Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
Andrew N. Ferguson was sworn in April 2, 2024 as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. President Joe Biden named Ferguson to a term that expires on September 25, 2030.
Ferguson most recently served as solicitor general of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Prior to that position, he served as chief counsel to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, and as a Republican counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He also practiced law at several Washington, D.C. law firms. He earned his undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of Virginia. After law school, Ferguson clerked for Judge Karen L. Henderson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Partner, Torridon Law PLLC
Mike Fragoso is a seasoned legal and policy strategist. Most recently he served as chief counsel to Senate Republican Leader, Mitch McConnell. He has negotiated consequential legislation, managed successful congressional oversight, and prepared individuals for the most contentious Senate hearings.
As chief counsel to Leader McConnell Mike was the Leader’s primary legal advisor and managed the “last mile” of any legislation touching on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He ran the 2024 reauthorization of FISA Section 702 and was involved at the highest levels of the appropriations and budget-reconciliation processes. Mike also repeatedly represented Leader McConnell as counsel of record at the Supreme Court. Leader McConnell said of Mike that he’s “equally at home in the high-minded philosophical discourse of the legal community and the urgent pragmatism of Congressional dealmaking,” and that he “maintains a firm grasp on the realm of the possible” but “knows which screws to twist.” He observed that Mike “is so exceptionally competent that he often produces from his desk the work that would normally require, literally, teams of outside counsel.”
Mike previously was chief counsel for nominations and constitutional law for the Senate Judiciary Committee under Ranking Member Chuck Grassley and Chairman Lindsey Graham. During this time he advised the Senators on two presidential impeachments, ran multiple policy hearings, and managed the confirmation process for over 80 federal judges, including Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Chairman Graham described Mike as “a force of nature.”
During the first Trump administration Mike was deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy where he ran the Department’s efforts in support of judicial nominations and prepared over 100 nominees for Senate hearings.
Earlier in his career Mike was legislative director to former Senator Jeff Flake and chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law. There he led the oversight and repeal of the FCC’s broadband-privacy rule and was Senator Flake’s top advisor on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
He frequently comments on public affairs and his writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, National Review, and the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.
Mike also served as a law clerk to Judge Diane Sykes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
President and CEO, The Federalist Society
Sheldon Gilbert is the President and CEO of The Federalist Society. Gilbert has been involved in the conservative and libertarian legal movement since law school, and has served in prominent roles at both nonprofit organizations as well as corporate America.
A longtime constitutional litigator, Gilbert has represented clients through amicus and party briefs in nearly a hundred cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, at both the certiorari and merits stages. Most recently, Gilbert served as Senior Lead Counsel for Strategic Initiatives at Walmart, the world’s largest company, where he led teams providing legal advice related to government enforcement, internal investigations, government relations, public relations, and special projects at the center of law and policy.
Before joining Walmart, Gilbert served as Vice President for Content and Development and Senior Fellow for Constitutional Studies at the National Constitution Center, a congressionally chartered non-partisan center for constitutional education and debate, where he led both fundraising and programming efforts. While at the NCC, Gilbert helped ensure that the Center’s programming and exhibits incorporated constitutional perspectives from experts on both the right and the left, including the launch of the Center’s landmark permanent exhibit on the Civil War and the Reconstruction Amendments.
Prior to the National Constitution Center, Gilbert served as the director of the Institute for Justice’s Center for Judicial Engagement (CJE), where he educated the public about the role of the courts and the Constitution, where he frequently hosted discussions and debates on constitutional issues, and often spoke at Federalist Society lawyer and student chapters across the country.
He was also a litigator with the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, the litigation arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he represented the U.S. Chamber in over 400 cases in federal and state courts addressing a wide range of legal issues, from free speech to property rights.
Gilbert is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School where he helped found a first-of-its-kind National Religious Freedom Moot Court, which hosted law students from across the country to debate important, emerging religious liberty issues. After graduating from GWU, he also taught as a professorial lecturer at the school.
A graduate of the University of Utah, Gilbert is a child of the Mountain West, where he was born in a coal mining town in Utah and raised in Idaho near the Grand Tetons. Before going to law school, Gilbert’s diverse interests led him to work in a wide range of roles, from software development project management for a nonprofit, to working in his University’s radiobiology research lab, to volunteer service in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for his church.
Gilbert is married with four children.
Shareholder, D.C. Office Managing Shareholder
Lee is a former Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Committee for then-Chairman Lindsey Graham, Deputy Counsel to Vice President J.D. Vance, and federal prosecutor who serves as Managing Shareholder of Maynard Nexsen’s Washington, D.C. office. He has deep experience in all three branches of the federal government, stand-up courtroom experience, and extensive knowledge of Washington, D.C.
While serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lee played a central role in some of the most consequential legislative, nominations, and oversight efforts in recent years. He led Supreme Court and Attorney General confirmation hearings, guided politically charged negotiations on the First Step Act, police reform, the CARES Act, and the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, and oversaw the Committee’s work on the Crossfire Hurricane Investigation. Lee also helped advance the CLOUD Act and major intellectual property legislation, including the Defend Trade Secrets Act, the Music Modernization Act, and the CASE Act. Over his seven-year Senate career, he handled the Committee’s authorization of subpoenas, participated in transcribed interviews, managed public communications campaigns, and prepared witnesses and nominees for high-profile hearings—culminating in his service as a key advisor to Republican Senators during both impeachments of President Donald Trump.
As a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, Lee managed a diverse criminal and civil litigation docket, including first chair of a felony trial, briefing appeals, and arguing in the Fourth Circuit. Lee defended the United States in civil suits under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), and also served as the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) prosecutor for the South Carolina U.S. Attorney's Office. Before joining Maynard Nexsen, Lee served in the White House, where he provided strategic and legal advice to the Office of the Vice President.
Lee earned his law degree at the Vanderbilt University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Affairs from Florida State University. He clerked for the Honorable Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina and briefly on the Fourth Circuit when Judge Anderson sat on that court by designation.
Senior Director, Microsoft, Former Staff Director and Chief Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
Judge Julius “Jay” Richardson serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Jay grew up in Barnwell, South Carolina. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, Jay moved to Hawaii and worked at a pool-side bar-and-grill. Jay later earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Articles Editor for the Law Review and right fielder for the law school’s championship softball team. Following law school, Jay clerked for Judge Richard A. Posner and for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. He then practiced with Kellogg Hansen in Washington, DC before returning to South Carolina as an Assistant United States Attorney. Along with prosecuting violent crime, gangs, terrorism, public corruption, civil rights, and narcotics trafficking, he led the prosecution of Dylann Roof, who was convicted and sentenced to death for his racist massacre of nine Black worshippers during a Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. He and his wife Macon are blessed with four daughters.
Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
Andrew N. Ferguson was sworn in April 2, 2024 as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. President Joe Biden named Ferguson to a term that expires on September 25, 2030.
Ferguson most recently served as solicitor general of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Prior to that position, he served as chief counsel to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, and as a Republican counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He also practiced law at several Washington, D.C. law firms. He earned his undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of Virginia. After law school, Ferguson clerked for Judge Karen L. Henderson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Partner, Torridon Law PLLC
Mike Fragoso is a seasoned legal and policy strategist. Most recently he served as chief counsel to Senate Republican Leader, Mitch McConnell. He has negotiated consequential legislation, managed successful congressional oversight, and prepared individuals for the most contentious Senate hearings.
As chief counsel to Leader McConnell Mike was the Leader’s primary legal advisor and managed the “last mile” of any legislation touching on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He ran the 2024 reauthorization of FISA Section 702 and was involved at the highest levels of the appropriations and budget-reconciliation processes. Mike also repeatedly represented Leader McConnell as counsel of record at the Supreme Court. Leader McConnell said of Mike that he’s “equally at home in the high-minded philosophical discourse of the legal community and the urgent pragmatism of Congressional dealmaking,” and that he “maintains a firm grasp on the realm of the possible” but “knows which screws to twist.” He observed that Mike “is so exceptionally competent that he often produces from his desk the work that would normally require, literally, teams of outside counsel.”
Mike previously was chief counsel for nominations and constitutional law for the Senate Judiciary Committee under Ranking Member Chuck Grassley and Chairman Lindsey Graham. During this time he advised the Senators on two presidential impeachments, ran multiple policy hearings, and managed the confirmation process for over 80 federal judges, including Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Chairman Graham described Mike as “a force of nature.”
During the first Trump administration Mike was deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy where he ran the Department’s efforts in support of judicial nominations and prepared over 100 nominees for Senate hearings.
Earlier in his career Mike was legislative director to former Senator Jeff Flake and chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law. There he led the oversight and repeal of the FCC’s broadband-privacy rule and was Senator Flake’s top advisor on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
He frequently comments on public affairs and his writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, National Review, and the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.
Mike also served as a law clerk to Judge Diane Sykes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
President and CEO, The Federalist Society
Sheldon Gilbert is the President and CEO of The Federalist Society. Gilbert has been involved in the conservative and libertarian legal movement since law school, and has served in prominent roles at both nonprofit organizations as well as corporate America.
A longtime constitutional litigator, Gilbert has represented clients through amicus and party briefs in nearly a hundred cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, at both the certiorari and merits stages. Most recently, Gilbert served as Senior Lead Counsel for Strategic Initiatives at Walmart, the world’s largest company, where he led teams providing legal advice related to government enforcement, internal investigations, government relations, public relations, and special projects at the center of law and policy.
Before joining Walmart, Gilbert served as Vice President for Content and Development and Senior Fellow for Constitutional Studies at the National Constitution Center, a congressionally chartered non-partisan center for constitutional education and debate, where he led both fundraising and programming efforts. While at the NCC, Gilbert helped ensure that the Center’s programming and exhibits incorporated constitutional perspectives from experts on both the right and the left, including the launch of the Center’s landmark permanent exhibit on the Civil War and the Reconstruction Amendments.
Prior to the National Constitution Center, Gilbert served as the director of the Institute for Justice’s Center for Judicial Engagement (CJE), where he educated the public about the role of the courts and the Constitution, where he frequently hosted discussions and debates on constitutional issues, and often spoke at Federalist Society lawyer and student chapters across the country.
He was also a litigator with the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, the litigation arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he represented the U.S. Chamber in over 400 cases in federal and state courts addressing a wide range of legal issues, from free speech to property rights.
Gilbert is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School where he helped found a first-of-its-kind National Religious Freedom Moot Court, which hosted law students from across the country to debate important, emerging religious liberty issues. After graduating from GWU, he also taught as a professorial lecturer at the school.
A graduate of the University of Utah, Gilbert is a child of the Mountain West, where he was born in a coal mining town in Utah and raised in Idaho near the Grand Tetons. Before going to law school, Gilbert’s diverse interests led him to work in a wide range of roles, from software development project management for a nonprofit, to working in his University’s radiobiology research lab, to volunteer service in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for his church.
Gilbert is married with four children.
Shareholder, D.C. Office Managing Shareholder
Lee is a former Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Committee for then-Chairman Lindsey Graham, Deputy Counsel to Vice President J.D. Vance, and federal prosecutor who serves as Managing Shareholder of Maynard Nexsen’s Washington, D.C. office. He has deep experience in all three branches of the federal government, stand-up courtroom experience, and extensive knowledge of Washington, D.C.
While serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lee played a central role in some of the most consequential legislative, nominations, and oversight efforts in recent years. He led Supreme Court and Attorney General confirmation hearings, guided politically charged negotiations on the First Step Act, police reform, the CARES Act, and the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, and oversaw the Committee’s work on the Crossfire Hurricane Investigation. Lee also helped advance the CLOUD Act and major intellectual property legislation, including the Defend Trade Secrets Act, the Music Modernization Act, and the CASE Act. Over his seven-year Senate career, he handled the Committee’s authorization of subpoenas, participated in transcribed interviews, managed public communications campaigns, and prepared witnesses and nominees for high-profile hearings—culminating in his service as a key advisor to Republican Senators during both impeachments of President Donald Trump.
As a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, Lee managed a diverse criminal and civil litigation docket, including first chair of a felony trial, briefing appeals, and arguing in the Fourth Circuit. Lee defended the United States in civil suits under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), and also served as the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) prosecutor for the South Carolina U.S. Attorney's Office. Before joining Maynard Nexsen, Lee served in the White House, where he provided strategic and legal advice to the Office of the Vice President.
Lee earned his law degree at the Vanderbilt University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Affairs from Florida State University. He clerked for the Honorable Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina and briefly on the Fourth Circuit when Judge Anderson sat on that court by designation.
Senior Director, Microsoft, Former Staff Director and Chief Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
Judge Julius “Jay” Richardson serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Jay grew up in Barnwell, South Carolina. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, Jay moved to Hawaii and worked at a pool-side bar-and-grill. Jay later earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Articles Editor for the Law Review and right fielder for the law school’s championship softball team. Following law school, Jay clerked for Judge Richard A. Posner and for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. He then practiced with Kellogg Hansen in Washington, DC before returning to South Carolina as an Assistant United States Attorney. Along with prosecuting violent crime, gangs, terrorism, public corruption, civil rights, and narcotics trafficking, he led the prosecution of Dylann Roof, who was convicted and sentenced to death for his racist massacre of nine Black worshippers during a Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. He and his wife Macon are blessed with four daughters.
Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
Mariel Brookins attended Wheaton College where she studied economics and theology. After graduation, she worked at PwC as a tax CPA. She attended the University of Michigan Law School. After law school, Mariel clerked for Judge Barrett on the Seventh Circuit and Judge Newsom on the Eleventh Circuit. She currently practices appellate litigation in Washington, D.C.
Litigation Senior Corporate Counsel, Microsoft
Benjamin Diggs is a Litigation Senior Corporate Counsel at Microsoft based in Redmond, Washington.
Previously, he was an Attorney at Hogan Lovells and also held positions at Heller Ehrman, U.S. Department of Justice, California Attorney Group, Athens College, Hellenic American Educational Foundation.
Benjamin received a Doctor of Law degree from Stanford University Law School.
Chief Legal Officer, Cognizant
John Kim has held the title of Chief Legal Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary since February 2024. This title change was made to better reflect his responsibilities after previously serving as our Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Secretary beginning March 2021. In this role, he leads Cognizant’s legal, company secretary, compliance, corporate security, regulatory, ESG, global real estate, procurement, contract lifecycle risk management and strategic negotiation functions.
John joined Cognizant in November 2019 as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Global Commercial Contracts. Previously, he served as Global Head of Big Deals at Capgemini, U.S. Counsel for WNS Global Services and General Counsel for Travelport, a leading travel technology company, as well as a number of technology service companies.
John holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Columbia University. He obtained his law degree from Cornell Law School, where he was a member of the Cornell Law Review.
