Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, AGENCY NEWS: Commissioner Brill accepts NYU Law School Law Women Alumna of the Year Award, (Feb 20, 2014)

By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.

FTC Commissioner Julie Brill was given the Law Women Alumna of the Year Award from the New York University School of Law in New York City yesterday. In her acceptance speech, she reflected on her own career path to become one of three women commissioners at the FTC.

After a clerkship for a federal district court judge and a brief stint at a large law firm, she worked for the Office of the Attorney General (AG) in Vermont. According to Brill, State AG offices have fewer attorneys than federal agencies but they have a much broader mandate. State AGs prosecute consumer protection, competition, environmental and civil rights, and public protection matters on behalf of the state. They also prosecute crime and advise state agencies on how to comply with the law. This broad mandate, coupled with a relatively small staff, gave her the opportunity for greater responsibility at an early stage in her career.

As part of the consumer protection unit, Brill investigated consumer complaints about rejections for mortgages and refinancing. Coordinating with town clerks, her office discovered that the large national credit reporting agencies had misread the state’s town records and registered everyone who received a property tax bill as delinquent. In her work to remedy the errors, she testified before Congress about the real life impact on consumers of inadequate national consumer protection laws. Subsequently, Congress revised the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Within the small world of the state AG’s office, Brill found issues of national importance.

At the AG’s office, the Vermont Attorney General gave her the opportunity to become a national expert on privacy, tobacco, and pharmaceutical issues. She was able to travel around the country and speak to industry groups, consumer advocates, and law enforcement. Subsequently, she was asked to the join the North Carolina Attorney General’s office in the consumer protection and join investigations into predatory lending practices. After several months on the job, she was asked to serve on the FTC. Brill said that she did not see her work at the Vermont AG as the first step in a path of public service that brought her to a job that allows her to play an important role in shaping consumer protection, competition, and privacy laws and policies.

News: FederalTradeCommissionNews