Antitrust and Competition Law
The courses in the antitrust and competition law area are intended to provide students with the legal and economic framework for understanding how government policy can be used to control the business decisions of private enterprises.
Basic Courses: The basic course in the area is Antitrust Law or Antitrust and Regulatory Alternatives I. Both courses focus on the U.S. antitrust laws and their application to monopolization, mergers, cartel practices (such as price fixing), and distribution agreements. Students can also take a basic course in government economic regulation, either Antitrust and Regulatory Alternatives II or Regulation, Deregulation, and Reregulation. These courses focus on the basic principles for deciding when and how to use government agency regulation rather than markets to control business behavior.
International and Comparative Competition Law: In addition to one or both of the basic courses, students are urged to take at least one course or seminar that focuses on competition law in jurisdictions outside the United States. We generally offer a course on European Union economic law and seminars on international and comparative antitrust law and on competition law in developing countries.
Economics: Economic theory is very important for understanding antitrust and competition policy and we offer a number of courses and seminars designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of various branches of economics. The main course for studying how economic theory is applied in antitrust is the Antitrust Law and Economics seminar. Students interested in this area should also consider the courses in quantitative methods, foundations of economic analysis, or law, economics & psychology. Each of these courses will provide useful tools for antitrust analysis.
Advanced Antitrust Courses: For those who know they are interested in specializing in this area, we offer a number of advanced electives taught by members of our adjunct faculty, who have extensive antitrust practice experience. These courses include antitrust issues in the distribution of goods and services and a seminar in antitrust case development and litigation strategy.
Intellectual Property and Innovation Policy: Intellectual property law, and innovation policy more generally, are increasingly important in today’s economy and involve issues that are closely related to antitrust law and competition policy. We therefore recommend taking at least one intellectual property course, either the survey course or a course in any one of the three basic areas of intellectual property law (copyrights, patents, or trademarks).
Further Related Courses: NYU’s curriculum is rich in courses related to international trade and to the regulation of specific sectors of the economy (e.g., financial services and securities). Any of those courses would provide further understanding as to how business is regulated in today’s increasingly international economy.