Christine Varney | |
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United States Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division | |
In office April 20, 2009 –August 4, 2011 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Thomas O. Barnett |
Succeeded by | William Baer (2013) |
Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission | |
In office October 17,1994 –August 5,1997 | |
President | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Dennis Yao |
Succeeded by | Mozelle W. Thompson |
White House Cabinet Secretary | |
In office January 20,1993 –October 14,1994 | |
President | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Daniel Casse |
Succeeded by | Kitty Higgins |
Personal details | |
Born | Washington,D.C.,U.S. | December 17,1955
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Thomas J. "Tom" Graham [1] |
Children | 2 |
Education | State University of New York,Albany (BA) Syracuse University (MPA) Georgetown University (JD) |
Website | Official website |
[2] [3] [4] | |
Christine A. Varney (born December 17,1955) is an American antitrust attorney who served as the U.S. assistant attorney general of the Antitrust Division for the Obama Administration and as a Federal Trade commissioner in the Clinton Administration. Since August 2011,Varney has been a partner of the New York law firm Cravath,Swaine &Moore,where she chairs the antitrust department.
Varney was born in Washington,D.C. and raised in Syracuse,New York. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from University at Albany,SUNY in 1977. As an undergraduate,she studied abroad at Trinity College,Dublin. She later earned a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, [5] and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown Law School. [6]
Varney served as general counsel to the Democratic National Committee from 1989 to 1992;chief counsel to the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign,general counsel to the 1992 Presidential Inaugural Committee,associate and partner of the firm of Hogan &Hartson,and as assistant to the president and White House cabinet secretary. [5] [7] In the latter role,she acted as a liaison between the White House and cabinet departments. She stated the Clinton Administration's philosophy of cabinet management this way:"if you don’t surprise us,we won't micromanage you!" [8]
Varney served in the Clinton Administration as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from October 17,1994,to August 5,1997. [9] As a commissioner,Varney voted to bring actions against Toys "R" Us for pressuring manufacturers to keep popular toys out of discount stores;to pursue charges of unfair advertising against the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company,for its "Joe Camel" advertising campaign;and to impose conditions on the mega-merger between Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting System. [10]
Varney became known for spearheading the FTC's examination of privacy and commerce, [11] and for promoting innovation market theory analysis in the fields of information technology and biotechnology. [12] In 1997,Varney was succeeded by Mozelle W. Thompson as a member of the FTC. [13]
Varney was a partner at the Washington,D.C. law firm Hogan &Hartson,where she chaired the Internet practice group, [6] and was registered as a lobbyist. [14] [15] As a lawyer,Varney represented and advised companies on matters such as antitrust,privacy,business planning corporate governance,intellectual property,and general liability issues. She represented Netscape during United States v. Microsoft Corp. and its merger with AOL. [16] There,her other clients included eBay,DoubleClick,The Washington Post Company's Newsweek Interactive subsidiary,Dow Jones &Company,AOL,Synopsys,Compaq,Gateway,the Liberty Alliance,and RealNetworks. [17]
Varney was a fundraiser for the Hillary Clinton campaign during the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries and the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries. [3] Following the election of President Barack Obama,in 2009,Varney served as personnel counsel on the Obama–Biden Transition Project. [18]
Varney was nominated for the position of Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice in February 2009,and confirmed by the Senate on April 20,2009. [19] [20] [21] [22] On August 4,2011,Varney resigned her position at the Justice Department. [23] [24]
Evan Chesler,then presiding partner at Cravath,recruited Varney in September 2011,when average partner pay at the firm was 3.1 million. [25] Varney is only the fourth outsider recruited to be named a partner at the firm in 50 years. [26] There,Varney has advised clients on mergers across various industries,including acquisitions of Time Warner by ATT,Virgin Atlantic by Delta,Talenti by Unilever,Pinnacle by Conagra,and Heinz by Kraft [27]
Varney joined the faculty of Columbia Law School as a lecturer in law in 2017 and teaches the course Antitrust in Action,alongside her Cravath colleague David R. Marriott. [28]
Varney is recognized by The National Law Journal as one of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America",and as among the 50 "Governance,Risk &Compliance Trailblazers &Pioneers". Law360 also named her a "Competition MVP",and Global Competition Review named her "Lawyer of the Year". [29]
During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries,Varney made the maximum allowable campaign contributions to candidates Pete Buttigieg [30] and Joe Biden. [31]
While at the FTC,Varney predicted that online privacy would "become a critical aspect of [the FTC's] consumer protection responsibilities." [32] Former FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky has credited Varney as "the leading force in getting the agency active on the online privacy front." [33]
In advocating adoption of the FTC's privacy guidelines,Varney identified a major goal of the FTC's Privacy Initiative as "avoid[ing] cumbersome regulation by facilitating the development of a set of voluntary principles." [34] Varney's promotion of voluntary privacy guidelines was criticized by consumer privacy advocates as insufficient to provide adequate consumer protection. [35] [36] Others,however,lauded Varney's approach,believing that tight government regulations would stifle innovation. [35]
As legal counsel and spokesperson for the Online Privacy Alliance,Varney championed self-regulation as the basis for encouraging compliance with Internet privacy standards. [37] Over time,Varney's position changed —according to an article from November 2000,Varney said,"You could characterize the OPA as having a mantra of 'self-regulation,self-regulation,self-regulation’. . . Next year,the mantra will be 'industry best practices as part of a comprehensive solution,and there may be legislation that would help.’" [33]
As an FTC commissioner,Varney voiced concerns about legislation that would grant certain antitrust immunities to doctors, [38] as well as potential competitive problems caused by vertical integration of drug companies into the pharmacy benefits management market. [39]
As Assistant Attorney General,Varney has suggested that there may be a lack of competition in the health insurance market,and has endorsed a measure that would revoke the federal antitrust exemption for health insurers. [40] Varney has also been critical of "reverse payment patent settlement" or "pay-for-delay" agreements,in which a potential generic competitor delays entry of a generic drug in exchange for a payment from a branded drug manufacturer with market power. A brief signed by Varney argues that such agreements are "presumptively unlawful", [41] signifying a departure from the previous DOJ positions,aligning the DOJ's position with that of the FTC. [42]
As a Commissioner at the FTC,Varney was outspoken about monopolies in innovation markets and about the possibility that vertical mergers create unfair barriers to entry in networked industries. [43]
Upon her nomination as the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division by President Barack Obama,Varney was predicted to be a more aggressive enforcer of antitrust laws than her predecessors in the Bush administration. [44] Her nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 20,2009,by a vote of 87 to 1. [45]
Consistent with predictions,one of Varney's first acts as an Assistant Attorney General was to withdraw the Justice Department's 2008 guidelines for enforcement of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. [46] In her first public comments as an Assistant Attorney General,Varney criticized the guidelines for "effectively straightjacket[ing] antitrust enforcers and courts from redressing monopolistic abuses,thereby allowing all but the most bold and predatory conduct to go unpunished and undeterred." [47] She delivered the speech twice,first,on May 11,2009,at the Center for American Progress and,on the following day,at the United States Chamber of Commerce. [48]
Varney opened inquiries into the financial services and wireless phone industries,and began probing the settlement between Google and the Association of American Publishers. [49]
Between 2009 and 2011,the Antitrust Division's criminal enforcement work resulted in the assessment of over $1.5 billion in fines against criminal conspirators. [50]
As both a Commissioner of the FTC and Assistant Attorney General,Varney has called for more cooperation in international antitrust enforcement. As an FTC Commissioner,Varney stated,"there is much more to be done by way of fostering communication and cooperation between enforcement authorities," and promoted adherence to international antitrust guidelines. [51] Similarly,in her first public remarks as Assistant Attorney General,Varney stated,"I believe that as targets of antitrust enforcement have expanded their operations worldwide,there is a greater need for U.S. authorities to reach out to other antitrust agencies." [47] Since then,Varney has called for greater convergence,cooperation,and transparency between international antitrust enforcement agencies. [52]
During her tenure,Varney successfully prevented several mergers and acquisitions,including NASDAQ and Intercontinental Exchange from acquiring NYSE Euronext,as well as Verifone's acquisition of Hypercom. [25] She allowed the mergers of Live Nation Entertainment with Ticketmaster,and of Comcast with NBCUniversal. [25] After Varney and the Administrator of the Grain Inspection,Packers and Stockyards Administration proposed rules to combat price fixing by meat packing industry,Congress defunded its enforcement. [53] [54]
Varney approved the merger of Continental Airlines and United Airlines,on condition that several assets were to be divested. [25]
In October 2010,Varney brought an anti-competition suit against Visa Inc.,MasterCard,each of which soon settled,and American Express,which did not. [25]
Epic Games enlisted the counsel of Varney and Cravath,Swaine &Moore in their antitrust lawsuits against Apple,Inc. and Google filed in August 2020 over monopolistic practices on the App Store and Google Play storefronts after they had forced Epic's Fortnite off the service. [55]
Varney was instrumental in establishing several industry associations,including the Online Privacy Alliance,which helped promote self-regulation and identify Internet best practices in the field of online privacy. [56] She has served on the board of directors of TRUSTe,a privacy certification and seal program. [57]
She serves on the boards of trustees of the American Museum of Natural History and Third Way;on the boards of directors of the Brennan Center for Justice and the Legal Aid Society;and on the board of advisors of the American Constitution Society. [58]
Varney is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and serves as a member of the International Bar Association,the Council on Foreign Relations,The American Law Institute,and the Economic Club of New York. [58]
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction over federal civil antitrust law enforcement with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division. The agency is headquartered in the Federal Trade Commission Building in Washington,DC.
Cravath,Swaine &Moore LLP is an American white-shoe law firm with its headquarters in New York City,and additional offices in London and Washington,D.C.
