He asked me to give him some thoughts on the law — i.e., which business law doctrines cohere or conflict with Austrian insights on the nature of the firm.

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Some Economics of Contractual Restrictions on Political Contributions by Cable Pundits

TOTM Jonathan Adler and Orin Kerr chime in over at VC to make the point that MSNBC’s rules against contributions from television personalities is pointless, or . . .

Jonathan Adler and Orin Kerr chime in over at VC to make the point that MSNBC’s rules against contributions from television personalities is pointless, or perhaps counterproductive.  Here’s Adler…

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FTC Settlement Finalized

TOTM The FTC settlement with Intel has been finalized with one change the Commission’s press release describes as follows… Read the full piece here. 

The FTC settlement with Intel has been finalized with one change the Commission’s press release describes as follows…

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

When Google’s Competitors Attack …

TOTM We’ve discussed the all too common tactic in antitrust of rivals complaining to government agencies to get them to bring antitrust complaints.  There is nothing . . .

We’ve discussed the all too common tactic in antitrust of rivals complaining to government agencies to get them to bring antitrust complaints.  There is nothing particularly special about this tactic.  As I’ve pointed out in the context of allegations by Microsoft and Microsoft-supported rivals of Google, conventional economic reasoning suggests that, without more, complaints from rivals should be viewed with skepticism…

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Entrepreneurial Firms and Job Creation: Size Matters Not

Popular Media The view that small and new firms create a disproportionate share of new jobs is one of the most important stylized facts of the entrepreneurship . . .

The view that small and new firms create a disproportionate share of new jobs is one of the most important stylized facts of the entrepreneurship literature. But, as always, the devil is in the details. Small and new firms naturally grow at a faster rate than their large, mature counterparts, ceteris paribus, simply because they have few employees to start with. But they differ on a number of other grounds and have a higher hazard rate. What’s the bottom line?

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection