Dr. Rosa Abrantes-Metz Joins BRG’s Antitrust and Competition Policy Group

BRG announced today that Dr. Rosa (Romy) Abrantes-Metz has joined the firm as a managing director in its antitrust and competition policy group. She has over two decades of experience as an economist, consultant and testifying expert and specializes in complex antitrust, securities and financial regulatory matters. She is renowned for her pioneering work using econometric screening techniques to detect conspiracies and market manipulation, most notably in a landmark analysis that uncovered a conspiracy to manipulate the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) benchmark.

Abrantes-Metz is the latest prominent addition to BRG’s world-leading antitrust and competition practice, following the recent appointment of renowned antitrust and platform economics expert Dr. David S. Evans and the September appointment of distinguished antitrust economist Dr. David Sunding. BRG expects to announce further key hires in both the US and Europe in the coming months. Abrantes-Metz is based in New York and joins BRG’s office there. Prior to BRG, she co-chaired the Global Antitrust & Competition and Technology practices of a consulting firm.

Abrantes-Metz’s main areas of specialization are econometrics and statistics, industrial organization, and monetary and financial economics. She has a particular expertise involving the intersection between alleged market manipulations and competition issues, including alleged coordinated conduct such as collusion and exchanges of information, as well as the economics of multisided platforms. She spearheaded the development and application of empirical screens to detect potential collusion, manipulation and fraud. She has advised agencies across five continents on their adoption of these screens, which are now commonly used worldwide.

Additionally, Abrantes-Metz has testified on general market rigging, event studies and valuation on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, from governmental agencies (including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission (FTC)) to private institutions and companies. Her work spans a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals; airlines; foreclosures and evictions; technology; payments systems and electronic transactions; trading and pricing algorithms; high-frequency trading and spoofing; precious metals and other commodities such as oil, gasoline and natural gas; complex derivative products; and financial instruments across multiple markets.

Evans commented, “Romy is a leading testifying expert whose innovative work in the use of empirical screens has become the standard for competition regulators and litigants worldwide. I’ve worked with her throughout her career, including on platform markets and two-sided platforms. I look forward to collaborating with Romy and David [Sunding] as we combine our industry-leading expertise to build the preeminent practice on disputes tied to digital transformation of the economy.”

Commenting on her appointment, Abrantes-Metz said, “I’m excited to work alongside David Evans and David Sunding to grow BRG’s antitrust and competition practice, building off the firm’s strong foundation to offer unique insights and guidance as technology reshapes global business.”

Abrantes-Metz is a former adjunct associate professor at the NYU Stern School of Business and former lecturer at The University of Chicago and Catholic University of Portugal. Prior to her most recent position, Abrantes-Metz was a partner at an international economics consulting firm and a staff economist at the FTC. After leaving the FTC, she continued to serve as a consultant for special projects with the Commission’s Bureau of Economics.

A well-published author, Abrantes-Metz has written extensively for academic journals, industry publications and mainstream media. She has also contributed chapters to books on antitrust and finance. Her research on pharmaceuticals and on conspiracies and manipulations has been discussed in books on how to value pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and in publications pertaining to healthcare, intellectual property and cartels. She has presented her work all over the world. She has been featured in leading business news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, CNNmoney and Investor’s Business Daily.