A privacy policy is a statement or legal document that discloses some or all of the ways a party gathers,uses,discloses,and manages a customer or client's data. Personal information can be anything that can be used to identify an individual,not limited to the person's name,address,date of birth,marital status,contact information,ID issue,and expiry date,financial records,credit information,medical history,where one travels,and intentions to acquire goods and services. In the case of a business,it is often a statement that declares a party's policy on how it collects,stores,and releases personal information it collects. It informs the client what specific information is collected,and whether it is kept confidential,shared with partners,or sold to other firms or enterprises. Privacy policies typically represent a broader,more generalized treatment,as opposed to data use statements,which tend to be more detailed and specific.
The Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 regulates meatpacking,livestock dealers,market agencies,live poultry dealers,and swine contractors to prohibit unfair or deceptive practices,giving undue preferences,apportioning supply,manipulating prices,or creating a monopoly. It was enacted following the release in 1919 of the Report of the Federal Trade Commission on the meatpacking industry.
Merger guidelines in the United States are a set of internal rules promulgated by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in conjunction with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). These rules have been revised over the past four decades. They govern the process by which these two regulatory bodies scrutinize and/or challenge a potential merger. Grounds for challenges include increased market concentration and threat to competition within a relevant market.
The United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division is a division of the U.S. Department of Justice that enforces U.S. antitrust law. It has exclusive jurisdiction over U.S. federal criminal antitrust investigations and prosecutions. It also has jurisdiction over civil antitrust enforcement,which it shares with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The Antitrust Division often works jointly with the FTC to provide regulatory guidance to businesses.
Jonathan David Leibowitz is an American attorney who served under President Barack Obama as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 2009 to 2013. Leibowitz was appointed to the commission in 2004,and resigned in 2013. During Leibowitz's tenure,the FTC brought privacy cases against Google,Facebook and others for violating consumer privacy,as well as enforcement against "pay-for-delay" deals in which pharmaceutical companies paid competitors to stay out of the market. Prior to joining the FTC,Leibowitz was Vice President for Congressional Affairs from 2000 to 2004 of the MPAA.
Pamela LeDeyce Jones Harbour is an American lawyer who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 2003 to 2009. As of 2021,Harbour is one of just three African-Americans to have served as a member of the FTC. Additionally,she is one of the just three political independents to serve on the body as of 2017.
Edith Ramirez is an American attorney who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission from 2010 to 2017. Ramirez served as FTC Chair from 2013 to 2017,the first person from an ethnic minority to lead the agency.
Julie Simone Brill is an American lawyer who serves as Chief Privacy Officer and Corporate Vice President for Global Privacy,Safety and Regulatory Affairs at Microsoft. Prior to her role at Microsoft,Brill was nominated by President Barack Obama on November 16,2009,and confirmed unanimously by the US Senate to serve as Commissioner of the US Federal Trade Commission on March 3,2010. Brill served as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 2010 to 2016.
Hogan Lovells is an American-British law firm co-headquartered in London and Washington,DC. The firm was formed in 2010 by the merger of the American law firm Hogan &Hartson and the British law firm Lovells. As of 2022,the firm employed about 2,500 lawyers,making it the sixth largest law firm in the world.
Katherine Bolan Forrest is a partner at New York law firm Paul,Weiss,Rifkind,Wharton &Garrison LLP,and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
William Joseph Baer is an American lawyer who served as the Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division under the administration of President Barack Obama. He is a partner at the American law firm Arnold &Porter,where he works in antitrust law and white collar defense. Since January 2020,Baer has been a visiting fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution.
Joshua Daniel Wright is an American economist,attorney,and former government official. Wright served as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 2013 to 2015. At the time of his nomination,Wright was the fourth economist to serve as an FTC commissioner. Wright was a professor of law at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School between 2004 and 2023,and was the executive director of its Global Antitrust Institute (GAI). In 2023,Wright resigned from George Mason following eight allegations of sexual misconduct from former students.
Eugene I. Kimmelman is an American attorney and consumer protection advocate who specializes in antitrust law. Since January 2021,Kimmelman has served as a senior advisor in the Department of Justice (DOJ). During the Obama administration,Kimmelman served within the DOJ as chief counsel of the Antitrust Division.
Terrell McSweeny is an American attorney who served as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission from 2014 until 2018.
Noah Joshua Phillips is an American attorney who served on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 2018 to 2022. Phillips was appointed to this position in 2018 by President Donald Trump,and was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate. During the Biden administration,Phillips was one of two Republicans on the FTC,along with fellow commissioner Christine S. Wilson.
Thomas Barrett Leary was an American attorney who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from November 17,1999 until his resignation from the body December 31,2005.
Melissa Holyoak is an American lawyer who is serving as a member of the Federal Trade Commission.
Ms. Varney was elected to [Ryder System, Incorporated's] Board of Directors in February 1998
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: CS1 maint: location (link)[From Bradley H. Patterson, The White House Staff: Inside the West Wing and Beyond (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press), pp. 330-39. Reprinted with permission of Brookings Institution Press.]