Executive Director of Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center
Michael Richards is the Executive Director of Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center (C_TEC), where he leads the Chamber’s work on artificial intelligence and IT modernization. His portfolio focuses on federal and state policies related to AI, facial recognition, and emerging technologies that impact American businesses. He also manages the AI Policy Working Group, a coalition of more than 100 companies and trade associations, and played a key role in developing the Chamber’s AI policy principles.
Prior to joining the Chamber, Michael served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for Representatives Scott Franklin (FL-15) and Pete Olson (TX-22). In these roles, he led legislative strategy, staffed the House AI Caucus and Victims’ Rights Caucus, and handled the Communications & Technology portfolio on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Michael holds a Master of Public Policy from the Pepperdine School of Public Policy and a Bachelor’s degree from Texas State University.
Associate General Counsel, OpenAI
Michael Trinh is currently Associate General Counsel at OpenAI working on litigation and regulatory matters. He was formerly Head of Litigation Advance at Google where he led a team handling a broad portfolio of litigation strategy, research, amici briefs, and proactive/enforcement litigation across the company’s product areas.
In prior roles over 14 years at Google, Mike managed a group defending patent litigation worldwide, and also served as product counsel at Google X for emerging ‘moonshots’ (innovation projects primarily in developing economies). He guided experimental aviation projects as they evolved from research concept towards market introduction, handling the legal/regulatory issues arising from high altitude balloon-mounted telecommunication networks, drone delivery of burritos, kite-generated electricity, and cargo airships. Before this science fiction, he was Litigation Counsel at Google, managing a team handling a fast-growing docket of 100+ patent litigation cases in courts worldwide.
Previously, he was a technology/IP litigation associate at Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe in San Francisco. He also handled national security issues while representing, pro bono, Guantanamo Bay detainees challenging their indefinite incarceration without ever being charged. Mike graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center (2005) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2002, B.S. Comp Sci). While he grew up in Raleigh, NC, he now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and a string cheese-seeking dog (who was once featured in the Financial Times).
Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Allen Grunes skillfully navigates the full spectrum of competition law issues. From proactively analyzing mergers and acquisitions to guiding clients through the antitrust review process, he provides experienced antitrust counsel. At Brownstein, he often assists clients in developing government relations and public relations strategies in high-profile matters. His clients have included Fortune 500 companies, start-ups and small businesses, consumer advocacy groups and labor unions.
Allen previously spent more than a decade at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, where he led many merger and civil non-merger investigations in radio, television, newspapers, motion pictures and other industries. He was part of the litigation team in a number of important cases brought by the United States, including U.S. v. Alex Brown & Sons. In private practice, he has worked as special counsel for the State of Ohio and has served as class counsel for a class of temporary nurses in Arizona. He is a recent past president of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia and a member of the Barristers.
Partner, Antitrust and Competition, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Maureen Ohlhausen is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she advises industry-leading clients on complex antitrust and litigation matters, with a focus on high-profile cases. Sought after for her depth of experience on antitrust and Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-related issues, Maureen is known for her relationships with officials in the U.S. and abroad.
After finishing law school and clerking at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Maureen joined the FTC in 1997. She held a series of roles at the agency over the next 12 years, rising to the position of Director of the FTC Office of Policy Planning, where she led the agency’s work on e-commerce and headed the FTC’s Internet Access Task Force, which produced an influential report analyzing competition and consumer protection legal issues in the broadband and internet sectors. She then went into private practice at a leading telecommunications law firm, where she headed the FTC practice group.
In 2012, Maureen was confirmed by the Senate as a Commissioner of the FTC and was appointed Acting Chairman in January 2017, a role she held until May 2018. As Acting Chairman, Maureen directed all aspects of the agency’s antitrust work, including merger review, conduct enforcement, and all consumer protection enforcement, with an emphasis on privacy and technology issues. Under her leadership, the FTC won several influential merger challenges in court and reached a number of key digital privacy settlements.
To date, Maureen is the only FTC Commissioner to have received the Robert Pitofsky Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to the FTC.
Following the end of her term at the FTC, and immediately prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Maureen was chair of the global antitrust and competition practice at Baker Botts, based in that firm’s Washington, D.C., office.
A recognized thought leader, Maureen is a frequent author and speaker, and is often quoted by leading print and broadcast media on antitrust, FTC, and privacy and data security matters. She has published dozens of articles on antitrust, privacy, intellectual property, regulation, FTC litigation, telecommunications, and international law issues in prestigious publications. During her tenure at the FTC and in private practice, she testified more than two dozen times before Congress, including before the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Antitrust Sub-Committee. She also testified before the Antitrust Modernization Commission.
Antitrust Partner, White & Case
Rahul Rao is a partner in the Global Antitrust Practice at White & Case and the former Deputy Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition. He advises clients on merger clearance, government investigations, antitrust litigation, and regulatory strategy, with particular depth in healthcare, life sciences, private equity, retail, and labor markets.
At the FTC, Rahul led major merger and conduct investigations, supervised enforcement in critical sectors, and helped shape landmark policy initiatives, including the revised Merger Guidelines and the Commission’s noncompete rulemaking. Earlier, he helped establish the Washington State Attorney General’s Antitrust Division as a national leader in labor market competition enforcement.
