Government enforcement officials, litigators, economic experts, and other members of the global antitrust community convened at the ABA Section of Antitrust Law's 55th annual spring meeting in Washington, DC on 18-20 April 2007. Featuring more than 50 sessions, the meeting addressed all aspects of US antitrust law and also covered aspects of consumer protection law and non-US competition law. Three NERA economists -- Special Consultant Dr. Richard Rapp and Senior Vice Presidents Dr. Thomas McCarthy and Dr. Ramsey Shehadeh -- participated in the event.

In the "Antitrust Economic Fundamentals" session, Dr. Rapp presented "The Economics of Market Power," a discussion of the meaning and measurement of market power in antitrust matters. Dr. McCarthy, who chairs NERA's US Healthcare Practice, spoke on a panel entitled "How Buying At 'Low Prices' Can Violate the Antitrust Laws: Monopsony Lessons from Healthcare Antitrust Cases." He and the other panelists discussed how to distinguish between efficient conduct and the exercise of monopsony power in the healthcare industry. Dr. Shehadeh served as an economic expert in a program that followed a mock oil company merger through the agency review process.