Joseph Simons is an American attorney who formerly served as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.

Joseph Simons
56th Chair of the Federal Trade Commission
In office
May 1, 2018 – January 21, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byMaureen Ohlhausen (acting)
Succeeded byRebecca Slaughter (acting)
Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
In office
May 1, 2018 – January 29, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byTerrell McSweeny
Succeeded byLina Khan
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
EducationCornell University (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)

Education

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Simons received a Bachelor of Arts in economics and history from Cornell University in 1980 and his Juris Doctor cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 1983.[1]

FTC career

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Simons was chief of the Federal Trade Commission's competition bureau from 2001 to 2003. He was a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Simons is also a co-developer of “Critical Loss Analysis,” a technique for market definition that has been incorporated into the Department of Justice and FTC Merger Guidelines, as well as applied in numerous court decisions.[1]

On October 19, 2017, the White House announced that President Donald Trump would nominate Simons to be chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.[2] He took office on May 1, 2018, and was scheduled to depart on January 29, 2021; he was replaced as chair on January 21.[3]

Notably, the FTC under Simons filed an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook in December 2020.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. October 19, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2018 – via National Archives.
  2. ^ McLaughlin and Talev, David and Margaret (October 19, 2017). "Trump to Nominate Simons to Lead FTC, White House Says". Bloomberg News. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  3. ^ "Slaughter Named Acting FTC Chair Amid Biden Shakeup - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  4. ^ Kendall, Brent; McKinnon, John D. (December 11, 2020). "Filing Facebook Lawsuit Is Career-Defining Act for FTC Chairman". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 25, 2020.