In Praise of Private Antitrust Litigation

By Spencer Weber Waller

This essay applies the teachings of Alexandra Lahav’s terrific new book In Praise of Litigation to the antitrust world. I argue that private antitrust litigation has been improperly devalued and denigrated by the agencies and court. I praise private antitrust litigation as a critical co-branch of antitrust law and policy and a fundamental aspect of a competitive and consumer friendly economy. I then propose a broad public-private partnership to enforce the antitrust la