BUREAU OF COMPETITION DIRECTOR JEFFERY SCHMIDT TO LEAVE FTC

On August 7, 2008, William E. Kovacic, the Federal Trade Commission Chairman, announced that Jeffery Schmidt, the Director of the Bureau of Competition for the past two and half years, will be leaving the FTC. Mr. Kovacic has named David P. Wales, the deputy director of the Bureau of Competition, as the Acting Director.
Mr. Schmidt, who joined the FTC in 2005, was instrumental in enforcing antitrust regulations in several mergers including Allegan/Inamed, Fresenius/Renal Care Group, Boston Scientific/Guidant, Linde/BOC, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain/Owens Corning, Schering Plough/AkzoNobel, Johnson & Johnson/Pfizer, and Carlyle Partners/INEOS Group, Ltd. After leaving the agency, Mr. Schmidt will be joining Linklaters law firm as a partner in their New York Office.

Before joining the FTC, Mr. Wales was a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham, & Taft LLP, working in its antitrust group. He focused on litigation, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, distribution arrangements, and grand jury investigations. From 2001 to 2003, he served as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Robert Doyle
(202) 589-1834
rdoyle@dbmlawgroup.com