Former Federal Trade Commissioner Noah Phillips is joining Cravath, Swaine & Moore as the Wall Street law firm expands its recently opened office in Washington.
Phillips was appointed for a Republican seat on the FTC in 2018 by President Donald Trump. He stepped down from his position on Oct. 14 after announcing his intended departure in August.
He joins the elite law firm as the Democrat-controlled FTC has stepped up scrutiny of tech and other companies under Chair Lina Khan. Phillips voted against Khan in a number of high-profile cases and opposed her push for new regulations on “commercial surveillance.”
“Noah has served as an FTC Commissioner during a very dynamic period for antitrust enforcement and rulemaking,” Faiza Saeed, Cravath’s presiding partner, said in a statement. “His depth of experience and perspective on the current antitrust and regulatory landscape will be invaluable to our clients.”
Prior to joining the FTC, Phillips worked as chief counsel to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on the Judiciary Committee. He was a litigator at Cravath and Steptoe & Johnson earlier in his career.
Phillips will serve as co-chair of Cravath’s antitrust practice alongside Christine Varney, the former Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust and Commissioner of the FTC.
“The incredible team at Cravath has an unparalleled record of success in handling the most complex, high-impact antitrust matters, which define the legal landscape,” Phillips said in a statement.
He’s the latest federal government official to join Cravath’s Washington office. The firm launched the new location in June, hiring Jelena McWilliams, a former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairman, Elad Roisman, former commissioner and acting chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission, and Jennifer Leete, previously an SEC associate director.
Last week, the firm inked a 21,065-square foot lease at 1601 K Street NW in the nation’s capital.
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