Dr. Robert J. Levinson is an economist and vice president in the Antitrust & Competition Economics practice of Charles River Associates. Dr. Levinson specializes in industrial organization and antitrust analysis. He has particular interests in the pricing, R&D, and intellectual property policies of high-technology firms and industries and in the economic analysis of law. In private practice and as an economist with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Dr. Levinson has been critically involved in numerous antitrust matters in a wide variety of industries.
Education
Ph.D., Economics
Graduate School of Arts and Science, New York University
Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Economics, magna cum laude
Washington Square and University College of Arts and Science, New York University
Professional experience
2004–Present
Vice President, Antitrust & Competition Econimics practice, Charles River Associates (CRA), Washington, D.C.
1999–2004
Principal, Antitrust & Competition Economics practice, Charles River Associates, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Levinson provides economic analysis and advice to clients in connection with mergers, non-merger antitrust matters, competition issues raised in international trade cases, and related intellectual property issues. He has assisted clients in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
A key focus of Dr. Levinson’s work is antitrust in the high-technology sector. His experience includes work on competition and competition-related intellectual property issues pertaining, among other things, to microprocessors and other integrated circuits; microcomputers; minicomputers; mainframes; hard drives; computer storage arrays; optical storage media; data backup and archiving devices; graphics processors and subsystems; general-purpose desktop and server operating systems; embedded operating systems; business productivity applications; database systems, web browsers; software development tools; computer-aided design, animation and modeling software; electronic circuit design and analysis software; speech recognition and text-to-speech software; public relations software and systems; electronic health records and medical practice management software, and related services; computer disaster recovery services; additive manufacturing devices; industrial lasers; medical devices; online advertising and online media content; search engines; social networking; internet listing services for apartment complexes; semiconductor fabrication equipment and related products; telecommunications and networking equipment, and related standards, software, and components; spacecraft; satellite components; launch vehicles; defense systems; and defense-related engineering services.
His matters in other industries involved, among other things, agricultural products; alcoholic beverages; ammunition; automotive batteries and technologies; basic metals; business process outsourcing; chemicals; construction materials, including drywall, pipe, and fittings; department stores and other forms of “bricks and mortar” retailing; electricity; exercise equipment; financial services technologies; food products; hospital and outpatient services; industry trade and standard-setting associations; large commercial aircraft (airliners and freighters) and components for large commercial aircraft; natural gas; newspapers; pharmaceuticals; retail advertising; and sporting goods. In addition to his extensive experience in the economic analysis of liability issues in antitrust and merger cases, Dr. Levinson has also overseen and participated in analyses of economic damages and valuation (the latter in the context of a non-antitrust-related business consulting engagement for a major supplier of networking equipment).
During his tenure at CRA, Dr. Levinson has appeared before representatives of the US Federal Trade Commission, the US Department of Justice, the European Commission, the Irish Competition Authority, and the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt). Dr. Levinson also prepared and contributed significantly to numerous written submissions to these competition agencies.
Dr. Levinson has, individually or jointly with others, submitted expert reports before US federal courts, the European Commission, the World Trade Organization, the South African competition authorities, and a Tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce. He also prepared an expert report for submission in a major US multi-district class action matter that was resolved favorably before his report was due to be filed. Dr. Levinson has testified at deposition in the US, and has testified before representatives of the European Commission and the EU Member States in Brussels.
Dr. Levinson has also supported the work of noted academic economists before the antitrust agencies, the International Trade Commission, and the courts. In this role, he oversaw and contributed to research and the development of economic analyses and other work products.
1997–1999
Principal, PHB Hagler Bailly, Inc. (formerly Putnam, Hayes & Bartlett, Inc.), Washington, D.C.
Dr. Levinson provided economic analyses and advice to clients involved in competition or intellectual property-related matters in the markets for sporting goods, forest products, computer software, laser surgery equipment, retail and wholesale distribution, dental materials, and pharmaceuticals. He was designated as an expert witness in a private antitrust action.
1996–1997
Economist, Division of Antitrust, Bureau of Economics, U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Levinson served as lead economist in antitrust investigations of mergers involving defense systems, chemicals, natural gas, wholesale distribution, and retailing. He served as the lead government staff economist in the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation and litigation concerning the then-proposed Staples/Office Depot merger, providing recommendations to the Commission and litigation support to counsel and preparing (in conjunction with others) the Commission’s economic expert witness. Dr. Levinson also served as lead economist in several non-merger matters.
1995–1996
Senior Economist, Law & Economics Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, D.C.
