LEC and George Mason Law Review host 29th Annual Antitrust Symposium

On February 20, 2026, the Law & Economics Center (LEC) and Scalia Law’s George Mason Law Review (GMLR) co-hosted the George Mason Law Review 29th Annual Antitrust Symposium at the FUSE Conference Center. The symposium, titled The Current Boundaries of Antitrust Policy, examined the shifting landscape across multiple areas of antitrust law.

Open to the public, the symposium drew 166 attendees, including state and federal judges, state attorneys general and their staff, agency officials, congressional staff, attorneys, law clerks, think tank staff, international regulators, students, and academics. Participants valued the professional diversity represented, and several attendees reported having substantive conversations with the GMLR students. The Scalia Law students volunteering at the event were led by this year’s Symposium Editor, Garrett Gillespie, whose leadership helped ensure a successful program.

The symposium included four panel discussions and two interviews. Each panel comprised experts who contributed differing, informed perspectives and professional experiences.

The first panel, 25th Anniversary of the Microsoft Decision & the State of Section 2, featured:

• Leah Brannon, Partner and Co-Leader of U.S. Antitrust Group, Cleary Gottlieb Steen &
  Hamilton LLP
• Renata B. Hesse, Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP      
• William E. Kovacic, Global Competition Professor of Law and Policy, Professor of Law, and Director, Competition Law Center, The George Washington University Law School
• Howard Shelanski, Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
• Moderator: Douglas H. Ginsburg, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School 

Participants spoke highly of this panel and valued the deep knowledge of each panelist. One attendee stated: “[Panel 1 was] my favorite panel of the [program]. [It] provided a few useful insights into correctly understanding some of the nuanced rulings in this case.”

The symposium’s second panel, Revival of the Robinson-Patman Act, included:

• Alden Abbott, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University 
• Jonathan Nuechterlein, Distinguished Scholar, Competition Law Center, The George Washington University Law School; Lecturer, University of Virginia School of Law; Adjunct Law Professor, Georgetown University Law Center
• Daniel P. O’Brien, Senior Consultant, Econic Partners, LLC; Senior Consultant, Compass Lexecon; Founder, Microfoundations, Inc.
• Mark Poe, Partner & Co-Founder, Gaw | Poe LLP
• Moderator: Bruce H. Kobayashi, Paige V. and Henry N. Butler Chair in Law and Economics, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Participants commended the quality of the diverse perspectives on the panel, with one judge reflecting, “This session was extremely well done and presented equal points of view.” 

Lunch featured a discussion between Eleanor M. Fox (Walter J. Derenberg Professor of Trade Regulation Emerita, New York University School of Law) and Abbott (Tad) B. Lipsky, Jr. (Assistant Professor and Director of Competition, Law & Economics Center, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School). Several participants spoke highly of Professor Fox’s career experiences.

A third panel, titled Boundaries of Refusal to Deal & Predatory Tying/Bundling, followed lunch and featured:

• Erika M. Douglas, Associate Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law
• Erik Hovenkamp, Professor of Law, Cornell Law School
• Thomas A. Lambert, Wall Chair in Corporate Law and Governance and Professor of Law, University of Missouri School of Law
• Kristen C. Limarzi, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
• Moderator: J. Shahar Dillbary, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

The final panel, Rethinking Monopoly Maintenance Law in the Digital Economy, was a research roundtable, where Nicolas Petit presented his paper to the audience.  The other panelists provided comments and suggestions, following the presentation. The panel included:

• Giovanna Massarotto, Lecturer in Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
• Thomas B. Nachbar, Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law
• Nicolas Petit, Visiting Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School; Chair in European Competition Law, European University Institute
• Moderator: John M. Yun, Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia
  Law School 

The symposium closed with a Fireside Chat between former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman and current Scalia Law Professor, Timothy Muris and the FTC’s present Chairman, Andrew M. Ferguson. Professor Muris interviewed Chairman Ferguson on topics ranging from his career experience to the challenges he took on when sworn in and the current work he is doing at the FTC. C-SPAN broadcast the afternoon Fireside Chat, and made the recording of the conversation available on the C-SPAN website.

The Antitrust Education Project, FTI Consulting, and DCI Group sponsored this year’s symposium.