Having served on both the federal and state enforcement front lines, Rahul brings clients a unique understanding of agency priorities, risk profiles, and strategies for navigating today’s increasingly dynamic antitrust environment.
Counsel, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP; Senior Competition Counsel, TechFreedom
Bilal Sayyed represents clients before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) in significant merger, civil and criminal antitrust matters. A significant portion of his practice involves representing investment funds on antitrust and Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act compliance matters; he has also provided expert witness services related to HSR compliance. Bilal also counsels clients before the FTC in consumer protection and privacy investigations. He maintains an active amicus and appellate brief writing practice in antitrust litigation and antitrust merger matters.
Prior to joining Cadwalader, Bilal was the Director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning (OPP) (2018-2021). In that role, he provided legal and policy advice to the Chairman and Commissioners on antitrust and consumer protection matters and worked closely with the senior and career leadership of the FTC’s Bureaus of Competition, Consumer Protection, and Economics. Bilal previously served as an Attorney Advisor to FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris from 2001 to 2004. In that role, Bilal advised the Chairman on matters involving a wide spectrum of industries, including chemical and mining, petroleum and natural gas, health care and pharmaceutical, defense and transportation, gaming, various consumer products and retail operations, and professional associations and standard-setting organizations.
Bilal has taught antitrust and competition law at the George Mason University School of Law since 2011.
Bilal received his B.A. from Case Western Reserve University, and a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the State of New York, as well as before the U.S. District Courts for the District of Colorado and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Fifth Circuit, the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bilal is the host of Rethinking Antitrust, a podcast published by TechFreedom that examines the economics, institutions, law, legislation, and policy goals of antitrust enforcement.
President, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies
Lawrence J. Spiwak is President of the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that studies broad public-policy issues related to governance, social and economic conditions, with a particular emphasis on the law and economics of the digital age. Mr. Spiwak is a prolific scholar whose work is frequently cited by policymakers, major news media and academic journals around the world, and is in the top 1.3%of authors downloaded on the Social Science Research Network. Mr. Spiwak currently serves as the co-chair of the Federal Communications Bar Association’s (FCBA) committee responsible for overseeing the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS LAW JOURNAL and is a member of the program committee of the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (“TPRC”). Mr. Spiwak is also the recipient of the FCBA’s Distinguished Service Award. Prior to joining the Phoenix Center, Mr. Spiwak was a Senior Attorney with the Competition Division in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel from 1994-1998. While in college, Mr. Spiwak was accepted into the Presidential Stay-In School program where he was responsible for delivering classified and confidential material among senior White House and Reagan Administration officials and received a full FBI security clearance. Mr. Spiwak received his B.A. with Special Honors from the George Washington University and his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Mr. Spiwak is a member in good standing of the bars of New York, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Allen Grunes skillfully navigates the full spectrum of competition law issues. From proactively analyzing mergers and acquisitions to guiding clients through the antitrust review process, he provides experienced antitrust counsel. At Brownstein, he often assists clients in developing government relations and public relations strategies in high-profile matters. His clients have included Fortune 500 companies, start-ups and small businesses, consumer advocacy groups and labor unions.
Allen previously spent more than a decade at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, where he led many merger and civil non-merger investigations in radio, television, newspapers, motion pictures and other industries. He was part of the litigation team in a number of important cases brought by the United States, including U.S. v. Alex Brown & Sons. In private practice, he has worked as special counsel for the State of Ohio and has served as class counsel for a class of temporary nurses in Arizona. He is a recent past president of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia and a member of the Barristers.
Partner, Antitrust and Competition, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Maureen Ohlhausen is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she advises industry-leading clients on complex antitrust and litigation matters, with a focus on high-profile cases. Sought after for her depth of experience on antitrust and Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-related issues, Maureen is known for her relationships with officials in the U.S. and abroad.
After finishing law school and clerking at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Maureen joined the FTC in 1997. She held a series of roles at the agency over the next 12 years, rising to the position of Director of the FTC Office of Policy Planning, where she led the agency’s work on e-commerce and headed the FTC’s Internet Access Task Force, which produced an influential report analyzing competition and consumer protection legal issues in the broadband and internet sectors. She then went into private practice at a leading telecommunications law firm, where she headed the FTC practice group.
In 2012, Maureen was confirmed by the Senate as a Commissioner of the FTC and was appointed Acting Chairman in January 2017, a role she held until May 2018. As Acting Chairman, Maureen directed all aspects of the agency’s antitrust work, including merger review, conduct enforcement, and all consumer protection enforcement, with an emphasis on privacy and technology issues. Under her leadership, the FTC won several influential merger challenges in court and reached a number of key digital privacy settlements.
To date, Maureen is the only FTC Commissioner to have received the Robert Pitofsky Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to the FTC.
Following the end of her term at the FTC, and immediately prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Maureen was chair of the global antitrust and competition practice at Baker Botts, based in that firm’s Washington, D.C., office.