Dr. Levinson provided economic analysis and research in the context of antitrust matters in markets for pharmaceuticals and computer software. He also conducted research into the relationship between innovation and market structure.
1994–1995
Economist, Division of Antitrust, Bureau of Economics, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Levinson was the lead economist in a variety of merger investigations, most notably major transactions in the natural gas and computer software industries. He also participated in the preparation of an FTC intervention before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office regarding intellectual property rights in the software industry.
1993–1994
Economic Advisor to Commissioner Deborah K. Owen, U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Levinson assessed the analyses and recommendations of staff attorneys and economists regarding enforcement actions, consent agreements, rulemaking procedures, and other activities that the FTC considered or undertook pursuant to its antitrust enforcement and consumer protection missions, and provided the Commissioner with written and oral advice on the basis of these assessments.
Dr. Levinson performed economic analyses of firm behavior and industry conditions in the context of a wide variety of antitrust investigations. He served as the lead economist in the Commission’s investigation of Microsoft’s licensing methods and other computer industry matters. Dr. Levinson was lead economist for the FTC in investigations of alleged price fixing and non-price horizontal restraints on the part of trade associations. He also worked on mergers in the fields of industrial machinery and retailing.
1989–1990
Adjunct Instructor of Economics, New York University, New York, N.Y.
Taught and developed courses in urban economics and intermediate-level microeconomic theory.
1986–1989
Instructor of Economics, New York University, New York, N.Y.
Taught and developed courses in urban economics, intermediate-level microeconomic theory, and principles of economics.
1983–1986
Assistant Research Scientist, Urban Research Center, New York University, New York, N.Y.
Collaborated in economic research projects dealing with taxation, urban transit, and housing.
1982
Economic Consultant, American Telephone and Telegraph Company, New York, N.Y.
Collaborated in the development of a computer-based simulation model intended to aid in the determination of long-distance telephone rates, and performed research in support of rate cases.
Expert reports and spoken expert testimony
Expert report in Caruso Management Co., Ltd., v. International Council of Shopping Centers, S.D.N.Y., Case no. 1:18-CV-11932 (VM) (RWL) (2019).
Deposition testimony in Caruso Management Co., Ltd., v. International Council of Shopping Centers, S.D.N.Y., Case no. 1:18-CV-11932 (VM) (RWL) (2019).
Expert report before the International Chamber of Commerce in connection with a confidential international arbitration matter in Canada, involving competition issues associated with a supply agreement involving aircraft components (April 23, 2015).
Expert report in the matter of United States – Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft (Second Complaint). World Trade Organization, Dispute DS353 (March 2013; jointly submitted with R. Rumpf).
Expert reports in the matter of Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers Limited and the Competition Commission, Paarl Media (Pty) Limited and Primedia (Pty) Limited. Competition Tribunal of South Africa, CT Case No. 13/X/Feb11 (March, May 2011; jointly submitted with C. Caffarra).
Expert Report in European Commission Case No. COMP/37.792 – Microsoft (2003; jointly submitted with M. Kemp).
Spoken testimony before representatives of the European Commission, EU Member States, and other parties at the European Commission’s hearings in re EC Case No. COMP/37.792 – Microsoft (2003).
Expert report in Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and DNS Electronics, L.L.C. v. CFMT Inc. and CFM Technologies, Inc. N.D. Cal. (San Jose Div.), Case No. C-97-20270 JW (2000).
Deposition testimony in Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and DNS Electronics, L.L.C. v. CFMT Inc. and CFM Technologies, Inc. N.D. Cal. (San Jose Div.), Case No. C-97-20270 JW (2000).
Expert report in Gelatin Products International Inc. v. W.D.P. Limited. E.D. Mich., Case No. 96-CV-74146 (1999).
Publications
“Economics and the FTC’s Google Investigation.” With Michael Salinger. Review of Industrial Organization, vol. 46, no. 1 (February 2015), pp. 25-57.
“Economic Considerations Raised by the Federal Trade Commission’s Investigation of Google’s Search Practices.” With Michael Salinger. Competition Policy International, vol. 10, no. 2 (Autumn/Winter 2014), pp. 102-117.
“Introduction: Competition Policy and Intellectual Property Rights: Legal and Economic Perspectives.” The Antitrust Bulletin, vol. 59, no. 2 (Summer 2014), pp. 173-182.
“Economics and Economic Experts in Antitrust Litigation.” With Thomas Overstreet. Chapter 36 in Julian O. von Kalinowski ed., Antitrust Counseling and Litigation Techniques (Matthew Bender Rev. Ed. 2013).
“Introduction: The Use and Abuse of Voluntary Standard-Setting Processes in a Post-Rambus World: Law, Economics, and Competition Policy.” With Stanley Besen. The Antitrust Bulletin, spring 2012.
“Economic Remedies for Anticompetitive Hold-up: The Rambus Cases.” With Stanley Besen. The Antitrust Bulletin, fall 2011.
“Economics.” Chapter 1 in David H. Evans, ed., Electronic Commerce: Antitrust and Consumer Protection in the Information Age. Chicago: American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law Monograph 26 (2011).
“Lessons from FTC v. Rambus.” With Stanley Besen. Icarus, summer 2010.
“The Interaction between Settlements and Private Litigation – An Economic Perspective.” With Lorenzo Coppi. In C.‑D. Ehlermann and M. Marquis, eds., European Competition Law Annual 2008: Antitrust Settlements under EC Competition Law, Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2010.
“Standards, Intellectual Property Disclosure, and Patent Royalties After Rambus.” With Stanley Besen. North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology, spring 2009.
“Similarities and Differences in the Use of Economics in Merger Cases by the European Commission and the US Agencies.” With Andrea Coscelli. Chapter 6 in International Comparative Legal Guide to: Merger Control 2008. London: Global Legal Group Ltd., 2007.
“Tour d’horizon du projet de Lignes directrices de la Commission européenne sur les concentrations non-horizontales” (“The European Commission’s Draft Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines: A Quick Look”). Published in French. Revue Lamy de la Concurrence, No. 11, April/June 2007.
“The Flawed Fragmentation Critique of Structural Remedies in the Microsoft Case.” With R. Craig Romaine and Steven C. Salop. Antitrust Bulletin, spring 2001.
“Interview with FTC Commissioner Thomas B. Leary.” With Leslie Overton. Computer Industry (American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law Computer Industry Committee newsletter), spring 2001.
“Interview with Nancy Goodman, Chief of the Computers and Finance Section, Antitrust Division, Department of Justice.” With Leslie Overton. Computer Industry (American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law Computer Industry Committee newsletter), summer 2000.
“Antitrust and the Economics of the Public Interest.” Antitrust Bulletin, spring 1997.
“Some Concerns Raised by Recent Computer-Related Antitrust Cases.” The Antitrust Bulletin, spring 1996.
“Efficiency Lost? The Microsoft Consent Decree.” Chapter 9 in M. Coate and A. Kleit, eds., The Economics of the Antitrust Process, Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996.
“An Introduction to Network Externalities.” With Joseph Kattan. Published in Russian. USA: Economics, Politics, Ideology, October 1994.
“The Determinants and Behavior of Prices in the U.S. Market for IBM-Standard Microcomputers.” Unpublished dissertation, New York University, 1990.
Contributions to collective works
Participated in the development of “Comments of the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law on the Competition Bureau of Canada’s Draft Updated Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines,” June 2014.
Contributor to “Joint Comments of the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law and Section of International Law on the European Commission’s Draft Guidelines on the Assessment of Non-Horizontal Mergers Under the Council Regulation on the Control of Concentrations Between Undertakings,” May 2007.
Working papers
“The Role for Economic Analysis in the FTC’s Google Investigation.” With Michael Salinger (June 2013).
“The Flawed Fragmentation Critique of Structural Remedies in the Microsoft Case.” With R. Craig Romaine and Steven C. Salop (January 2000).
Presentations before public and professional audiences
In addition to the following, Dr. Levinson has made presentations on market definition, theories of collusion, network effects, predatory conduct, and other antitrust issues at leading law firms in Boston, Brussels, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Moderator of the “Conduct” panel of the “A New Outlook: Antitrust & Competition in Key Industry Segments” online conference, July 15, 2021.
“The Application of Antitrust to Patent Assertion Entities.” With Alan Devlin. Presentation before the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association, New York, NY, April 2018.
Panelist in “Is Big Data the New IP for Antitrust?”, program of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law Unilateral Conduct and Intellectual Property Committees, December 2017.
Moderator of the “IP and Antitrust – The Current State of Economic Analysis” panel of the Global Competition Review GCR Live 2nd Annual IP & Antitrust USA conference, Washington, D.C., April 2015
Economics presentation in the ”How to Deal with Intellectual Property in Merger Control Remedies” panel session of the Concurrences Journal & Paul Hastings Second Annual Global Mergers Conference, Paris, France, December 2014.
“Competitive Analysis of Market Share Discounts and Related Practices.” With Yianis Sarafidis. Presentation before the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association, New York, N.Y., October 2013.
“Patent Pools: Some Fundamental Economic Considerations.” Presentation as part of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law Intellectual Property Committee program, “Patent Pools,” Washington, D.C., June 2013.
