Introduction
The Antitrust and Consumer Law Section has enjoyed another successful year of providing our members and the general public with timely and interesting programs and activities at minimal costs.
We have increased our efforts to partner with related organizations, including bar organizations (the Bar Association of D.C. and the American Bar Association (ABA)), local educational institutions (George Washington University School of Law), and national consumer groups (the National Consumers League, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, and the AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly). Our section was very involved in the Bar’s Youth Law Fair, held in March, and the section was selected to receive the D.C. Bar’s 2011 Best Section Community Outreach Project Award for fifteen years of support for the Advice and Referral Clinic by D.C. Bar sections. We are very proud of our outreach on all fronts and will certainly continue to commit further time and resources to these efforts.
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Events/Programs
The section began the year in July 2010 with our popular program “Speed Mentoring for Consumer Law and Antitrust Attorneys,” which has become an annual event and has been cited by the Chair of the Sections Council as a model for outreach to Bar membership. The event, held at the Bar’s conference center, provided young attorneys and law students with the opportunity to interact with experienced attorneys in the antitrust and consumer protection field. Followed by a wine and cheese reception, the speed mentoring program—designed to mimic speed dating—gives participants the opportunity to network and socialize in an informal setting. Plans are already underway for a repeat performance of the program in July 2011.
In September, the section’s antitrust committee brought back the CLE program focusing on a Practical Introduction to Antitrust Law that has been offered by the Bar in years past. The program was well–received used real–world examples to provide an overview of antitrust laws and enforcement issues. Attendees learned about issues they could encounter and that may pose antitrust problems, including price agreements, market division, agreements not to deal, resale price maintenance, and monopolization, among others.
October was a very busy month. We started the month by hosting our annual “Meet and Greet” to encourage new and current members to become more involved in our section, and to generate ideas for future programming.
Also in October 2010, our antitrust committee organized a luncheon program entitled “Practical Issues in Coordinating Federal–State Non–Merger Enforcement.” This program focused on practical issues concerning cooperation among state and federal enforcers in non–merger cases. The discussion included the types of cases likely to prompt state or federal investigations and enforcement activity, the interaction between state and federal enforcers, including the differing interests and approaches of enforcers in large and small states and the federal government.
Also in October, our consumer law committee collaborated with George Washington Law School’s Public Interest and Public Service Law Program, as well as two ABA Sections, to host a program to discuss the new proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency entitled: “The New Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Its Powers, Responsibilities, and How (and Whether) It Can Succeed in Protecting Consumers.” The panel discussed whether the new Bureau will function independently from the Fed and how it can protect consumers, while not undermining the safety and soundness of banks and other financial institutions. In addition, the panel discussed the Bureau’s broad rulemaking, enforcement, and litigation authority and considered issues relating to the new agency’s leadership and organization.
In December, the antitrust committee cosponsored a program with the ABA’s Antitrust Section and the American Antitrust Institute on Large Banks and Antitrust Enforcement Issues. The committee invited author and former IMF Chief Economist Simon Johnson to join a public discussion of his ideas with AAI’s Bert Foer and banking expert Arthur Wilmarth. The program began with a summary of points made in Johnson’s book concerning big bank power and antitrust concerns. Foer discussed the limitations of antitrust enforcement, including current case law proof requirements. The panelists agreed that a major change in antitrust enforcement policies would require radical changes in the Congress and the judiciary. Conversation then moved to broader competition policy questions, including possible regulatory approaches that might curb future financial crises.
In March, the consumer law committee offered a program entitled “The Grayson Decision and Beyond: Standing to Bring Suit on Behalf of Consumers and the Future of Private Attorney General Actions in the District of Columbia.” The program focused on the en banc D.C. Court of Appeals decision that limited the ability of individuals to bring representative actions on behalf of consumers: Grayson v. AT&T Corp., Nos. 07-CV-1264 & 08-CV-1089, --- A.3d ----, 2011 WL 165843 (D.C. 2011). Informed practitioners discussed the Court’s decision regarding the scope, standing, and pleading requirements of D.C.’s amended Consumer Protection & Procedures Act. The panel considered the implications of the Grayson decision for future private attorney general actions brought on behalf of consumers in the District of Columbia.
In April 2011, the antitrust committee presented a brown bag luncheon program on the Merger of Southwest Airlines and AirTran. The program took up the recently expressed views that the Southwest/AirTran merger raises important airline competition issues that may be overlooked in a routine investigative review. The topic is of local interest because both airlines are important at an airport that is important to the D.C. area, BWI Thurgood Marshall.
On June 7, 2011, the consumer law committee hosted our final program of the fiscal year, Foreclosures in the District of Columbia: From Modification, to Mediation, to Litigation. The expert panel discussed legal developments affecting mortgage foreclosures in the District of Columbia, including the District’s non–judicial foreclosure process; foreclosures from the homeowners’ and banking perspective; the new foreclosure mediation process; foreclosure rescue scams; the successes and failures of the TARP/HAMP approach; and the D.C. Office of Attorney General's Statement on foreclosures. This three–hour evening program was be cosponsored by five other sections of the D.C. Bar and by the National Consumers League, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, and the AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly.
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Community Outreach/Pro Bono
In the past year, our section was very involved in the Bar’s Youth Law Fair, held in March, and the section was selected to receive the D.C. Bar’s 2011 Best Section Community Outreach Project Award for fifteen years of support for the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program’s Advice and Referral Clinic by D.C. Bar Sections. Our thanks and kudos to steering committee members Don Resnikoff and Steve Vieux, and former steering committee member Sondra Mills for their dedication to the Bar’s pro bono efforts.
The section also continues to provide attorneys for the Pro Bono Program’s Advice and Referral Clinic, held each month at Bread for the City. Volunteers give on–the–spot advice and may facilitate referrals, but do not provide follow–up representation or assistance. Just as important, the section has maintained its generous financial assistance to the Pro Bono Program.
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Membership
The section has the dual mission of serving practitioners in the fields of antitrust and competition law as well as those practicing in the areas of consumer protection and trade regulation law.
The section steering committee is proud of the fact that our quarterly newsletter continues to be a resource for generating new members while keeping current members informed of section activities and upcoming programs. Our thanks to outgoing steering committee member Mike McNeely for his tireless efforts at creating and publishing our newsletter over the years.
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Practice Manual
The section also updated both the Antitrust and Consumer Protection chapters of the District of Columbia Practice Manual. Our thanks go to steering committee members Don Resnikoff and Tracy Rezvani for their work on the chapters.
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Financial
The Section increased its dues amount for the coming fiscal year to avoid a shortfall in its fiscal year–end balance due to the pro rata cost structure implemented by the Bar for this current fiscal year. We endeavor to maintain financial stability while continuing to provide valuable programs for our members at minimal cost.
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