Our Curious Amalgam explores topics in antitrust, competition, consumer protection, data protection, and privacy law around the world with leading experts in those areas. It is an amalgam because it is a group of diverse topics all in one place. It is curious because it gets the experts and asks them in-depth questions.
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Beyond the Margins was created for you. To help you better understand how every decision you make has a financial impact on your business.While the bottom line is important, there are also things we need to address if we want to be successful in business and also at an individual level.Our goal is to unpack topics that will help you to make better financial decisions to grow your business but also grow and take care of yourself as an entrepreneur.
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Join me for a weekly talk-through of IELTS topics to help you learn about the issues, vocabulary, tips and strategies you need to prepare. Find all my tips on my website ieltsetc.com and join the Members Academy for all the downloads, step-by-step online courses, and support to get you a Band 7+ in the #ielts test.
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During a series of podcasts we will bring you insightful analysis, commentary and discussion from thought leaders and experts on current topics in the field of International Arbitration, IP Law, International Tax Law, Competition Law and other international legal fields.
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Savage to Sage explores the evolutionary journey of entrepreneurs and founders. The leaders who are becoming sages have gained self awareness and addressed their destructive tendencies, and put their best energies in multiplying themselves with their teams. You will hear in the interviews how they take time to practice self-care, and have intentionally shaped their company culture. Every week, host Daniel Fuller, Partner at FullStack in Indianapolis, will be talking with a diverse group of s ...
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#322 Prices on Your Mind? Using Economics To Understand Inflation, Tariffs, and Junk Fees
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26:43We are seeing some swirling changes to the marketplace and international trade that affect prices of goods and services in our daily lives. How can economics help us cope and understand underlying concepts such as cost pass-through? Anne Catherine Faye, Vice President at Analysis Group, speaks to James Hunsberger and Anora Wang about inflation, tar…
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#321 What Is Happening at the UK CMA? Impact of the Government’s New Approach
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32:44The UK government elected in 2024 has a "growth" agenda and is pushing regulators including the UK Competition and Markets Authority to support this. What does the approach mean for the CMA? Veronica Roberts, lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills, joins Blair Matthews and Matthew Hall to discuss the wide range of recent announcements and proposals from…
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#320 What Can In-House Counsel Do To Tame the Premerger Notification Beast? Practical Suggestions for Complying With the New HSR Rules
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33:41New disclosure requirements for U.S. premerger notifications under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act were announced in the fall of 2024 and became effective in February 2025. What are the practical implications of the new requirements for in-house counsel tasked with preparing for an HSR filing? In this episode, Matt Bester and Paul Covaleski of Accenture …
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#319 Can We Define Overlapping Markets? Understanding the Legal and Economic Arguments
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38:21Market definition plays a central role in antitrust analysis. Is it appropriate for the U.S. antitrust agencies to identify "overlapping markets" and "submarkets" as relevant markets for antitrust purposes? Keith Klovers, Counsel at Latham & Watkins and former advisor to FTC commissioners Christine S. Wilson and Maureen K. Ohlhausen, talks to Blair…
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#318 How Hot Is Cartel Enforcement Around the Globe? Checking the Forecast for 2025 and Beyond
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29:35Cartel enforcement remains a priority for agencies around the world, but in recent years enforcers have continued to focus on domestic cases. With political and personnel changes in the U.S. and across the globe, what can we expect in 2025 and beyond? John Terzaken, Partner and Global Co-Chair of Simpson Thacher’s Antitrust and Trade Regulation Pra…
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#317 Is Artificial Intelligence Putting Data Privacy at Risk?: A New Wave of Investigations in Europe
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27:52The AI revolution has arrived, with the recent debut of Chinese AI bot DeepSeek confirming that this is a global market. But what are the data privacy implications of the massive amounts of personal data that companies are collecting to train and deploy their AI models? Rory Macmillan, an expert in data protection and privacy law, joins Alicia Down…
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#316 Does Taking Control of Your Health Mean Losing Control of Your Data? The Privacy Risks of Healthcare Apps
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30:56Millions of us use mobile apps to help manage our physical and mental health and wellbeing. How well does existing law protect the private health data collected by these apps? In this episode, hosts Alicia Downey and Kelsey Paine talk to privacy and cybersecurity law expert David Turetsky about the issues posed by healthcare apps that collect sensi…
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#315 Are You In or Are You Out? Using Economics to Identify and Quantify Potential Class Members
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29:17Private class action lawsuits play a significant role in the vindication and development of U.S. antitrust law. But what are attorneys and courts to do when they know there's an injured class, but are not quite sure who's in it and who's not? Tram Nguyen, Ph.D., an economist and Managing Principal at Edgeworth Economics, joins Alicia Downey and Mat…
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#314 A New Era for Private Antitrust Litigation in China? Impact of the June 2024 Judicial Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court
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40:33Private antitrust litigation has long been part of the landscape in China. What will be the impact of the Supreme People's Court latest judicial interpretation on the issue? Susan (Xuanfeng) Ning, lawyer at King & Wood Mallesons in Beijing, joins Matthew Hall and Anora Wang to discuss the background to the judicial interpretation and its likely con…
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In this lesson, you'll learn how to use the words you DON'T KNOW to get the right answers! It's a difficult Academic Reading Part 3, which contains several scientific terms that might cause confusion. But I will show you how IELTS uses these words for gapfills, and you'll learn the 6 'triggers' that indicate the answer. Get the full video lesson in…
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#313 Who’s Blocking Me? Competition Law Issues With Healthcare Information Blocking
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38:09When it comes to your health, having digitized information available for seamless sharing across multiple healthcare providers and other stakeholders -- including patients themselves -- is a clear benefit. But can certain actors disrupt the goal of interoperability? David Schwartz, a healthcare-focused antitrust lawyer, joins Jeny Maier and Matt Ta…
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#312 What New Direction Will Europe Take? New Ideas and New Leadership at the European Commission
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26:27How is the European Commission rethinking its approach to competition policy and enforcement as new leadership takes the helm, including the appointment of Spain's Teresa Ribera as the European Commissioner for Competition? Alicia Downey and Subrata Bhattacharjee talk to John Davies, Senior Advisor at the Brunswick Group, about the changing landsca…
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#311 What Will Happen to Competition Law Enforcement in Mexico? Implications of the November 2024 Reforms
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32:47The independent Mexican competition law regulator, COFECE, has been abolished and absorbed into the Ministry of Economics. What does this mean for merger control and competition law enforcement in Mexico? Lucia Ojeda Cárdenas, lawyer at SAI Law & Economics in Mexico City, joins Matthew Hall and Subrata Bhattacharjee to discuss this dramatic reform …
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#310 What Do Enforcers Say? A Global Perspective on Antitrust Issues Involving Cloud Computing & Infrastructure
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44:47Regulators around the world have raised antitrust concerns over concentrated control of key inputs into AI development and deployment, with access to cloud computing as one area of focus. What are the key concerns and proposed actions? A panel of experts from Argentina, Brazil, and the U.S. speak with Koren Wong-Ervin and Anora Wang on thoughts on …
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IELTS Reading: Maternity Allowance (Money Vocabulary Topic)
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23:31This month, we've been exploring the huge topic of MONEY in the Members Academy. It comes up in ALL parts of the test, so in this lesson, we examine two very similar General Training Texts in order to learn more about the topic of government benefit systems and the allowances that you might be entitled to. Each country's benefit system is different…
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#309 Can You Click, Cancel, and Comply? How the FTC Is Unsubscribing Businesses From Deceptive Practices
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20:11The FTC’s new “Click-to-Cancel” rule is reshaping consumer protection and compliance in the subscription economy. But what challenges and opportunities does this regulation present for businesses? Panos Dimitrellos and Jaclyn Phillips explore these issues with guest Christi Lawson, partner at Foley & Lardner, discussing the rule’s legal, economic, …
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#308 What Makes a Compliance Program Effective? The DOJ’s Updated Corporate Antitrust Compliance Program Guidance
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34:53The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division recently updated its guidance regarding the division’s “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs in Criminal Antitrust Investigations.” What are the key changes? In this episode, Alicia Downey and Anora Wang talk to Emma Burnham, Antitrust Division Director of Criminal Enforcement, about how pros…
