In the United States,antitrust law is a collection of mostly federal laws that regulate the conduct and organization of businesses to promote competition and prevent unjustified monopolies. The three main U.S. antitrust statutes are the Sherman Act of 1890,the Clayton Act of 1914,and the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914. These acts serve three major functions. First,Section 1 of the Sherman Act prohibits price fixing and the operation of cartels,and prohibits other collusive practices that unreasonably restrain trade. Second,Section 7 of the Clayton Act restricts the mergers and acquisitions of organizations that may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly. Third,Section 2 of the Sherman Act prohibits monopolization.
Christine A. Varney 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.
Timothy J. Muris is an American lawyer and academic who served as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 2001 to 2004.
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.
Terry Calvani is a lawyer,former government official and university professor. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan,he served one term as Commissioner of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. He was also a Member of the governing board of the Competition Authority of Ireland,where he held the criminal investigations portfolio. He has taught antitrust law at Vanderbilt University School of Law,Duke University School of Law,the Harvard Law School,Trinity College Dublin,Cornell Law School,Columbia Law School and University of California,Hastings College of Law. He retired from the practice of antitrust law with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in April 2019. He is currently a senior advisor to Brunswick Group LLC.
Deborah Platt Majoras is the former chair of the Federal Trade Commission,appointed May 11,2004,by President George W. Bush and sworn in on August 16,2004. President Bush had announced his intention to appoint her to the position on July 30,2004. Majoras is a member of the Republican Party.
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.
Richard Harvey Stern is an American attorney and law professor.
John Thomas Rosch was an American lawyer and former Commissioner of the United States Federal Trade Commission.
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 of color to lead the agency.
Maureen Kraemer Ohlhausen is an American lawyer who is a former Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission,a position she held from April 4,2012,to September 25,2018. On January 26,2017,President Donald Trump designated Ohlhausen to serve as Acting Chairwoman of the FTC. In January 2018,she was nominated by President Trump to a seat on the United States Court of Federal Claims. Ohlhausen withdrew her nomination for the federal judiciary in December 2018,opting instead to join Baker Botts as partner and co-chair of the firm's antitrust practice.
Joshua Daniel Wright is an American economist and legal scholar who 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 a commissioner of the FTC.
Institute of Competition Law is a think tank focused on bringing together government regulators,private practitioners,and academics to study and shape antitrust policy on an international scale.
Lina M. Khan is a British-born American legal scholar serving as chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) since 2021. While a student at Yale Law School,she became known for her work in antitrust and competition law in the United States after publishing the influential essay "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox". She was nominated by President Joe Biden to the Commission in March 2021,and has served since June 2021 following her confirmation. She is also an associate professor of law at Columbia Law School.
Nelson Burr Gaskill was the chair of the Federal Trade Commission from December 1,1921,to November 30,1922.
Vernon W. Van Fleet was the chair of the Federal Trade Commission from December 1,1924,to November 30,1925.
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.
Dennis Alden Yao is an American academic who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 1991 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party,Yao was the first Asian American to serve on the FTC and the third career economist to serve on the body,which has generally been composed of attorneys.
George Warren Douglas was an American economist who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from December 27,1982,until September 18,1985. Though a member of the Democratic Party,Douglas was widely known as a conservative economist,and was known as a supporter of President Ronald Reagan's economic agenda.
