Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.
252.21 sec. 001 - Antitrust and Technology Platforms (Spring 2022)
Instructor: Christopher Burch Hockett (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only)
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 1
Grading Designation: Credit Only
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
M 3:35 PM - 5:25 PM
Location: Law 110
From January 10, 2022
To March 14, 2022
Course End: March 14, 2022
Class Number: 31957
This course is open to 1Ls.
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 71
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 75
As of: 07/19 11:58 AM
This course addresses a defining issue of our time - how antitrust law will apply to the digital economy that has transformed our lives. Tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google have emerged as the largest and most powerful companies in history, and now face aggressive claims by antitrust enforcers. This course will explore the implications of economic concentration and competition in the New Economy, as well as the relationship between antitrust and issues like consumer privacy, “big data,” filter bubbles, socially corrosive content, and challenges to democratic values. We will investigate the dynamics of platform competition, including network effects, multisided markets, and advertising-supported online services. We will also explore theories of competitive harm in settings where billions of users obtain sophisticated online services at a zero price, and millions of small and medium sized businesses rely on targeted online advertising and rapidly scalable distribution networks.
The course materials draw on a rich body of recent cases, regulatory proceedings, legislative proposals, and academic commentary. Class sessions will be interactive and engaging, with extensive visual aids, discussion questions circulated before class, class-wide polling, and small-group exercises. A prior course in antitrust or some familiarity with basic economics is recommended.
Instructor Bio: Chris Hockett is a former partner in Davis Polk’s Northern California office and former global head of the firm’s antitrust practice. He retired from the partnership in 2019. He has over 30 years of antitrust experience representing technology, media, and telecom clients - including in litigation, contested mergers, and government investigations. Under the auspices of the Federal Judicial Center and the ABA, Hockett co-chairs an intensive antitrust training program for federal judges that rotates between Berkeley Law and the University of Chicago. He also serves as a mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed Special Master in the Northern District of California. In 2013-14, Hockett chaired the 9,000-member ABA Section of Antitrust Law. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he teaches an advanced antitrust course each Fall.
Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all currently enrolled and waitlisted students; any currently enrolled or waitlisted students who are not present on the first day of class (without prior permission of the instructor) will be dropped. The instructor will continue to take attendance throughout the add/drop period and anyone who moves off the waitlist into the class must continue to attend or have prior permission of the instructor in order not to be dropped.
Prerequisites:
A prior course in antitrust or some familiarity with basic economics is recommended.
Exam Notes: (TH/P) Take-home examination or paper option: students option
Exam Length: 4 hours
Course Category: Business Law
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Intellectual Property and Technology Law
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