Chicago Law Student Awarded Swope Antitrust Writing Prize

Eric M. Fraser, a University of Chicago Law School 3L, was awarded one of two $1,500 honorable mentions last night in the William E. Swope Antitrust Prize writing competition. His paper discussed "predatory pricing" by technology companies battling to establish industry standards. Two years ago, another University of Chicago Law student, Justin Hurwitz, won the contest's $10,000 first prize.

The writing competition, sponsored by international law firm Jones Day, commemorates the fact-intensive approach to antitrust analysis pioneered by Mr. Swope, a longtime partner at the Firm. The winners were invited to attend the Spring Meeting of the American Bar Association's Antitrust Section as guests of Jones Day.

This year's top honors went to Anthony J. Alt, a student at Michigan's Ave Maria School of Law, for a paper on the insurance industry's federal antitrust exemption and recent proposals to overturn it. Justin Lacour, a third-year student at New York's St. John's University School of Law, received honorable mention for a paper on a recent Supreme Court decision on conflicts between antitrust law and federal regulation of the securities industry.

"At a time when antitrust enforcement clung to rigid rules, tests, and theories, Bill Swope insisted on focusing on the facts and how they explained how specific markets worked in the real world," said Phil Proger, the head of Jones Day's global antitrust practice. "While this is now the accepted standard, Bill was one of the leaders in pushing for fewer slogans and more factual analysis."

Jones Day's Antitrust & Competition Law Practice consists of more than 135 counselors and litigators located in major business centers in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and Asia.   The practice is frequently recognized in professional publications and rankings as one of the leading antitrust/competition practices in the world.

Jones Day is an international law firm with 32 locations in centers of business and finance throughout the world. With more than 2,400 lawyers, including more than 400 in Europe and 200 in Asia, it ranks among the world's largest law firms.

Student awards