Ex-FTC Commissioner Phillips Joins Cravath In DC

Cravath, Swaine & Moore said Monday that NoahPhillips, who stepped down from the US Federal Trade Commission last week, will join the Wall Street law firm as a partner.

The former FTC commissioner joins Cravath’s new Washington, D.C. office as co-chair of the firm’s antitrust practice.

He previously served as chief counsel for Republican US Senator John Cornyn. He also practiced at Cravath earlier in his career.

The 200-year-old firm said in June it would open the Washington office with a trio of former government regulator hires, including former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairman Jelena McWilliams, former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner Elad Roisman and former SEC enforcement official Jennifer Leete.

Phillips, a Republican who was appointed to the role in 2018 by President Donald Trump, announced in August his intent to resign this fall.

Cravath has secured a 21,065-square-foot lease in downtown Washington, according to a statement last week from Stream Realty Partners, which said it represented the building’s owners in the deal.

Phillips will lead the antitrust practice alongside Christine Varney, a former FTC Commissioner and US assistant attorney general for antitrust matters.

“Noah has served as an FTC Commissioner during a very dynamic period for antitrust enforcement and rulemaking,” Cravath presiding partner Faiza Saeed said in a statement, calling his experience “invaluable” to the firm’s clients.

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