Antitrust Conspiracies and How to Avoid Them (Presented by Troutman Pepper Locke)

Bradley C. Weber | Troutman Pepper Locke

Brad co-leads the firm’s Antitrust Practice, is a past chair of the Antitrust & Business Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas, and a past president of the Dallas Bar Association. For the past 11 years, he has been rated by Chambers USA for antitrust law, and he was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America as the “Lawyer of the Year” for Antitrust Law in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area for 2022 and 2024, an honor bestowed each year to only one attorney in a practice area and metropolitan area. Brad’s recent antitrust cases have involved clients from a wide range of industries, including energy, financial services, real estate, multifamily property management, insurance, travel services, building products, and agriculture. He also has extensive experience representing clients in class actions and multidistrict litigation.

In addition to his antitrust litigation practice, Brad frequently represents clients in government antitrust investigations, enforcement actions, and merger reviews with the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Justice-Antitrust Division, and numerous state antitrust enforcement agencies. He also advises clients on the antitrust implications of proposed transactions and other business activities, including compliance and reporting under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Act, and provides consultation, analysis, and advice regarding the antitrust laws as they relate to various business relationships and trade association activities. A client represented by Brad in a government investigation told Chambers that he, “works magic with antitrust regulators,” with another client noting, “his experience with prior transactions gives him a wealth of knowledge and experience.”

Brad speaks and writes frequently on antitrust law enforcement, practice, policy, and compliance, including developing issues at the intersection of antitrust and artificial intelligence. He is a regular guest lecturer on antitrust and trade regulation at the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University. In 2023, Brad authored a published law review article titled “Hub-and-Spoke Conspiracies: Can Big Data and Pricing Algorithms Form the Rim,” which discusses the antitrust risks associated with the use of big data and AI algorithms for setting the prices of goods and services. He also recently co-authored an article titled “The Real Ethics of Artificial Intelligence-Considerations for Legal Professionals,” which was published by The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law. This article discusses the ethical use of AI tools in the legal profession for tasks such as legal research, litigation analytics, e-discovery, and trial preparation.

Jennifer McCoy | Troutman Pepper Locke

Jennifer focuses her practice on white collar criminal defense, government and internal investigations, and overlapping labor and employment matters. Her clients include companies, educational institutions, public bodies, and individuals facing various allegations of fraud, anti-trust violations, securities issues, anti-kickback violations, false claims act violations, and misconduct related to employment, regulatory, and compliance matters.

Jennifer has extensive trial experience, having assisted in securing acquittals in both state and federal courts, including an acquittal in the DOJ’s first-ever criminal wage-fixing case, as well as the lone acquittal in a complex health care fraud case involving 12 defendants. Jennifer also conducts internal investigations and represents clients before state and federal agencies, such as the SEC, FDA, TWC, EEOC, DOL, and OALJ. She has a thorough understanding of regulatory and compliance matters, which helps clients navigate complex legal landscapes effectively.

Matthew Goodin | Troutman Pepper Locke

Matt’s practice primarily focuses on class actions and complex litigation, particularly within the banking and financial services industries. He represents large international banks in class actions involving alleged manipulation of interest rate benchmarks, such as U.S. dollar LIBOR, EURIBOR, and Yen LIBOR, as well as foreign exchange (FX) benchmarks. Matt also defends sponsors, trustees, and issuers of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in litigation brought by private plaintiffs, as well as federal entities, like the National Credit Union Administration Board and various Federal Home Loan Banks.

Matt’s clients include banks, mortgage lenders, servicers, securitized trusts, and student loan trusts, but he also represents clients outside of the financial services sector in various antitrust matters.

I. Civil antitrust conspiracy risk from participation in trade associations and industry groups | 9:40am – 10:00am

II. Civil antitrust issues tied to algorithms and predictive pricing tools | 10:00am – 10:20am

III. How the use of AI in business decision-making can create or amplify coordination concerns | 10:20am – 10:40am