Econic Partners Strengthens North American Antitrust Practice and Adds Leading China Antitrust and Aviation Practices

Expansion Builds on Econic’s Rapid Growth Since Launching in February with World-Renowned Competition Economists

Econic Partners (“Econic”), a premier economic consulting firm focused on analyzing complex antitrust, regulatory, litigation, and policy matters, today announced a significant expansion of its team following Econic’s recent launch. With these additions, Econic expands into significant new practice areas and continues attracting top-tier talent to build on the growing demand for Econic’s expertise in an increasingly complex economic landscape.

• Strengthening of North American Antitrust Practice. Econic has strengthened its top-tier North American antitrust practice through the addition of experienced experts, consultants, and prominent academic affiliates, including Dr. Erica Benton; Dr. Bret Dickey; Dr. Josephine Duh; Professor Thomas Hubbard; Dr. Jith Jayaratne; Dr. David Meyer; Dr. Jim Ratliff; Dr. David Reishus; Professor Greg Shaffer; Professor Paulo Somaini; Thomas Stemwedel; and Dr. Jason Wu.
• Addition of Leading China Antitrust Practice. Dr. Elizabeth Wang has joined Econic to lead its new China Antitrust Practice, reinforcing Econic’s commitment to building a seamless global merger team that helps clients navigate the world’s most complex regulatory environments. Dr. Wang is one of the world’s leading economists specializing in Chinese antitrust matters and brings decades of experience in economic analysis and regulatory matters. She will be joined by Dr. Sophie Yang and additional senior staff with specific expertise in Chinese antitrust matters.
• Addition of Leading Aviation Practice. Dr. Darin Lee, Dr. Ethan Singer, and Erin Secatore have joined Econic to launch its new Aviation Practice. These strategic appointments allow Econic to deepen its ability to advise industry clients on the most important regulatory, competition, and public policy matters, and provide unparalleled expertise in labor and employment and commercial litigation in the aviation space.

Dr. Andres Lerner and Dr. Loren Smith, Founding Partners and Heads of Econic’s North American Antitrust and Competition Practice, said: “With the addition of Dr. Wang, Dr. Lee, and their teams, Econic continues to advance our goal of delivering cutting-edge, world-class economic expertise to our clients across industries and around the world, and the new appointments to our antitrust team strengthen our core practice area, enhancing our capabilities to deliver superior services to our clients.”

Jonathan Orszag, a Founding Partner of Econic, added: “We have seen tremendous growth since our launch last month and are deeply grateful for the immense trust of our clients and of the professionals who have joined us. Our goal is not only to be at the forefront of economic consulting, but also to create a firm that attracts the very best economists from around the world. We are excited about the road ahead for Econic.”

About Econic Partners

Econic Partners is a leading economic consulting firm focused on complex antitrust, regulatory, litigation, and policy matters. It advises corporations, law firms, governments, and financial institutions, providing expert guidance grounded in intellectual excellence, experience, and effectiveness in legal and regulatory processes. Founded in 2025, Econic has 125 experts and consultants serving its global client base from offices in Los Angeles, Boston, the Bay Area, Chicago, and Washington D.C. For more information, please visit www.econicpartners.com.

Biographies of Econic’s Recently Hired Experts and Team (see https://www.econicpartners.com/people):

• Dr. Erica Benton. Almost 20 years of experience working on the most complex competition matters across numerous industries.
• Dr. Bret Dickey. More than 25 years of experience working on important competition matters, with particular expertise on matters in the healthcare and pharmaceutical spaces.
• Dr. Josephine Duh. More than a decade of experience working with government enforcers and private companies on a broad range of competition and complex litigation matters.
• Professor Thomas Hubbard. Elinor and H. Wendell Hobbs Professor of Management and Strategy at Northwestern University. Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
• Dr. Jith Jayaratne. More than 30 years of experience working on large-scale competition matters across numerous industries.
• Dr. Darin Lee. Renowned aviation expert with more than 25 years of experience specializing in and testifying across forums on virtually all aspects of the aviation industry and its economics.
• Dr. David Meyer. Former Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) economist with more than 25 years of competition economics experience.
• Dr. Jim Ratliff. Former Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona with more than 25 years of experience providing economic analysis in the context of antitrust litigation, regulation, and public policy matters.
• Dr. David Reishus. More than 30 years of experience specializing in the economics of trade, natural resources, and regulated markets, including railroads and key energy industries.
• Erin Secatore. A leading aviation industry expert with a background in labor and employment law and economics and more than a decade of experience advising industry participants on litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters.
• Professor Greg Shaffer. John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Business & Public Policy, and Professor of Marketing, at the University of Rochester. Former visiting scholar at both the FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division.
• Dr. Ethan Singer. A leading aviation industry expert with more than 15 years of experience on litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. Recognized on Global Competition Review’s 2020 list of “40 under 40” top antitrust practitioners.
• Professor Paulo Somaini. Associate Professor of Economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
• Thomas Stemwedel. More than 30 years of experience working on large-scale competition matters across numerous industries.
• Dr. Elizabeth Wang. One of the world’s leading economists on Chinese competition matters. Ranked by Lexology as a leading competition economist.
• Dr. Jason Wu. Almost 15 years of experience on litigation and regulatory matters related to competition and valuations, including as a testifying expert in China, Taiwan, and Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands.
• Dr. Sophie Yang. More than 15 years of experience on competition matters, with specific expertise in Chinese competition matters.

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