Hi all - due to the topic at hand, I asked our General Counsel to review this thread and provide some feedback. Please see his response below:
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Greetings all:
This thread was flagged by our Knowledge Community team due to potential antitrust implications. I have reviewed the thread, and I understand the desire to discuss these issues at a high level – the fact that discussion regarding actual fee amounts was avoided is appreciated; however, antitrust laws cover much more than that.
Three things to keep in mind:
- Antitrust laws are complex and unforgiving. They involve no fewer than four federal bodies of law – the Sherman Act, Clayton Act, Robinson-Patman Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act (and there are state laws that also may be applicable).
- Professional membership organizations like the AIA are particularly fertile ground for antitrust issues. Organizations like AIA are, by definition, a structured group of competitors acting in concert. Moreover, AIA has the fortune of being an organization that enjoys of market share of architects and design professionals, making antitrust becomes an even more sensitive area.
- The AIA has a history with the Department of Justice on these issues.
The question, then, is how do we have these kinds of good faith discussions without running afoul of the antitrust laws? Because of the complexities, these kinds of discussion should take place as part of a planned and curated session which can be reviewed beforehand and monitored during. This is less organic, of course, but it is the best way to go about it.
If you have any questions or wish to speak to me directly, please feel free to contact me at tona@aia.org. I would be happy to talk with you.
Terrence "Terry" Ona
Sr. Vice President & General Counsel
Office of General Counsel
It is the practice of The American Institute of Architects ("the Institute" or "the AIA") and its members to comply strictly with all laws, including federal and state antitrust laws, that apply to AIA operations and activities. Compliance with the letter and spirit of the antitrust laws is an important goal of the AIA, and is essential to maintaining the Institute's reputation for the highest standards of ethical conduct.
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Emma Tucker, Manager, Knowledge Communities
The American Institute of Architects, Washington, DC
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-23-2021 05:38 PM
From: Scott Knudson
Subject: A'21 Chats
At the end of day 1 at A'21 I joined a breakout room focused on the preceding keynote address about Transforming the Business of Design. Folks seemed to catch the most fire from Sheela Sogaard's comments about not leaving money at the bargaining tbale so you can pay better wages = attract better talent that would otherwise move to other parts of the industry. Some breakouters seemed to pine for the days before AIA's antitrust consent decree when there was a more fixed fee structure for architects; others observed that successful architects remain successful and we just need to figure out how to elevate the average one. A suggestion was made that the AIA should not just focus on how to comply with the Antitrust box we are in, but apply legal and lobbying leverage to break out of the box - with questions about how the realtors have gotten by all this time (tho lately they are seeing market competition by Redfin and other discounters). Any thoughts on the relative value (and specific how-to) of your AIA being allowed to define what your fee minimums should be vs helping you learn how to negotiate and position yourself more powerfully?
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Scott Knudson AIA
AIA PMKC Leadership Group
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