Professor John E. Lopatka retires after 19 years at Penn State Dickinson Law

August 2025—A. Robert Noll Distinguished Professor of Law John E. Lopatka recently retired after almost two decades on the faculty at Penn State Dickinson Law.

Lopatka taught courses including torts, antitrust, and law and economics to hundreds of students. The faculty at the Law School passed a resolution recognizing his distinguished career, noting that students “revered Professor Lopatka for his high standards, intellectual rigor, and devotion to teaching.”

Recognized as one of the country’s foremost antitrust scholars, Lopatka served as a member of the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Section leadership and as a contributing editor to the section’s Antitrust Law Journal. He remained a prolific writer throughout his teaching career, publishing more than fifty articles. His scholarship includes pieces in the Supreme Court Economic Review, the Journal of Law and Economics, and numerous distinguished student-edited flagship and specialty journals.

Indeed, Lopatka’s research has been cited in more than 500 law review articles and multiple judicial opinions, including those from the Third, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and D.C. Circuit Courts of Appeals.

“No one has modeled what it means to take the law seriously more than John Lopatka has. Not only has he been one of our most distinguished scholars, but he has also been a pillar of our teaching faculty, whose devotion to rigorous inquiry in the classroom has shaped generations of our students,” said Professor of Law and Political Science Jud Mathews, who until recently served as associate dean for academic affairs at Penn State Dickinson Law. “For many of our graduates, thinking like a lawyer means thinking like John Lopatka.”

Before entering higher education, Lopatka practiced in the private sector (as an associate with two firms) and the public sector (as assistant director for planning at the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition).

He began his law teaching career at the University of Illinois College of Law, earning tenure, and then spent 15 years at the University of South Carolina, where he became the Solomon Blatt Professor. Lopatka continued his public service alongside his academic work, serving as a consultant to the FTC’s Office of General Counsel in 2001-2004.

The faculty’s continuing resolution notes that “in recognition of the value of his example, experience, and perspective, John has often been the faculty member asked to introduce our newest students to the study of law at new student orientation.”

Additionally, Lopatka is frequently consulted by media outlets for commentary on antitrust developments. His insights have helped the public understand the complex legal and economic issues related to antitrust.

He co-authored the multi-volume treatise Federal Antitrust Law and The Microsoft Case: Antitrust, High Technology, and Consumer Welfare, which was published by the University of Chicago Press in 2007.