Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz has sworn in two new appointees to the five-member commission following their confirmation by the Senate on March 3, 2010. Democrats Edith Ramirez and Julie Brill were sworn in on April 5 and 6, 2010, respectively. Brill most recently practiced consumer protection and antitrust law with the North Carolina Department of Justice, while Ramirez comes to the commission from private practice with a focus on intellectual property litigation and was a former Harvard classmate of and fundraiser for President Obama.1 The new commissioners will replace Republican Deborah Majoras, who stepped down in March 2008, and Independent Pamela Jones Harbour, whose term ended last September. President Obama’s appointments may signal increased enforcement for health care and technology companies.
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