Compass Lexecon QUESTIONS WITH CERTIFIED ANSWERS

What do Compass Lexecon do? - ANS Compass Lexecon are a world leading economic consultancy firm who provide expert advice to law firms, governments, and corporations across a wide variety of issues. Compass Lexecons global practice has a wide array of divisions (such as international trade and arbitration, labour and employment etc) but the European practice focuses on anti trust and competition with divisions conduct, damages, mergres. economic policy and regulation, financial policy and regulation. Whenever an issue involving competition law (such as a merger between two large firms, question of cartel, or if someone accuses a firm of abusing their dominant market position) compass lexicon will provide analysis to assess whether laws are being breached (how will competition be affected, is it anti competitive or is there a sound economic rationale for the behaviour.) when conduct investigation lead to follow on damages, CL support their clients through the litigation process. What is antitrust conduct - ANS is there an anticompetitive agreement such as price fixing, information sharing, market sharing arrangements (effectively active as if they were a monopoly) (horizontal agreements), selective distribution, exclusive supply (vertical agreements). Exclusionary conduct e.g. predatory pricing. Exploitative conduct e.g. excessive pricing. Case study: NBC was investigated by the European commission due to geoblocking of certain locations (so they coildnt access pay TV movies available elsewhere)- European Commission claimes it was in breach of competition law (as it portioned the European single market by preveting access to choice of supplier). Fined 16 millions whhat is anti trust damages - ANS when something is deemed as an antitrust law infringments, CL deal with assessing the economic damage caused. This involves constructing the counterfactural scenario which requires a deep understanding of competition in the industry and the clients business. This would require an identification of what the law infringement is causing e,g, is exclusionary conduct calling a fall in sales. Then calculate the difference between the counterfactual and factual value (and whether interest should be applied.) Have to control for other factors e.g. was their a new compeititor, general trends in the industry, managerial incompetence. Best method with vary case by case.