“Merger Enforcement in Hard Times: Should Enforcement Priorities Change During Recessions?” Presentation as part of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law Civil Practice & Procedure Committee and Insurance & Financial Services Committee program, “Upturn Downturn – Should Antitrust Care?,” Washington, D.C., December 2012.
“Standards, Intellectual Property Disclosure, and Patent Royalties: The Rambus Cases.” Presentation before the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association, New York, N.Y., May 2011.
“Antitrust Immunity Issues Suggested by Credit Suisse: A Competition Economist’s Perspective.” Presentation as part of the “Finance, the New ‘New Deal,’ and Credit Suisse” session of the American Bar Association 59th Antitrust Law Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2011.
Economics presentation in the “Merger Hypothetical” panel session of the Global Competition Review Antitrust Law Leaders’ Forum, Miami Beach, February 2011.
“Economic Issues and Remedies in US v. Microsoft: A Quick Look.” Presentation before the Colloquium on the Economy and Judicial Power: How Judges’ Decisions Influence the Economy, Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 2004. (Conference sponsored by the International Judicial Academy, the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange Foundation, the Federal Council of Courts and Superior Tribunals of Justice of the Argentine Provinces, and the Association of Magistrates and Officials of the National Judiciary of Argentina).
“Costs and Benefits of Multiple-Agency Merger Enforcement.” Presentation before the George Mason Law Review Antitrust Symposium, Washington, D.C., May 2002.
“The Fragmentation Hypothesis and Remedies in US v. Microsoft.” Presentation at Economists’ Perspectives on Antitrust Today, Boston, April 2000.
“Should Non-Price Vertical Restraints Be Per Se Legal?” Presentation before the American Bar Association Antitrust Section Summer Meeting, Atlanta, August 1999.
“Economic Analysis of Horizontal Restraints in Trade Association Cases.” Presentation before the Bar Association of the District of Columbia’s 35th Annual Conference on Associations and Antitrust, Washington, D.C., February 1999.
“Antitrust Issues in Telecommunications and Related Industries.” Presentation at Putnam, Hayes & Bartlett Antitrust Dinner/Seminar, Washington, D.C., November 1998.
“Market Definition and Competitive Effects in Retailing Mergers.” Presentation before the 73rd Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association, Lake Tahoe, June 1998.
“Some Concerns Raised by Recent Computer-Related Antitrust Cases.” Presentation before the 70th Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association, San Diego, July 1995.
“The Microsoft Consent Decree.” Presentation before the 70th Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association, San Diego, July 1995.
“Economic Analysis of Compatibility Standards: How Useful Is It?” Presentation before the 67th Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association, San Francisco, July 1992.
Editorial experience
Member of Advisory Board of The Antitrust Bulletin, April 2013 – present.
Editor of “Competition Policy and Intellectual Property Rights: Legal and Economic Perspectives,” a symposium issue of The Antitrust Bulletin (Summer 2014).
Co-editor of “The Use and Abuse of Voluntary Standard-Setting Processes in a Post-Rambus World: Law, Economics, and Competition Policy,” a symposium issue of The Antitrust Bulletin (Spring 2012).
Economics Editor, Icarus (Newsletter of the Communications and Digital Technology Industries Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law), 2010 – 2013.
Chaired the Antitrust Economics session of the 72nd Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association, San Francisco, July 1996. Edited session papers prior to their publication in the spring 1997 issue of The Antitrust Bulletin.
Experience as referee for scholarly journals
Referee for Journal of Industrial Economics
Referee for Journal of Economics & Management Strategy
Honors and awards
Listed in Who’s Who Legal: Competition (2017, 2018, 2019)
Listed in Who’s Who Legal: Consulting Experts (2017, 2018, 2019)
Listed in the International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers & Economists (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014)
FTC Outstanding Team Effort Award, 1997 (for work in FTC. v. Staples, Inc. and Office Depot, Inc.)
Shell Dissertation Fellowship, 1986–1987
Sloan Foundation Fellowship, 1981–1982
NYU University Fellowship, 1980–1981
Phi Beta Kappa, 1980
NYU E. E. Bailey Prize in Economics (best bachelor’s honors thesis), 1980
NYU Sherborne V. Demerel Prize for Scholarship and Service, 1980
NYU Senior Economics Citation, 1980
NYU Murray Altman Prize in Economics, 1979
NYU Arts and Science Scholarship, 1977–1980
New York State Regents College Scholarship, 1976–1980
Professional societies
American Economic Association
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Bar Association (associate member)
Citizenship
United States of America