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#307 Will the Past Be the Future? Looking Back at 2024 and Forward to 2025
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32:14Happy New Year to OCA listeners everywhere! Antitrust was a hot topic in 2024, and it's poised to get even hotter in 2025. In Our Curious Amalgam's year-end special episode, six of our regular hosts offer their perspectives on 2024's notable developments and trends in criminal antitrust enforcement, monopolization and merger challenges, internation…
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#306 How Do I Make a Competition Law Complaint in India? A Practical Discussion About Approaching the CCI
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43:27India is now one of the most important competition law jurisdictions in the world. With direct court action against anti-competitive practices not an option, how can a third party seek to persuade the Competition Commission of India to become involved? Abir Roy, partner and co-founder of Sarvada Legal, joins Matthew Reynolds and Matthew Hall to dis…
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This is a lovely reading about forced rhubarb: its history and how it is grown and harvested. There are 3 question sets: Matching Headings Multiple Choice Gapfill In this lesson you'll learn more about the general topic of FOOD and how this topic is tested in all parts of the IELTS test. Get the full lesson in the Bronze Academy on my website. http…
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#305 Is It Fair? The FTC’s Policies and Enforcement Actions on Unfair Methods of Competition Under Section 5
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32:51The FTC's unfair competition enforcement policy under FTC Act Section 5 has frequently been in the headlines the past two years. What is the history of Section 5 enforcement and how has the Commission utilized this tool since issuing its 2022 Policy Statement on unfair methods of competition? Hosts Jeny Maier and Sergei Zaslavsky explore the many a…
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#304 Is Per Se Here to Stay? Criminal Antitrust Cases Beyond United States v. Brewbaker
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27:02In the U.S., so-called "per se" antitrust crimes require nothing more than proof that the conduct occurred, relieving prosecutors of the difficult job of proving harm to competition. Is the Fourth Circuit's 2023 opinion in U.S. v. Brewbaker part of a growing judicial trend toward limiting the prosecution of per se cases? Ann O'Brien, the co-leader …
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IELTS Pie Charts - how to avoid making this common mistake
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12:52Always check the title of a pie chart to make sure you're providing an accurate summary of the data.Pie charts show percentage and proportion, not numbers. Here's an example of a mistake that is very easy to make when you're under pressure.So practise plenty of pie charts before the test and get ready to use the language related to pie charts - lis…
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#303 You’re Charging Me How Much? A Discussion of Personalized and Surveillance Pricing
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25:55With the greater availability of data and algorithms, firms in today's digital age are increasingly generating prices or price recommendations based on individual consumers' personal characteristics and behaviors. Does this benefit or harm consumers, and how should policymakers respond? Sanjog Misra, a Professor of Marketing and Applied AI at the U…
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#302 Are the Critics Wrong? How the Robinson-Patman Act Has Been Misunderstood by Its Detractors
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28:30The Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) has a long, controversial history within U.S. antitrust law and economics. In this episode, Mark Poe, an attorney who specializes in RPA litigation, discusses the RPA with hosts Puja Patel and Aaron Yeater. Mark and the hosts explore Mark's view that traditional critics of RPA are incorrect, which he first presented in…
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#301 Are Airline Mergers Taking Off? Economic Analyses of the Recent U.S. Passenger Airline Transactions
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38:39The U.S. passenger airlines have been active in mergers and acquisitions since last year or so, with the Alaska/Hawaiian acquisition, the failed JetBlue/Spirit merger, and more being proposed. But how are these deals and airline competition in general analyzed from an economic perspective? Dr. Gautam Gowrisankaran, Professor of Economics at Columbi…
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How to learn prepositions from IELTS Reading (The impact of climate change on butterflies)
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30:00In this lesson, we'll analyse a Part 1 Reading text with the purpose of improving our understanding and use of prepositions. First, we go through the True, False and Not Given questions, followed by the Gapfill questions and then we go back to the first paragraph to analyse the prepositions. This is something that I recommend you do regularly - spe…
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#300 What’s on the Radar? Legal and Regulatory Analysis of Airline Mergers in the U.S.
