CELS/USC Virtual Antitrust Law Workshop Series: 'The Silicon Valley No-Poach Conspiracy'

Speaker: Professor Eric Posner, Kirkland and Ellis Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago

Title: 'The Silicon Valley No-Poach Conspiracy'

Abstract: The Silicon Valley no-poach conspiracy, which involved many of the top tech firms, lasted decades, and cost employees as much as $3 billion in lost wages, was a brazen violation of the antitrust laws. Yet it is rarely discussed in the cartel literature and has faded from public memory. This talk discusses the conspiracy and legal proceedings that followed. While the cartel members never admitted that they broke the law and they settled with their employees, the case foreshadowed, and helped spur, two major developments in antitrust law: the rise of labor antitrust and the erosion of the tech companies’ aura of antitrust invincibility.

To register your interest for this event please contact Professor Oke Odudu (oo201@cam.ac.uk).