Federal Trade Commission general counsel Willard Tom has stepped down to rejoin the private sector, and David Shonka, the FTC's principal deputy general counsel, will serve as acting general counsel, the agency announced today. In addition, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said that Peter Miller will serve as the FTC's chief privacy officer.
Tom, a former partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has not announced what his next job will be, according to an FTC spokesman. He served as FTC general counsel for three years, and during prior stints at the FTC was deputy director of the Bureau of Competition and led the bureau’s policy office. Shonka, who joined the FTC as a staff attorney in 1977, has been principal deputy counsel since April 2008.
"Will served this agency with great distinction," Leibowitz said in a news release. "His leadership helped bring significant antitrust and consumer protection victories on behalf of American consumers, and we will sorely miss his thoughtfulness, wise counsel, and extraordinary writing skills. We are fortunate that Dave Shonka will serve as acting general counsel, as he did very admirably before Will became General Counsel."
Miller, the new chief privacy officer, had been doing the job on an acting basis since Marc Gorman left a year ago to become the executive director and general counsel of the Network Advertising Initiative. As chief privacy officer, Miller coordinates efforts to implement and review the agency’s policies and procedures for safeguarding all sensitive information.
He has worked for the FTC for nine years. Before joining the agency, he was an attorney in the commercial litigation branch of the Department of Justice and was an associate at Miller & Chevalier.
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