A recognized thought leader, Maureen is a frequent author and speaker, and is often quoted by leading print and broadcast media on antitrust, FTC, and privacy and data security matters. She has published dozens of articles on antitrust, privacy, intellectual property, regulation, FTC litigation, telecommunications, and international law issues in prestigious publications. During her tenure at the FTC and in private practice, she testified more than two dozen times before Congress, including before the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Antitrust Sub-Committee. She also testified before the Antitrust Modernization Commission.
Antitrust Partner, White & Case
Rahul Rao is a partner in the Global Antitrust Practice at White & Case and the former Deputy Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition. He advises clients on merger clearance, government investigations, antitrust litigation, and regulatory strategy, with particular depth in healthcare, life sciences, private equity, retail, and labor markets.
At the FTC, Rahul led major merger and conduct investigations, supervised enforcement in critical sectors, and helped shape landmark policy initiatives, including the revised Merger Guidelines and the Commission’s noncompete rulemaking. Earlier, he helped establish the Washington State Attorney General’s Antitrust Division as a national leader in labor market competition enforcement.
Having served on both the federal and state enforcement front lines, Rahul brings clients a unique understanding of agency priorities, risk profiles, and strategies for navigating today’s increasingly dynamic antitrust environment.
Counsel, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP; Senior Competition Counsel, TechFreedom
Bilal Sayyed represents clients before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) in significant merger, civil and criminal antitrust matters. A significant portion of his practice involves representing investment funds on antitrust and Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act compliance matters; he has also provided expert witness services related to HSR compliance. Bilal also counsels clients before the FTC in consumer protection and privacy investigations. He maintains an active amicus and appellate brief writing practice in antitrust litigation and antitrust merger matters.
Prior to joining Cadwalader, Bilal was the Director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning (OPP) (2018-2021). In that role, he provided legal and policy advice to the Chairman and Commissioners on antitrust and consumer protection matters and worked closely with the senior and career leadership of the FTC’s Bureaus of Competition, Consumer Protection, and Economics. Bilal previously served as an Attorney Advisor to FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris from 2001 to 2004. In that role, Bilal advised the Chairman on matters involving a wide spectrum of industries, including chemical and mining, petroleum and natural gas, health care and pharmaceutical, defense and transportation, gaming, various consumer products and retail operations, and professional associations and standard-setting organizations.
Bilal has taught antitrust and competition law at the George Mason University School of Law since 2011.
Bilal received his B.A. from Case Western Reserve University, and a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the State of New York, as well as before the U.S. District Courts for the District of Colorado and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Fifth Circuit, the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bilal is the host of Rethinking Antitrust, a podcast published by TechFreedom that examines the economics, institutions, law, legislation, and policy goals of antitrust enforcement.
President, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies
Lawrence J. Spiwak is President of the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that studies broad public-policy issues related to governance, social and economic conditions, with a particular emphasis on the law and economics of the digital age. Mr. Spiwak is a prolific scholar whose work is frequently cited by policymakers, major news media and academic journals around the world, and is in the top 1.3%of authors downloaded on the Social Science Research Network. Mr. Spiwak currently serves as the co-chair of the Federal Communications Bar Association’s (FCBA) committee responsible for overseeing the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS LAW JOURNAL and is a member of the program committee of the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (“TPRC”). Mr. Spiwak is also the recipient of the FCBA’s Distinguished Service Award. Prior to joining the Phoenix Center, Mr. Spiwak was a Senior Attorney with the Competition Division in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel from 1994-1998. While in college, Mr. Spiwak was accepted into the Presidential Stay-In School program where he was responsible for delivering classified and confidential material among senior White House and Reagan Administration officials and received a full FBI security clearance. Mr. Spiwak received his B.A. with Special Honors from the George Washington University and his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Mr. Spiwak is a member in good standing of the bars of New York, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
Mariel Brookins attended Wheaton College where she studied economics and theology. After graduation, she worked at PwC as a tax CPA. She attended the University of Michigan Law School. After law school, Mariel clerked for Judge Barrett on the Seventh Circuit and Judge Newsom on the Eleventh Circuit. She currently practices appellate litigation in Washington, D.C.
Litigation Senior Corporate Counsel, Microsoft
Benjamin Diggs is a Litigation Senior Corporate Counsel at Microsoft based in Redmond, Washington.
Previously, he was an Attorney at Hogan Lovells and also held positions at Heller Ehrman, U.S. Department of Justice, California Attorney Group, Athens College, Hellenic American Educational Foundation.
Benjamin received a Doctor of Law degree from Stanford University Law School.
Chief Legal Officer, Cognizant
John Kim has held the title of Chief Legal Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary since February 2024. This title change was made to better reflect his responsibilities after previously serving as our Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Secretary beginning March 2021. In this role, he leads Cognizant’s legal, company secretary, compliance, corporate security, regulatory, ESG, global real estate, procurement, contract lifecycle risk management and strategic negotiation functions.
