American Bar Association: Why Economics Matters in Criminal Antitrust Cases

O’Melveny partner Anna Pletcher, counsel Kelse Moen, and associate John Gonzalez co-authored this article discussing the role economists play as expert witnesses in criminal antitrust cases. “As more criminal cases have reached trial, a parallel trend has developed. Parties are turning increasingly to economic expert evidence to bolster their cases. This is a new frontier in the criminal realm. While economic evidence is common—and even expected—in civil cases, it has been almost non-existent in criminal ones,” the authors wrote. “Traditionally, it has been assumed that economics has nothing to do with this factual question of whether two competitors actually met together and agreed to fix prices, rig bids, or allocate a market, and, through 2022 the Division continued to oppose defendants’ use of economic testimony on that basis ... Nonetheless, as more of these cases reach trial, more parties are experimenting with the introduction of economic testimony anyway.”

Read the full article here.