SynthesisWelcome Remarks: Bill Kovacic
Bill KOVACIC (Professor, The George Washington University Competition Law Center and Non-Executive Director, UK Competition and Markets Authority) welcomed the enforcers, academics and private practitioners to the Awards ceremony.
He started by underscoring the importance of the Antitrust Writing Awards as the field’s main writing awards. By recognizing superior writing in academia and practice, the Awards celebrate and enhance the indispensable intellectual infrastructure of the antitrust field.
He noted that throughout the history of the field, there have been papers and written ideas that defined, shaped, and changed the conversation and policy in antitrust. Phil Areeda’s work in the 1970s changed the course of antitrust policy for the subsequent 30 years. Other authors’ written works have done the same before and after during the 20th century. Last year, a Yale Law student’s (referring to Lina Khan) article on the market power of Amazon spurred long ranging discussion about the goals of antitrust in the 21st century, and even resulted in the terms “hipster” antitrust, and “populist” antitrust. The field may not always move in the direction we expect, or want, but these writings and the Antitrust Writing Awards provide an idea where the field might be headed, as well as an opportunity to help shape that direction.