2026 Baxt Lecture

'Revolutionaries in Power: Lessons Learned from the US Antimonopoly Movement' presented by Prof. John M. Newman

Please join us from 5.30pm for networking with drinks and light refreshments prior to the lecture commencement at 6.00pm.

Revolutionaries in Power: Lessons Learned from the US Antimonopoly Movement

Effectuating change often takes decades, if it happens at all. Political movements rarely succeed overnight. But the recent antimonopoly movement in the United States was an exception. In just a few short years, it grew from a handful of civil-society researchers and academics to a group with powerful allies in Washington DC, holding the reins of three major federal agencies. It was, in some ways, a model for conceptualizing and institutionalizing prosocial policy. Yet it was not perfect, nor was its rapid ascent without drawbacks. In this lecture, Professor John Newman will describe from first-hand experience the highlights, pitfalls, and lessons learned by serving as a revolutionary in power.

About the presenter

Professor John Mark Newman currently holds the Herff Chair of Excellence at the University of Memphis School of Law, where his research focuses on antimonopoly issues, with a particular emphasis on digital markets. Professor Newman has served at both US federal antitrust enforcement agencies, most recently as deputy director of the US Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition under then-Chair Lina Khan. While in public service, he was involved in high-profile antitrust cases involving Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, among others. Professor Newman’s academic research has appeared in a number of leading journals, and his commentary on current events has been featured in a variety of popular media outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Sunday Times (London), and Rolling Stone. He is a member of the advisory boards of the American Antitrust Institute, Academic Society for Competition Law, and the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies.