Bates White: Economic Consulting

Scott Thompson specializes in antitrust analysis of mergers and alleged anticompetitive conduct. He has significant methodological expertise and extensive experience using economic models and empirical techniques to assess and quantify predicted effects of proposed mergers, agreements, and single-firm conduct.

Dr. Thompson has an extensive background providing antitrust analysis in support of expert testimony. Prior to joining Bates White, he served at the U.S. Department of Justice for more than 10 years as a staff economist and as Assistant Chief of the Economic Regulatory Section of the Antitrust Division. In that role, Dr. Thompson conducted or supervised the agency′s economic analysis in numerous investigations and cases involving a wide variety of industries including financial markets, consumer products, and healthcare.

Before joining the Antitrust Division, Dr. Thompson served on the faculty of the University of Minnesota, specializing in econometrics.

Selected Experience

• Supported multiple testifying experts retained by counsel for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in litigation against Intel, Inc., alleging illegal conduct to maintain a monopoly. Led teams working on issues of market definition, monopoly power, and consumer harm. Led the damages expert support team in the rebuttal phase. Assisted with deposition preparation. Before the case was brought to trial, AMD and Intel agreed to a $1.25 billion settlement that included restrictions on certain business practices.
• Provided economic consulting support to Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines in connection with their proposed merger under investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Identified antitrust risks, analyzed price effects, and developed a retrospective merger analysis for the airline industry.
• Supervised the analysis presented to the FTC on the antitrust implications of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company′s (A&P) proposed acquisition of Pathmark Stores, Inc. on behalf of A&P. Analysis considered the impact of the entry and exit of nearby supermarkets, grocery stores, mass merchandisers, clubs, and other food retailers on prices, margins, and sales. Provided significant assistance to attorneys in responding to second request from the FTC. The FTC ultimately allowed A&P to acquire Pathmark, requiring Pathmark to divest only six of its 141 stores.
• Provided a client in the hospital industry with antitrust and industry expertise to assist it and the DOJ in investigating alleged anticompetitive conduct by competing firms. Investigations involved complex issues of horizontal and vertical market foreclosure.
• Supported multiple testifying experts on behalf of direct and indirect plaintiffs in In re Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) Antitrust Litigation. Served as the lead econometrician and worked closely with the liability expert to write affirmative and rebuttal expert reports and prepare for deposition. Collaborated with counsel throughout the discovery process in preparing interrogatories, document requests, and drafting deposition questions on core economic issues.
• Developed strategy, performed case analysis, assisted with depositions, and reviewed expert reports in United States v. Dentsply International, Inc. Worked extensively with economic experts on empirical analysis and a survey design and analysis. Worked with economic expert to refine and evaluate econometric models used to estimate price and quantity effects of exclusive dealing in the dental supply industry.
• Performed case analysis in United States and Plaintiff States v. Echostar Communications Corp., Hughes Electronic Corp., General Motors Corp., and DirecTV Enterprises, Inc., challenging the proposed merger of satellite television providers DirectTV and Dish Network, the only two nationwide providers of multichannel video programming delivery (MVPD) services at the time. Worked on evaluation of defendant econometric model to assess likelihood of consumer harm with full accounting for claimed cost savings and other efficiencies, and projected quality improvements.
• Developed strategy, performed case analysis, assisted with depositions, and reviewed expert reports in United States v. Visa U.S.A. Inc., VISA International Corp, MasterCard International Inc., a monopolization matter.

Education

PhD, Economics, University of Wisconsin

MS, Economics, University of Wisconsin

AB, International Relations, Stanford University