Finals Time

The end of the semester ticklist:

• Classes done last Friday.  Woohoo.
• Secured Transactions final polished and turned over today.  Alright.
• Antitrust final in the percolation process.  

The end of the academic year, however, is marked by the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies colloquium at Loyola-Chicago, held every April at about this time.  Not sure if this is deliberate, but the event frequently seems to follow the Boston marathon by about four days.

Why do I like the colloquium?  One denizen of the program, a person of considerable note in the Antitrust academy, once said "it is the Woodstock of antitrust."  Need I another reason?

In case I do, the colloquium predictably has a great program.  At least two of the speakers usually tend to be people whose work I do not know well.  The topics range quite broadly and -- Woodstock aside -- do not seem to be limited by political viewpoints.  (In two speaking roles there over the years I have argued (1) Twombly was correctly decided and (2) aggressive marketing practices that I label "behavioral exploitation" can serve as conduct giving rise to an antitrust violation.  Another denizen of some note told me I went from right to left so fast he got whiplash.)

Getting ready to head out for the pleasant drive to Chicago now.  Headlines that I'm particularly excited about:

1. We have the Chicago School, Post-Chicago, Neo-Chicago, Harvard, and Berkeley schools of antitrust.  How about a "Vatican school"?
2. US v. Apple and the need to restore public support for competition policy.
3. Econometric models as facts in judicial decisionmaking.  I read the thesis and I say "wow.  That's Twombly."  
4. The First Amendment/antitrust law interplay in the information economy.  

This promises to be a fun trip.