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42:03The U.S. passenger airlines have seen waves of active mergers and acquisitions including in 2009 through 2013 and again recently since 2023. But who is involved in the legal and regulatory reviews of an airline merger? Courtney Dyer of O'Melveny and David Heffernan of Cozen O'Connor, both with extensive experiences guiding airlines through regulato…
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#299 Who Is Lesley Fair? A Conversation With a Consumer Protection Law Legend
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34:02On the occasion of Lesley Fair's retirement after 37 years in the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, she returns to Our Curious Amalgam to talk with co-hosts Alicia Downey and Jaclyn Phillips about some of the highlights of her illustrious career. Lesley has been described as “the voice of the FTC,” with a unique ability…
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Did you know that uou can use "a/an + adjective" before a statistic to express your reaction to the number? This technique adds emphasis and helps the listener or reader understand your perspective on the data. Examples: A staggering 95% of teenagers spend over 4 hours daily on social media. An alarming 62% of young adults report experiencing signi…
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#298 What Has Happened to Merger Control in India? The Impact of the September 2024 Changes
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33:34Significant changes to the Indian merger control regime came into effect in September 2024. But what has happened? Nisha Kaur Uberoi, partner at JSA law firm in Mumbai, joins Puja Patel and Matthew Hall to discuss the changes and their likely practical impact on transactions affecting India. Listen to this episode to learn more about the changes in…
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#297 HSR You Kidding Me? Unpacking the New Requirements for Merging Parties in the U.S.
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31:28Over a year after the FTC and DOJ first announced changes to the premerger notification form and associated rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, the final rules were released in October 2024. What do these new HSR rules mean in practice for parties to transactions that must make an HSR filing? Daniel Rosenthal, Special Counsel at Milbank, joins h…
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#296 How Should Competition Law Be Dealing With AI and Climate Change?
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28:12Can competition law save humanity? Over the past two years, Fiona Schaeffer has spurred on the lawyers, regulators, and economists of the ABA Antitrust Law Section to examine the role that antitrust law has, or potentially will have, in dealing with the existential challenges posed by climate change and the rise of artificial intelligence. In this …
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In this lesson you'll learn 5 IELTS Listening Tips that (I'm guessing) nobody told you about. Get the full lesson with bonus materials in the Bronze Academy on my website. https://ieltsetc.com/2024/10/5-ielts-listening-tips-nobody-told-you-about/
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#295 More or (Even) Less Certainty in EU Merger Control? The European Court of Justice Judgment in Illumina/GRAIL
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37:21The European Commission's attempt to claim jurisdiction under the EU merger rules over Illumina's acquisition of GRAIL ultimately resulted in a stinging court defeat for the regulator. But why did it lose and what will happen now to merger reviews of "below threshold" transactions in the EU? Nicole Kar, partner at Paul, Weiss in London, joins Matth…
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Can I use personal pronouns in IELTS Writing?
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18:37Get the free lesson on my blog: How to use personal pronouns in IELTS Writing. In this lesson, we look at ways of USING and AVOIDING personal pronouns in Writing Task 2 essays. You'll learn when to use "I", "we" and "you", and you'll get examples of how to avoid personal pronouns by using plurals, the passive voice, and more general language. https…
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#294 Acquisitions or Not? Big Tech's Big Problems Investing in Artificial Intelligence
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24:06It's no secret that competition agencies in the U.S. and elsewhere have been scrutinizing Big Tech's efforts to acquire emerging players in the AI space. In this episode, Luis Blanquez of Bona Law, P.C., talks to co-hosts Alicia Downey and Anant Raut about how the enforcers' concerns are now extending to investments, licensing deals, and other type…
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#293 Is the EU Position Now Clear? The European Commission’s Draft Guidelines on Exclusionary Abuses of Dominance
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39:38The European Commission's draft guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance will, once adopted, be a key document when applying EU competition law. But what is in the draft? Rona Bar-Isaac, head of competition at Addleshaw Goddard in London, joins Matthew Hall and Derek Jackson to discuss the draft guidelines and a controversial European Court o…
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IELTS Grammar: Quantifiers few, a few, little, a little
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18:51If you really want to make a difference to your test score, stop practising grammar with useless examples that you'll never use in the IELTS test! In this grammar review we look at how to use few, a few, little and a little SPECIFICALLY FOR the IELTS test. You'll learn useful expressions that you can use in the Writing and Speaking Tests, and you'l…
