Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University; Former General Counsel at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Alden Abbott is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center. Prior to joining Mercatus, he served as the General Counsel of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). As the Commission’s chief legal officer and adviser, he represented the agency in court and provides legal counsel to the Commission and its bureaus and offices.
Prior to rejoining the FTC in April 2018, Mr. Abbott served in executive positions at the Heritage Foundation (2014-2018) and BlackBerry (2012-2014). He also held a variety of senior positions in the U.S. federal government (in the FTC, the Commerce Department, and the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel and the Antitrust Division).
He speaks French, Spanish, and Italian.
Associate, Latham & Watkins LLP
Charlie Beller is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins.
Mr. Beller represents companies in antitrust and competition matters, including merger clearance, antitrust litigation, government investigations, and corporate counseling.
He advises clients on a variety of antitrust issues, with specific experience in the defense, aviation, chemicals, and music and book publishing industries.
Mr. Beller maintains an active pro bono practice, providing tax-exempt counseling to non-profit institutions. He has also supported successful litigation to overturn state occupational licensing restrictions.
Mr. Beller serves as a Young Lawyer Representative on the American Bar Association (ABA) Antitrust Section’s Pricing Conduct Committee, and as a co-editor of the Section’s forthcoming Price Discrimination Handbook. He authored updates to the Air Transportation chapter of Antitrust Law Developments.
Mr. Beller was previously a management consultant in Germany supporting companies with pricing strategy.
Vice President and Director of Legal Advocacy, American Antitrust Institute
Kathleen Bradish has been an antitrust lawyer, in both private practice and government, for almost 20 years. She has extensive experience with conduct cases and mergers, with particular experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, and in international competition matters. Ms. Bradish joined the law firm of Cleary Gottlieb after law school and was appointed counsel in 2014. From mid-2015 to late 2018, Ms. Bradish was Assistant Chief and International Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division.
At DOJ, Ms. Bradish served as deputy chief handling the Antitrust Division’s international relations, representing the Division’s views on antitrust enforcement abroad. She advised case teams on issues affecting cooperation with foreign antitrust enforcers and provided guidance to leadership on competition issues arising abroad and affecting the United States. Ms. Bradish also represented the Antitrust Division in trade issues, including leading the negotiations of competition chapters in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Ms. Bradish returned to Cleary Gottlieb as Counsel in 2018.
Counsel, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP; Senior Competition Counsel, TechFreedom
Bilal Sayyed represents clients before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) in significant merger, civil and criminal antitrust matters. A significant portion of his practice involves representing investment funds on antitrust and Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act compliance matters; he has also provided expert witness services related to HSR compliance. Bilal also counsels clients before the FTC in consumer protection and privacy investigations. He maintains an active amicus and appellate brief writing practice in antitrust litigation and antitrust merger matters.
Prior to joining Cadwalader, Bilal was the Director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning (OPP) (2018-2021). In that role, he provided legal and policy advice to the Chairman and Commissioners on antitrust and consumer protection matters and worked closely with the senior and career leadership of the FTC’s Bureaus of Competition, Consumer Protection, and Economics. Bilal previously served as an Attorney Advisor to FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris from 2001 to 2004. In that role, Bilal advised the Chairman on matters involving a wide spectrum of industries, including chemical and mining, petroleum and natural gas, health care and pharmaceutical, defense and transportation, gaming, various consumer products and retail operations, and professional associations and standard-setting organizations.
Bilal has taught antitrust and competition law at the George Mason University School of Law since 2011.
Bilal received his B.A. from Case Western Reserve University, and a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the State of New York, as well as before the U.S. District Courts for the District of Colorado and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Fifth Circuit, the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bilal is the host of Rethinking Antitrust, a podcast published by TechFreedom that examines the economics, institutions, law, legislation, and policy goals of antitrust enforcement.
Associate, Latham & Watkins LLP
Charlie Beller is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins.
Mr. Beller represents companies in antitrust and competition matters, including merger clearance, antitrust litigation, government investigations, and corporate counseling.
He advises clients on a variety of antitrust issues, with specific experience in the defense, aviation, chemicals, and music and book publishing industries.
Mr. Beller maintains an active pro bono practice, providing tax-exempt counseling to non-profit institutions. He has also supported successful litigation to overturn state occupational licensing restrictions.
Mr. Beller serves as a Young Lawyer Representative on the American Bar Association (ABA) Antitrust Section’s Pricing Conduct Committee, and as a co-editor of the Section’s forthcoming Price Discrimination Handbook. He authored updates to the Air Transportation chapter of Antitrust Law Developments.
Mr. Beller was previously a management consultant in Germany supporting companies with pricing strategy.
Reducing Regulatory Barriers: The Future of Market Competition
Alden F. Abbott, Charlie Beller, Kathleen W. Bradish, Bilal Sayyed
On April 9th, President Trump signed E.O. 14267, Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers, which “commences the process...
When Do Low Prices Hurt Competition?
Charlie Beller
Regulatory Transparency Project's Fourth Branch Video
Lower prices are generally assumed to benefit consumers. However, predatory pricing – which artificially lowers...