Neo-Brandeisians’ Antitrust Stance Strays From Namesake

The debate over Neo-Brandeisian antitrust has left the academies, arrived at the agencies and is heading to the courts. Neo-Brandeisians claim the mantle of Louis D. Brandeis, the legendary lawyer who defended individual liberties, fought for a Jewish homeland, advised presidents and served on the U.S. Supreme Court a century ago. In his two decades as a justice, he wrote and joined some of the most enduring opinions on free speech, privacy, and the limits of power in government and private hands. But his relevance to modern antitrust stems from his reputation as an advocate of competition and his role in creation of the Federal Trade Commission. In this article from Law360, William MacLeod looks at how the FTC’s newly announced agenda echoes his sympathies for labor and his hostility to big business but departs from his rulings on the Court.

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