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#292 Thinking About Going Small? Starting Up a Solo or Small Firm Antitrust Practice
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32:08Can a Big Law antitrust practitioner have a successful career as a solo or small firm lawyer? In this episode, antitrust trial lawyer Sean Gates and co-hosts Alicia Downey and Matt Reynolds talk about their experiences leaving large firms to strike out on their own in the middle of their careers. Listen to this episode to learn what motivated them …
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In this lesson, you'll practise 3 reading question types while learning essential IELTS animal-related vocabulary items such as 'hibernation' and 'migration'. I also discuss differences between two summaries, which will help you use more formal language in the writing test e.g. to maintain fitness vs to stay fit. For example: (Advanced Summary) The…
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#291 How Was Your Life In Antitrust? A Conversation With Jon Jacobson
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31:52What were the cases and controversies that defined a decades-long career as an antitrust lawyer and scholar? Hosts Alicia Downey and Subrata Bhattacharjee welcome former Antitrust Law Section Chair Jon Jacobson back to the podcast to talk about his newly-published memoir of the highs and lows of litigating some of the biggest antitrust cases in U.S…
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In this lesson we look at direct and indirect ways of asking for help. You will learn fixed expressions that you can use in any letter of request letter, and you'll also learn how to demonstrate flexibility with a variety of tenses when you 'give details of your musical activities'. Find the full lesson with models and interactive practice on my we…
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#290 Who Is Aviva Will? Antitrust Lawyer and Litigation Financing Entrepreneur
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31:46Antitrust and competition lawyers have a choice of career paths, including private practice, in-house, and public sector. What about the increasingly-important area of litigation finance? Aviva Will, Co-Chief Operating Officer of Burford Capital, joins Alicia Downey and Matthew Hall to discuss her career journey from a law firm to a senior executiv…
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#289 Is the Failing Firm Defense Thriving? Assessing When a Failing Firm Can Make a Deal Succeed
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23:43The failing firm defense can be viewed skeptically when put forward by merging parties. But when can it be used successfully to save a deal that may otherwise be found to be anticompetitive? Chris Wilson, partner in the antitrust group of Paul Weiss, joins Jaclyn Phillips and Anora Wang to discuss the current state of the failing firm defense. List…
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IELTS maps and plans (describing future changes)
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24:15In this lesson, we look at how you can use Listening Test maps to improve the way you describe maps and plans in the Writing Test. In this lesson we'll cover How to talk about FUTURE changes How to avoid over-using 'going to' How to use the passive tense How to use the vocabulary of change related to maps We also review map prepositions, and we loo…
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#288 Who Is Steve Cernak? Meet the 2024-25 Chair of the ABA Antitrust Law Section
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23:19The Antitrust Law Section's new Chair is a lawyer, professor, and author of countless books and articles, with decades of leadership experience in the Section. What changes will he bring? In this episode, co-hosts Alicia Downey and Puja Patel ask Steve Cernak about his unusual career path, the priorities and initiatives he is planning to pursue in …
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#287 How Should We Protect Children’s Online Privacy? Revisiting the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
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27:07Most agree that children's online privacy is important. But how should it be protected? Ryan Durrie, Associate Director of the Cordell Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, joins Christina Ma and Anora Wang to discuss how the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (or COPPA) protects online privacy today and how it could be reformed. L…
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This is a talk-through of a General Training Reading Passage 3. The text tells the story of the 'Fosbury Flop', which is a high-jump technique developed by a 21 year-old university student from the USA called Dick Fosbury in the late 1960s. In this lesson, you'll practise Matching Information, Multiple Choice and gapfill questions. Get all my lesso…
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#286 What Are the Perils of Privacy Law? Evolutions of the Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA)
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35:09Privacy law has become increasingly relevant and important with the advent of the internet and all things digital and most agree that these laws should protect children's privacy, in particular. But what are the tradeoffs? James Cooper, Professor of Law and Economics at Scalia Law School at George Mason University, joins Christina Ma and Anora Wang…
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