John joined Cognizant in November 2019 as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Global Commercial Contracts. Previously, he served as Global Head of Big Deals at Capgemini, U.S. Counsel for WNS Global Services and General Counsel for Travelport, a leading travel technology company, as well as a number of technology service companies.
John holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Columbia University. He obtained his law degree from Cornell Law School, where he was a member of the Cornell Law Review.
Executive Director of Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center
Michael Richards is the Executive Director of Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center (C_TEC), where he leads the Chamber’s work on artificial intelligence and IT modernization. His portfolio focuses on federal and state policies related to AI, facial recognition, and emerging technologies that impact American businesses. He also manages the AI Policy Working Group, a coalition of more than 100 companies and trade associations, and played a key role in developing the Chamber’s AI policy principles.
Prior to joining the Chamber, Michael served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for Representatives Scott Franklin (FL-15) and Pete Olson (TX-22). In these roles, he led legislative strategy, staffed the House AI Caucus and Victims’ Rights Caucus, and handled the Communications & Technology portfolio on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Michael holds a Master of Public Policy from the Pepperdine School of Public Policy and a Bachelor’s degree from Texas State University.
Associate General Counsel, OpenAI
Michael Trinh is currently Associate General Counsel at OpenAI working on litigation and regulatory matters. He was formerly Head of Litigation Advance at Google where he led a team handling a broad portfolio of litigation strategy, research, amici briefs, and proactive/enforcement litigation across the company’s product areas.
In prior roles over 14 years at Google, Mike managed a group defending patent litigation worldwide, and also served as product counsel at Google X for emerging ‘moonshots’ (innovation projects primarily in developing economies). He guided experimental aviation projects as they evolved from research concept towards market introduction, handling the legal/regulatory issues arising from high altitude balloon-mounted telecommunication networks, drone delivery of burritos, kite-generated electricity, and cargo airships. Before this science fiction, he was Litigation Counsel at Google, managing a team handling a fast-growing docket of 100+ patent litigation cases in courts worldwide.
Previously, he was a technology/IP litigation associate at Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe in San Francisco. He also handled national security issues while representing, pro bono, Guantanamo Bay detainees challenging their indefinite incarceration without ever being charged. Mike graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center (2005) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2002, B.S. Comp Sci). While he grew up in Raleigh, NC, he now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and a string cheese-seeking dog (who was once featured in the Financial Times).
Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Allen Grunes skillfully navigates the full spectrum of competition law issues. From proactively analyzing mergers and acquisitions to guiding clients through the antitrust review process, he provides experienced antitrust counsel. At Brownstein, he often assists clients in developing government relations and public relations strategies in high-profile matters. His clients have included Fortune 500 companies, start-ups and small businesses, consumer advocacy groups and labor unions.
Allen previously spent more than a decade at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, where he led many merger and civil non-merger investigations in radio, television, newspapers, motion pictures and other industries. He was part of the litigation team in a number of important cases brought by the United States, including U.S. v. Alex Brown & Sons. In private practice, he has worked as special counsel for the State of Ohio and has served as class counsel for a class of temporary nurses in Arizona. He is a recent past president of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia and a member of the Barristers.
Partner, Antitrust and Competition, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Maureen Ohlhausen is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she advises industry-leading clients on complex antitrust and litigation matters, with a focus on high-profile cases. Sought after for her depth of experience on antitrust and Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-related issues, Maureen is known for her relationships with officials in the U.S. and abroad.
After finishing law school and clerking at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Maureen joined the FTC in 1997. She held a series of roles at the agency over the next 12 years, rising to the position of Director of the FTC Office of Policy Planning, where she led the agency’s work on e-commerce and headed the FTC’s Internet Access Task Force, which produced an influential report analyzing competition and consumer protection legal issues in the broadband and internet sectors. She then went into private practice at a leading telecommunications law firm, where she headed the FTC practice group.
In 2012, Maureen was confirmed by the Senate as a Commissioner of the FTC and was appointed Acting Chairman in January 2017, a role she held until May 2018. As Acting Chairman, Maureen directed all aspects of the agency’s antitrust work, including merger review, conduct enforcement, and all consumer protection enforcement, with an emphasis on privacy and technology issues. Under her leadership, the FTC won several influential merger challenges in court and reached a number of key digital privacy settlements.
To date, Maureen is the only FTC Commissioner to have received the Robert Pitofsky Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to the FTC.
Following the end of her term at the FTC, and immediately prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Maureen was chair of the global antitrust and competition practice at Baker Botts, based in that firm’s Washington, D.C., office.
A recognized thought leader, Maureen is a frequent author and speaker, and is often quoted by leading print and broadcast media on antitrust, FTC, and privacy and data security matters. She has published dozens of articles on antitrust, privacy, intellectual property, regulation, FTC litigation, telecommunications, and international law issues in prestigious publications. During her tenure at the FTC and in private practice, she testified more than two dozen times before Congress, including before the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Antitrust Sub-Committee. She also testified before the Antitrust Modernization Commission.
