Bruce Hoffman Ends Tenure as FTC Bureau of Competition Deputy Director

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras announced today that
D. Bruce Hoffman, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition, will be leaving the FTC effective November 24, 2004, and returning to private practice. Hoffman has served as the Bureau’s deputy director since October 2003, after serving as associate director for regional litigation from September 2001 through October 2003.

For the past three years, Hoffman has played an important role in both merger and nonmerger law enforcement at the FTC, as well as in FTC policy development. In the merger arena, Hoffman played a significant role in the Bureau’s substantive analysis of numerous transactions, including, among others, GE/Vivendi Universal, Harrah’s/Horseshoe, Wal-Mart/Supermercados Amigo, the Cruise Line transactions, and several energy and e-commerce transactions. He also played a principal part in numerous efforts to streamline and improve the merger review process, including serving as one of the leaders of the Bureau’s merger process review, assisting in drafting the Bureau’s Statement on Guidelines for Merger Investigations, and helping to modernize the FTC’s procedures for obtaining and reviewing electronic documents and accepting electronic productions.

Hoffman has played an equally important role with respect to nonmerger law enforcement and policy development. He supervised and participated extensively in the Rambus and Unocal appeals; the investigation and litigation of North Texas Specialty Physicians, California Pacific Medical Group, and South Carolina Board of Dentistry; and many other large, nonpublic investigations. He was also actively involved in the preparation of the United States’ amicus briefs in Verizon v. Trinko and in 3M v. LePage’s, and he contributed to the development of policy with respect to the scope of various antitrust exemptions and immunities as well as other issues.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot,
stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Bureau of Competition seeks to prevent business practices that restrain competition. The Bureau carries out its mission by investigating alleged law violations and, when appropriate, recommending that the Commission take formal enforcement action.