William Blumenthal Appointed FTC General Counsel

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras today announced that William Blumenthal will join the agency as General Counsel. Blumenthal, currently a partner in the antitrust and trade regulation practice at King & Spalding LLP, will replace John D. Graubert, who has served as Acting General Counsel since January.

“Bill’s antitrust expertise and impressive international background will be invaluable assets to the Commission’s joint competition and consumer protection missions,” said Chairman Majoras. “I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with him.”

In his current capacity at King & Spalding, Blumenthal has handled matters involving mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures in a wide variety of industries, and also has represented clients in matters involving distribution restraints and cartel behavior. In addition, he has consumer protection experience, particularly in the areas of advertising and marketing practices. His work at the firm has involved frequent coordination with the FTC, the Department of Justice, state attorneys general, and foreign regulatory agencies.

Blumenthal currently serves as the International Officer of the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Section, a member of the Competition Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation Development Business and Industry Advisory Committee, a member of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Commission on Competition, and a member of the Antitrust Council of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He also serves as a U.S. Private Sector Advisor to the Notification and Procedures Subgroup of the Working Group on Mergers for the International Competition Network, and is a member of the Board of Editors of the Matthew Bender Antitrust Report.

Blumenthal’s articles have appeared in California Law Review, George Washington Law Review, Antitrust Law Journal, Antitrust Bulletin, and other publications. He was the principal author of an ABA monograph on horizontal mergers and the project leader of an ABA guidebook on the merger review process. He has spoken on global antitrust issues at diverse programs around the world.

Blumenthal received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and holds A.B. and M.A. degrees in Economics from Brown University.