Antitrust Partner, White & Case
Rahul Rao is a partner in the Global Antitrust Practice at White & Case and the former Deputy Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition. He advises clients on merger clearance, government investigations, antitrust litigation, and regulatory strategy, with particular depth in healthcare, life sciences, private equity, retail, and labor markets.
At the FTC, Rahul led major merger and conduct investigations, supervised enforcement in critical sectors, and helped shape landmark policy initiatives, including the revised Merger Guidelines and the Commission’s noncompete rulemaking. Earlier, he helped establish the Washington State Attorney General’s Antitrust Division as a national leader in labor market competition enforcement.
Having served on both the federal and state enforcement front lines, Rahul brings clients a unique understanding of agency priorities, risk profiles, and strategies for navigating today’s increasingly dynamic antitrust environment.
Counsel, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP; Senior Competition Counsel, TechFreedom
Bilal Sayyed represents clients before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) in significant merger, civil and criminal antitrust matters. A significant portion of his practice involves representing investment funds on antitrust and Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act compliance matters; he has also provided expert witness services related to HSR compliance. Bilal also counsels clients before the FTC in consumer protection and privacy investigations. He maintains an active amicus and appellate brief writing practice in antitrust litigation and antitrust merger matters.
Prior to joining Cadwalader, Bilal was the Director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning (OPP) (2018-2021). In that role, he provided legal and policy advice to the Chairman and Commissioners on antitrust and consumer protection matters and worked closely with the senior and career leadership of the FTC’s Bureaus of Competition, Consumer Protection, and Economics. Bilal previously served as an Attorney Advisor to FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris from 2001 to 2004. In that role, Bilal advised the Chairman on matters involving a wide spectrum of industries, including chemical and mining, petroleum and natural gas, health care and pharmaceutical, defense and transportation, gaming, various consumer products and retail operations, and professional associations and standard-setting organizations.
Bilal has taught antitrust and competition law at the George Mason University School of Law since 2011.
Bilal received his B.A. from Case Western Reserve University, and a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the State of New York, as well as before the U.S. District Courts for the District of Colorado and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Fifth Circuit, the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bilal is the host of Rethinking Antitrust, a podcast published by TechFreedom that examines the economics, institutions, law, legislation, and policy goals of antitrust enforcement.
President, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies
Lawrence J. Spiwak is President of the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that studies broad public-policy issues related to governance, social and economic conditions, with a particular emphasis on the law and economics of the digital age. Mr. Spiwak is a prolific scholar whose work is frequently cited by policymakers, major news media and academic journals around the world, and is in the top 1.3%of authors downloaded on the Social Science Research Network. Mr. Spiwak currently serves as the co-chair of the Federal Communications Bar Association’s (FCBA) committee responsible for overseeing the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS LAW JOURNAL and is a member of the program committee of the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (“TPRC”). Mr. Spiwak is also the recipient of the FCBA’s Distinguished Service Award. Prior to joining the Phoenix Center, Mr. Spiwak was a Senior Attorney with the Competition Division in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel from 1994-1998. While in college, Mr. Spiwak was accepted into the Presidential Stay-In School program where he was responsible for delivering classified and confidential material among senior White House and Reagan Administration officials and received a full FBI security clearance. Mr. Spiwak received his B.A. with Special Honors from the George Washington University and his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Mr. Spiwak is a member in good standing of the bars of New York, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Lindsey Graham and the Judiciary: A Senate Legacy
Andrew N. Ferguson, Michael Fragoso, Sheldon Gilbert, Lee Holmes, Katherine Nikas, Julius N. Richardson
Hon. Lindsey Graham (1955-2026) For more than two decades, Senator Lindsey Graham was a consequential...
Lindsey Graham and the Judiciary: A Senate Legacy
Andrew N. Ferguson, Michael Fragoso, Sheldon Gilbert, Lee Holmes, Katherine Nikas, Julius N. Richardson
Hon. Lindsey Graham (1955-2026) For more than two decades, Senator Lindsey Graham was a consequential...
Plenary Session 2: Legislation, Confirmations, and Oversight– Working and Succeeding in a Legislative Legal Role
Featuring: Ms. Ashley Callen, Partner, Jenner & Block LLP Mr. Michael Fragoso, Partner, Torridon Group...
Everyone v. AI: Navigating the New Regulatory and Legal Battleground
Mariel Brookins, Benjamin Diggs, John Kim, Michael Richards, Mike Trinh
Presented by the In-House Counsel Network and the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center CLE credit for...
Everyone v. AI: Navigating the New Regulatory and Legal Battleground
Litigation Update: FTC v. Microsoft
Allen P. Grunes, Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Rahul Rao, Bilal Sayyed, Lawrence J. Spiwak
On May 7, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the Federal Trade Commission’s...
Litigation Update: FTC v. Microsoft
Allen P. Grunes, Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Rahul Rao, Bilal Sayyed, Lawrence J. Spiwak
On May 7, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the Federal Trade Commission’s...
Litigation Update: FTC v. Microsoft
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Using Public Accommodations Laws to Protect Religious Groups From Private Cancellation
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When AI Defames: Global Precedents and the Stakes in Starbuck v. Meta
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