Antitrust with no econ background? Forum

[Anonymous User]

How hard would it be to practice antitrust without an Econ background?

[Anonymous User]

Not hard at all. I’m an antitrust lawyer and most of the ones I know have no econ background. You’ll learn as you go.

[Anonymous User]

Not hard at all. I’m an antitrust lawyer and most of the ones I know have no econ background. You’ll learn as you go.

Agreed. If you're smart enough to get into a good law school you will have no problem picking up whatever econ you need to know. It's not complicated at all.

That said, I've worked for a few antitrust partners who strongly favor econ backgrounds in hiring.

[Anonymous User]

I will echo this sentiment. I don’t think it will hurt you in your actual practice, but it may make it a bit tougher to get in the door at some firms. I can’t speak to which firms value econ more than others.

[Anonymous User]

You can learn as you go, but you'll have an easier time if you skim college level micro econ and industrial organization textbooks. Also, the good hornbooks usually have a few intro chapters on the econ theory you need to know.

[zanderjames]

if you take a look at Antitrust Law Developments or Hovenkamp's Federal Antitrust Policy hornbook, you'll learn the basics. Antitrust is going through an anti-econ bend at the moment; lots of progressives decry the reliance on economic theory and economists as narrowing the application of the antitrust laws. Setting aside the merits of that position, it's still important to learn the econ as you go--even if you agree with this view, you'll have to make economic arguments in whatever forum you're litigating the dispute.

[Anonymous User]

if you take a look at Antitrust Law Developments or Hovenkamp's Federal Antitrust Policy hornbook, you'll learn the basics. Antitrust is going through an anti-econ bend at the moment; lots of progressives decry the reliance on economic theory and economists as narrowing the application of the antitrust laws. Setting aside the merits of that position, it's still important to learn the econ as you go--even if you agree with this view, you'll have to make economic arguments in whatever forum you're litigating the dispute.

Yup. Read Hovenkamp and then Wu’s Antitrust in the New Gilded Age and you’ll have a sense of the tension. And also Zephyer Teachout’s new book if you want an political/social/holistic lens that is horrifyingly persuasive. But still, you have to know the economics…