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Attorney
By
Attorney
 Career
Profiles of the Profession
Who?
What?
Primary Practice Area & Subspecialty Fields:
Advertising law and consumer protection.
When?
Years in Practice Area:
Since 1987
Years in the Legal Profession:
Since 1981
Where?
Employer:
Federal Trade Commission
www.ftc.gov
Size/Sector:
Law enforcement agency
City/State:
Washington, DC
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Law School:
University of Texas
Undergraduate School/Degree:
University of Notre Dame, A.B. in American Studies
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Why?
Pluses/Challenges of Practice Area:
On any given day, my colleagues at the FTC's Bureau of Consumer
Protection challenge deceptive health claims for drugs and dietary
supplements, protect children's privacy online, sue scam artists,
monitor tobacco advertising, battle identity theft, combat cross-border
fraud, and ensure the security of consumers' personal information.
The issues are inherently interesting and it's satisfying to know
that we're helping consumers by fighting for truthfulness in the
marketplace.
Core Skills/Key Knowledge Needed in Your Practice Area:
A background in science and statistics, a good grasp of First
Amendment law, and dogged investigative instincts.
Advice to Lawyers and Law Students Interested in Your Practice
Area:
Consider interning at the FTC, the Department of Justice, the
U.S. Attorney's Office, a state Attorney General's office, or
in the chambers of a state or federal judge.
How?
Career Path to Current Position:
Meandering. My interest in consumer protection was piqued during
law school when I worked at the state headquarters for Texas'
legal services programs. After that I clerked for United States
District Judge Fred Shannon in the Western District of Texas,
served as staff law clerk to the United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, and got incomparable criminal
litigation experience as a Fellow at Georgetown University Law
Center's Appellate Litigation Clinical Program.
Influences and Mentors:
Lee Peeler, who hired me at the FTC's Division of Advertising
Practices; Jodie Bernstein, former director of the Bureau of Consumer
Protection; Judge Shannon, for whom I clerked; Erica Black Grubb,
my first boss at the Texas Legal Services Center; and my mother,
Alys Fair, who taught me more about consumer protection in one
trip to the grocery store than I ever learned in law school.
Suggested Reading About Your Practice Area:
Advertising Age, the Marketplace section of the Wall Street Journal,
and the FTC web site. It also doesn't hurt to watch a lot of late-night
TV commercials.
Job Search Techniques Used in Finding Your Position(s):
I responded to an announcement in an alumni placement newsletter
and once the interview was scheduled, spent the next week reading
every consumer protection case the FTC had brought in the past
decade.
Bar Affiliations and Activities:
Vice-Chair, Consumer Protection Committee of the ABA's
Section of Antitrust Law Member of the State Bar of Texas and the
District of Columbia Bar. As a member of the adjunct faculty of
the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America,
I hold the title of Distinguished Lecturer and have taught more
than 1000 students since starting there in 1984.
Recent Professional Publications:
Co-author, Federal Trade Commission, in ANTITRUST
LAW DEVELOPMENTS 5th 2002 Update (forthcoming).
Regulation of Marketing Claims by the Federal Trade Commission
and States, in COSMETIC REGULATION IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
(Estrin ed., 1999).
Infomercials, in ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE CONSUMER MOVEMENT
(Brobeck ed., 1997).
Recent Professional Presentations:
The FTC, the FDA, and the ABCs of Health Claims,
Food and Drug Law Institute
Telecommunications Convergence: Protecting the Public Interest,
Practising Law Institute
The Science of Compliance: The FTC and Dietary Supplements,
Johns Hopkins University
FTC Hot Button Topics Every Advertiser Needs to Know,
10th National Advanced Forum on Advertising Law
E-tail Details: Complying with Truth-in-Advertising Standards
Online, Advanced Computer and Internet Law Institute
Top Ten Dot.CONS: Fighting Fraud in the Global Marketplace,
International Marketing Supervision Network
Effective Advocacy, The JAG Association's Military Advocacy
Symposium
Hackers, Spammers, and Cybersquatters: Business Torts on the
Electronic Frontier, American Bar Association Section on Torts
and Insurance Practice
The Truth About False Advertising, American Bar Association
Forum on Communications Law
Memorable Career Moment:
Second-chairing a case at the Supreme Court of the United
States and receiving a Christmas card every year from a consumer
who is still grateful for the $50 refund we were able to get for
her in 1989 - not necessarily in that order, by the way.
Intriguing Interests:
Mexican cuisine, big band music, college hoops, movies
from the UK, Jack Kerouac and the Beats, golf, and trivia, although
as an enforcer of truth-in-advertising laws, I'd have to say that
calling them "intriguing" would be an unsubstantiated
claim.
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