Melanie Aitken on Public Service as a Competitive Edge

Melanie Aitken is featured in Canadian Lawyer on how the opportunity of public service was both a career highlight and translated into a competitive edge in her legal career. She served as Canada’s Competition Commissioner, in charge of the Canadian Competition Bureau from 2009 to 2012, having previously served as the Senior Deputy Commissioner leading merger review from 2006 to 2009.

The story looks at:

• Melanie's attraction to public office and her unconventional move (from a Canadian perspective) from private practice to the Competition Bureau—and then back to private practice for Bennett Jones in Washington, D.C.;
• how her experience in public service uniquely informs her insights, enabling her to asses risks differently from her Canadian peers, including on how U.S and other antitrust regulators look at issues; and 
• how her role has taken on even more importance for her clients as regulators become more aggressive in areas like Big Tech.

Canadian Lawyer subscribers can read the full article on the Canadian Lawyer website.