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by Anna Ali

California Lawyers Association, Antitrust and Consumer Protection Section, 35th Golden State Institute

Merger Control Developments, panel presentation

Moderator: Josh Holian, Latham & Watkins LLP
Panelists: Paul Wong, NERA; Elise Nelson, NVIDIA; Tom Dahdouh

Tom Dahdouh opened the panel’s discussion by urging attendees to remember the importance of our institutions and the risks of a partisan application of the antitrust laws. He urged the federal agencies to re-focus on bringing antitrust cases and encouraged state enforcers to monitor federal merger matters, predicting that state enforcement will play an increasingly important role.

Elise Nelson, Senior Competition Counsel of NVIDIA, emphasized the importance of certainty for business teams. She noted greater predictability in merger review under the current administration—such as whether a second request is likely to come from an HSR filing—while observing increasing uncertainty globally, particularly in Europe, with a noticeable impact on global businesses. Elise also noted the importance of certainty as states increasingly consider implementing their own merger control regulations, particularly where new regulations could function as a de facto tax on in-state business. Elise encouraged in-house teams to engage with regulators early to get ahead of potential issues and provide an understanding of the business.

On nascent competition, Paul Wong, Managing Director of NERA, underscored the analytical challenges given limited case law and literature. Tom Dahdouh noted that the FTC had used retrospective studies to show anticompetitive impact and suggested additional such studies could guide courts and parties assessing nascent competition. Elise Nelson cautioned that assessing nascent competition is not a “one size fits all” situation, urging market-specific analysis of competitive dynamics. Paul Wong agreed, noting that markets evolve at different speeds and that this variation should inform forward-looking assessments.

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The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

This article was originally published in the California Lawyers Association E-Briefs, News and Notes: January 2026