Spencer Weber Waller-Fair competition
In 2022, Spencer Weber Waller served as senior advisor to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan.
Faculty Profile Spencer Weber Waller
Fair competition
Spencer Weber Waller leads the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies
When Spencer Weber Waller was an undergrad, his economics professors frequently used Supreme Court cases to explain material. That’s when he realized, “Antitrust is cool. It’s this interesting body of law designed to prevent the abuse of economic power.”
Throughout his accomplished career, Waller has worked as a law clerk, in the antitrust division and the organized crime strike force in the U.S. Department of Justice, and in private practice. Before coming to Loyola, he was a staff law clerk for the Seventh Circuit and served as associate dean at Brooklyn Law School. Today he is the John Paul Stevens Chair in Competition Law and director of the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies. In 2022, he served as senior advisor to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan.
What is antitrust?
They’re the laws designed to protect and preserve competition in marketplaces for the benefit of consumers, employees, suppliers, and small business. Antitrust laws prohibit three things: agreements that harm competition, monopolization, and mergers that could lead to either of those of harms. It looks at cases like the Kroger Albertsons merger, Live Nation-Ticketmaster, and big monopoly cases often involving tech platforms like Google and Amazon.
Why should students study it?
It’s front-page news. It tests some of the fundamental principles of our law and the way our economy works. You can practice antitrust working for the government, law firms or in-house company positions. It can accommodate a huge variety of interests and professional opportunities. Along with AI, blockchain, and crypto, it’s one of the most active areas of how the law interacts with technology.
“You can practice antitrust working for the government, law firms or in-house company positions.”
How did you become involved as senior advisor to Lina Khan of the Federal Trade Commission?
We do an annual colloquium at the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies. Someone on my advisory board asked if they could bring a third-year law student who had published an amazing article about Amazon and antitrust laws. That’s how I met Lina. When President Biden appointed her in 2021, I called to congratulate her. She asked, “Do you mind if my people call you about something?” They offered me this job.
I worked on two main projects. The FTC has the power to ban unfair methods of competition, but it never had a comprehensive policy statement of what that means. I worked with a large group to define it. I also worked on a rule that banned, under most circumstances, non-compete clauses and employment contracts. I learned a lot about how the agency works and what the Supreme Court’s rulings mean for independent agencies like the FTC. We don’t think much about them, but they are very important to the operation of the government and the protection of people. I hope to convey that in my new seminar on the regulatory state this semester.
The year 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies. How is the Institute celebrating?
The Institute was designed to promote the vigorous enforcement of antitrust laws and consumer protection laws for the benefit of people. We offer the colloquium, a student fellowship program, and a certificate in competition and consumer protection. We have a rich array of classes taught by full-time and adjunct faculty in this area. We’ve been asked to testify before government, and we try to involve students in that too.
We have alumni working in the Justice Department, the FTC, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, law firms, corporations, non-for-profits. I’m thrilled! This year’s colloquium celebrating our anniversary will be April 24-25. We’ll be having a reunion as part of the anniversary, and this year’s keynote speaker is Philip J. Weiser, the attorney general of Colorado. –Ines Bellina (February 2025)
When Spencer Weber Waller was an undergrad, his economics professors frequently used Supreme Court cases to explain material. That’s when he realized, “Antitrust is cool. It’s this interesting body of law designed to prevent the abuse of economic power.”
Throughout his accomplished career, Waller has worked as a law clerk, in the antitrust division and the organized crime strike force in the U.S. Department of Justice, and in private practice. Before coming to Loyola, he was a staff law clerk for the Seventh Circuit and served as associate dean at Brooklyn Law School. Today he is the John Paul Stevens Chair in Competition Law and director of the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies. In 2022, he served as senior advisor to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan.
What is antitrust?
They’re the laws designed to protect and preserve competition in marketplaces for the benefit of consumers, employees, suppliers, and small business. Antitrust laws prohibit three things: agreements that harm competition, monopolization, and mergers that could lead to either of those of harms. It looks at cases like the Kroger Albertsons merger, Live Nation-Ticketmaster, and big monopoly cases often involving tech platforms like Google and Amazon.
Why should students study it?
It’s front-page news. It tests some of the fundamental principles of our law and the way our economy works. You can practice antitrust working for the government, law firms or in-house company positions. It can accommodate a huge variety of interests and professional opportunities. Along with AI, blockchain, and crypto, it’s one of the most active areas of how the law interacts with technology.
How did you become involved as senior advisor to Lina Khan of the Federal Trade Commission?
We do an annual colloquium at the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies. Someone on my advisory board asked if they could bring a third-year law student who had published an amazing article about Amazon and antitrust laws. That’s how I met Lina. When President Biden appointed her in 2021, I called to congratulate her. She asked, “Do you mind if my people call you about something?” They offered me this job.
I worked on two main projects. The FTC has the power to ban unfair methods of competition, but it never had a comprehensive policy statement of what that means. I worked with a large group to define it. I also worked on a rule that banned, under most circumstances, non-compete clauses and employment contracts. I learned a lot about how the agency works and what the Supreme Court’s rulings mean for independent agencies like the FTC. We don’t think much about them, but they are very important to the operation of the government and the protection of people. I hope to convey that in my new seminar on the regulatory state this semester.
The year 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies. How is the Institute celebrating?
The Institute was designed to promote the vigorous enforcement of antitrust laws and consumer protection laws for the benefit of people. We offer the colloquium, a student fellowship program, and a certificate in competition and consumer protection. We have a rich array of classes taught by full-time and adjunct faculty in this area. We’ve been asked to testify before government, and we try to involve students in that too.
We have alumni working in the Justice Department, the FTC, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, law firms, corporations, non-for-profits. I’m thrilled! This year’s colloquium celebrating our anniversary will be April 24-25. We’ll be having a reunion as part of the anniversary, and this year’s keynote speaker is Philip J. Weiser, the attorney general of Colorado. –Ines Bellina (February 2025)