Former FTC Chair Timothy Muris and Jonathan Nuechterlein Discuss Antitrust in the Internet Era

Tim Muris is a former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and currently a George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law, at Scalia Law School and Senior Counsel at the law firm Sidley-Austin. He has substantial experience in every aspect of antitrust enforcement as well as in key consumer protection issues, including advertising, consumer finance and privacy regulation. During his lengthy tenure with the FTC, Mr. Muris held multiple high-level posts and was the only person ever to direct both of the FTC’s enforcement bureaus. It was under his leadership that the FTC established the National Do Not Call Registry and brought numerous high-profile cases against firms for misusing government practices to raise prices. Professor Muris has held three previous positions at the Commission: Assistant Director of the Planning Office (1974-1976), Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection (1981-1983), and Director of the Bureau of Competition (1983-1985). After leaving the FTC in 1985, Muris served with the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget for three years. Jon Neuchterlein is a partner and co-leader of Sidley’s Telecom and Internet Competition practice, focuses on telecommunications law, antitrust, and appellate litigation. He rejoined the firm in 2016 after serving as General Counsel of the Federal Trade Commission. Jon’s extensive government experience also includes positions as Deputy General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, as Assistant to the Solicitor General, and as law clerk to D.C. Circuit Judge Stephen Williams and Supreme Court Justice David Souter. He is the author (with Phil Weiser) of a widely cited treatise on telecommunications law and policy. The Best Lawyers in America recently named Jon as the 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” for Communications Law in Washington, D.C. As the FTC’s General Counsel from 2013 to 2016, Jon represented the FTC in court, provided legal counsel on a range of antitrust and consumer protection issues, and oversaw the Commission’s appellate litigation activities. Their paper, "Antitrust in the Internet Era: The Legacy of United States v. A&P", can be found at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11151-019-09685-7