William E. Kovacic Sworn in as Federal Trade Commissioner

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras today swore in William E. Kovacic as the FTC’s newest commissioner. Kovacic, whose term runs through September 25, 2011, was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 28, 2005, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 17, 2005.

Kovacic was most recently the E. K. Gubin Professor of Government Contracts Law at George Washington University Law School, where he began to teach in 1999. He was the FTC’s General Counsel from 2001 through the end of 2004. Kovacic earlier worked at the Commission from 1979 to 1983, first with the Bureau of Competition’s Planning Office and later as an attorney advisor to former Commissioner George W. Douglas. After leaving the FTC in 1983, Kovacic was an antitrust associate with the Washington, DC, office of Bryan Cave, where he practiced in the firm’s antitrust and government contracts departments, until joining the George Mason University School of Law in 1986. Earlier in his career, he spent one year on the majority staff of the Subcommittee on Antitrust and Monopoly of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

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 in English or Spanish (bilingual counselors are available to take complaints), 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.