The ABA will be hosting its Annual Antitrust Spring Meeting in Washington, DC on March 25-27, 2026. The Spring Meeting is the largest gathering of competition, consumer protection, and data privacy professionals globally, with lawyers, academics, economists, enforcers, and journalists from around the world. 

Freshfields’ partners Andy Ewalt, Meghan Rissmiller, Christine Wilson, Frank Röhling, Manish Kumar, and Ninette Dodoo will be participating in panel discussions during the 74th Annual Antitrust Spring Meeting. More information on their panels is included below.

Andy Ewalt is the Session Chair/Moderator for the “Enforcement Priorities Under Trump 2.0” panel on Wednesday, March 25 at 9am.

• Panel description: Agencies have become more receptive to merger remedies, more tolerant of private equity, and less open to formal rulemaking. They have pursued new issues, including fighting collusion related to ESG and censorship by technology platforms. This panel will examine the substantive trends in antitrust enforcement in the second Trump Administration and what they portend for the next three years.

Meghan Rissmiller is a speaker on the “Merger Review in a Trade War” panel on Thursday, March 26 at 1:30pm.

• Panel description: Explore the consequences of trade tensions on antitrust merger reviews, with a focus on how evolving geopolitical landscapes influence merger analysis, including market definition, assessment of effective competitors, and price elasticity. Economists and legal dealmakers will review their recent experiences successfully navigating these global policy changes.

Christine Wilson is a speaker on the “Politicization or Democratic Accountability?” panel on Thursday, March 26 at 1:30pm.

• Panel description: U.S. antitrust law was historically seen as apolitical and administered under a bipartisan consensus. The last ~10 years, however, have seen mounting pressure on the antitrust laws from both the legislative and executive branches seeking everything from case-specific enforcement results to sweeping statutory changes. Is this inappropriate politicization or merely democratic accountability?

Frank Röhling is a speaker on the “Remedies at the Border: FDI & Antitrust (International)” panel on Thursday, March 26 at 1:30pm.

• Panel description: Foreign investment and national security reviews increasingly intersect with merger control. Learn how to navigate remedy negotiations that satisfy security agencies while preserving transaction value. Discussion covers early engagement, crafting enforceable mitigation, aligning with antitrust remedies, and managing cross-border sensitivities in sensitive sectors and data-rich transactions.

Manish Kumar is a speaker on the “Blowing the Whistle: Cartel Detection Risk (International)” panel on Thursday, March 26 at 3:30pm.

• Panel description: The DOJ recently announced a policy to reward cartel whistleblowers, which creates a new detection method for prosecutors that will impact the initiation and development of criminal investigations. Experienced practitioners and government officials will discuss the implications of this new policy on domestic and international cartel enforcement.

Ninette Dodoo is a speaker on the “Trailblazers: From Firsts to Futures” panel on Friday, March 27 at 8:30am.

• Panel description: Join this panel of trailblazers who currently lead antitrust departments in private practice, government, and in-house. These leaders will share reflections on what it means to be among the first in their field or carrying the torch to pave the way and how they look to the future of the profession by paying it forward.

Register here if you’re interested in attending.